Racial lines drawn on slavery apology (Let's talk about race -- again)

[The Straight Story]

Racial lines drawn on slavery apology

By Luther Keith / The Detroit News
Luther Keith

Let's talk about race -- again.

My June 20 column asking the question about why can't the U.S. government formally apologize for the enslavement of African-Americans provoked a flurry of reader responses, once again underscoring the very different perspectives many black and white Americans have on addressing racial wrongs.

For the most part, I believe this is because black Americans and white Americans have trod different historical paths that can make it difficult -- not impossible -- to see things the same way.

By now, most people agree with the nation's founding principles of equality with freedom and justice for all. The disagreement, still, is often over how we get there in the face of quality-of-life racial disparities in wealth, employment, education, health and other areas.

For many white Americans, continuing to bring up past transgressions and link them to today's ongoing social problems is simply fomenting racial controversy while trying to put them on a guilt trip.

For many black Americans, the failure to acknowledge and fully address the sins of the past represents a form of denial and contempt that continues to isolate and separate them from the nation.

(See the emails he got in relation to this at the link:)
http://www.detnews.com/2005/metro/0506/30/A02-232926.htm