LAST WEEK, Virginia Del. Frank D. Hargrove Sr., R - Hanover County, caused quite a stir when he opposed a circulating slavery apology resolution on the grounds that black Virginians "should just get over" slavery. While his incisive remarks may have reopened some raw inter-racial wounds, he makes a valid point.
First, it is important to state that instructing peole to forget an oppressive chapter in their lives, no matter what that chapter might hold, is highly insensitive. Hargrove's dismissal of slavery is definitely one that we ought to take offense to. As the state NAACP director King Salim Khalfani told Hargrove, "We think that's very insensitive for you to say blacks should just get over it when you haven't walked in our shoes."
However, the broader argument that Hargrove makes is valid. If one reads the entirety of what he said, rather than the selective, inflammatory pieces the media has chosen to zoom in on, Hargrove makes the legitimate argument that "slavery's over with, it was a horrible institution, but there's nobody living today that approved of it or thought it was worthwhile." In other words, it is wrong to place the burden of a crime committed by earlier generations on their descendants.
Should Germans whose ancestors discriminated against Jews during Hitler's time apologize to Jews of the current generation? Should British descendents apologize to the current generations of their previously colonized peoples for previous oppression? Clearly not. Accepted norms within a society change and evolve over time, and it is unfair to ask the people of today to atone for sins their forefathers committed, at a time when the current norms were not yet institutionalized.
Furthermore, it is not clear exactly what an apology would accomplish because, as a corollary to the first argument, the subsequent generations in this country have shown through concrete actions that they in no way condone the institution of slavery.
Slavery is already seen as a dark chapter in American history. Racial discrimination against African-Americans is actively combated, while affirmative action is in place at least partly to atone for the displacement and oppressiveness of the era of slavery. A statement of apology for something that this country has worked to correct in an apologetic spirit strikes me as overkill.
But what could be wrong, and more importantly, what is the harm, in apologizing for something you already are apologetic for? As Washington Post columnist Marc Fisher writes, "it doesn't mean it's wrong for any generation, no matter how far removed from misdeeds, to state that what once seemed acceptable no longer comports with our code of behavior".
Media frenzy on the secondary issue that Hargrove's great grandfather had owned a slave is even more misplaced. If one looks at Hargrove's political record, he has not allowed his political views to be clouded by personal or familial matters -- as evidenced by his opposition to an official apology to mentally retarded Virginians who were forcibly sterilized in the state decades ago, even though his brother was one of the victims of that policy. His argument was similar in spirit -- the state should not have to apologize for something that was acceptable at that particular point in history.
To request an apology from present generations for a historical episode is anachronistic, as it ignores historical context. For this reason, it neither makes any sense nor is of any use. A nation, or a state, goes through different periods of history where views on events and particular institutions evolve in terms of legitimacy and attitudes. We should take comfort in the fact that this country has taken steps in theory and practice to reflect those changes with regard to slavery in its laws, education systems and the media. Ultimately, the duty of the current generation is to learn from the oppressive historical horrors of the past, and ensure that these dark chapters do not repeat themselves in the future. This is more useful and makes much more sense than any apology.
Prashanth Parameswaran's column appears Mondays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at pparameswaran@cavalierdaily.com.
Read More
EDITORIAL: Carla Williams deserves her seat at the table
By Editorial Board | 2 days agoLooking beyond basketball and football reveals that Virginia Athletics is, in many ways, thriving.
UPADHYAYA: The Great and not-so-Good sides of U.Va.’s 2030 housing plan
By Apal Upadhyaya | 4 days agoInstead of improving the dire state of existing infrastructure, however, the University has shifted attention away from it and chosen to expand.
EDITORIAL: Support low-barrier shelters in Charlottesville
By Editorial Board | 5 days agoInvesting in low-barrier shelters now will pay off in increased stability for the homeless, which will undoubtedly improve the safety of shelters and the community writ large.
