[cure-news] CURE PRESS RELEASE Virginia's Regret will Not Heal the Wound

[Ida Hakim]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, February 6th, 2007
For further information, contact:

  Ida Hakim, 770-964-3963, hakimida at reparationsthecure.org
  Larry Yates, 540-436-9357, llyates at shentel.net

Virginia's Regret will Not Heal the Wound, Says Group
As the Cradle of Slavery Begins to Face its Legacy

"My state of Virginia is the cradle of U.S. slavery," said Larry  
Yates, a resident of  Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, and member of  
the leadership of Caucasians United for Reparations and  
Emancipation. "For that reason, I consider it worth national  
attention that our political leadership has taken even a  small  
step towards facing that legacy in a public, institutional manner."

A resolution that passed the House of Delegates of the Commonwealth  
of Virginia on February 2, includes this language: "The General  
Assembly hereby expresses its profound regret for the  
Commonwealth's role in sanctioning the immoral institution of human  
slavery, in the historic wrongs visited upon native peoples, and in  
all other forms of discrimination and injustice that have been  
rooted in racial and cultural bias and misunderstanding," The  
resolution must also pass the Senate and be signed by the Governor.

The Assembly's website claims a history for itself which "dates  
from the establishment of the House of Burgesses at Jamestown in  
1619." Jamestown in 1619 also saw the establishment of North  
American chattel slavery.

African-American legislators proposed the resolution of apology for  
Virginia's role in slavery. Although those who introduced the  
resolution stated explicitly they were not seeking reparations, the  
General Assembly's leadership insisted on an expression of "regret"  
rather than "apology" for slavery, afraid to "open the door" to  
reparations or any statement of their own liability.

"It is not within the Virginia General Assembly's power to 'close  
the door' on the call for justice," said Hugh Esco, CURE activist  
and twice a Green Party candidate for Lieutenant Governor of  
Georgia. "I express regret for the victims of natural disaster far  
from my home. I apologize for my role in perpetuating the culture  
we've inherited which privileges us as white people. Historically,  
a 17th Century Virginia statute was the first to draw a legal  
distinction between White and Black. It is time that white folks,  
not just in Virginia, but from the shores of Georgia to the shores  
of Alaska and Hawaii stepped into a conversation which can heal  
these wounds and recover our humanity."

The results of the enslavement of Africans have often preoccupied  
the Virginia legislature. It imposed harsher restrictions on people  
of African descent after Nat Turner's rebellion, initiated the 1902  
constitution that restricted suffrage, joined other Southern  
legislatures in calling for "massive resistance" against school  
desegregation in the 1950s, and has maintained restrictions on  
voting by ex-felons in recent years.

"Since the establishment of this cruel market-based form of  
involuntary servitude," said Yates, "Virginia has been in the  
situation described by Thomas Jefferson as 'having a wolf by the  
ears,' unwilling to let go but unable to really maintain control.  
Today, once again, Virginia sought to appease the pressures of  
history and the call for justice, without giving up white dominance  
or facing real responsibility."

At least one senior white legislator actively opposed the  
resolution in this legislative session. Delegate Frank Hargove, a  
respected and powerful member of the Republican majority, urged  
African-Americans "to get over slavery." In the ensuing  
embarrassment, it became clear that the General Assembly had to  
pass the resolution, but leaders still acted to water it down.

"The white majority in the Virginia General Assembly will not be  
the ones to determine how the great wound of slavery will be made  
whole," said CURE Founder and CEO Ida Hakim, of Georgia. "We  
continue to support the call for full and complete reparations. We  
see this expression of regret by the General Assembly as a small  
step, at best, in the moral journey of whites. Every day, whites  
continue to do harm with our denial, while enjoying the vast  
disparity of resources between the heirs of the beneficiaries of  
slavery and the heirs of those who were enslaved. CURE looks  
forward to a time when moral values and personal responsibility  
rise above white self-interest."
>From hakimida at reparationsthecure.org  Sat Feb 17 07:36:47 2007
From: hakimida at reparationsthecure.org (Ida Hakim)
Date: Sat Feb 17 07:32:08 2007
Subject: [cure-news] Jamaican MP calls for reparations for slavery
Message-ID: <45D704EF.1080609 at reparationsthecure.org>

Jamaican MP calls for reparations for slavery

MP Mike Henry wants committee 'to quantify the reparation'
Jamaica Gleaner
February 14, 2007

by Edmond Campbell, Senior News Coordinator

The historic debate on reparations for people of African ancestry
began in the House of Representatives last week with the mover of the
motion, Member of Parliament for Central Clarendon, Mike Henry making
an impassioned plea for Parliament to send an unequivocal message to
the then slave-trading nations that the time had come for reparations
to be made to those who were brutally enslaved.

With a fervour befitting the subject matter that was being debated,
Mr.Henry declared that he felt very strongly about the issue, and his
passion carried with it "no less a revolutionary zeal than when I was
a teen".

The motion addressed specific matters as it relates to reparation. It
called on the House to establish a united and common position on the
proposition that reparation was due to the countries of the displaced
descendants.

Further, it pushes for the establishment of a committee of the House
to quantify the reparation. And, the motion wants nations due to make
reparation to be called upon to provide compensation by way of cash
and or debt relief.

Mr. Henry, who is also a publisher, said he had conducted extensive
research on the subject, and had not found one case where a sovereign
Parliament "who has suffered from slavery" had voted on the
entitlement of reparations "and I demand from my Parliament such a
decision."

Highest world court

"A decision which if made by a government would I feel sanction the
pursuance of this matter to the highest world court; and have that
world court reject this justified plea or accept it."

Acknowledging that in recent times heads of states, monarchs and
presidents have tendered apologies for slavery, Mr. Henry said he was
not averse to accepting apologies which by their very issuance carried
with it guilt and responsibility.

However, he said that was not good enough as apologies should be
accompanied by compensation equal to the act.

During his presentation, Mr. Henry quoted extensively from magazines
and papers to support his argument for reparation.

He said if the British, the French, the Dutch and Portuguese were not
willing to have dialogue and take responsibility for their involvement
in slavery, and approach a settlement in real economic terms, similar
to how they settle with the slave owners, parliamentarians should seek
reparations in the highest courts of justice.

"So whether reparations come in the form of payments tied to
infrastructure or education, I ask that we as a Parliament decide what
we feel is just; let us clearly stake out our position on slavery and
its impact on our lives," he asserted.

Painting a graphic picture of the multiple acts of barbarism during
slavery, Mr. Henry pointed to murder, enslavement, deportation,
torture and rape.

He reminded his colleagues that reparations have been paid for harm
inflicted on the Jews, pointing out that since World War II, Germany
had paid at least $88 billion Deutsche Mark in reparations to the
State of Israel and had made another $20 billion disbursement to the
same nation in 2005.

300,000 murdered

Mr. Henry argued that the Chinese were discussing the possibility of
suing the Government of Japan for the atrocities committed during the
capture ofthe city of Nangking, which resulted in the systematic
murder of more than 300,000 Chinese by Japanese soldiers during World
War II.

So-called comfort women from Korea who were forced into prostitution
during World War II by the Japanese have also planned to sue the
Japanese government for reparations.

Member of Parliament for Kingston Central, Victor Cummings who also
participated in the debate said the teaching of African history and
civilisation in schools, would help to break the bonds of mental slavery.

"We need to get rid of mental slavery as a lot of what is happening
within our country has to do with that mental slavery. We find it hard
to work together as a people because it is entrenched in our psyche
from long ago," he stated.

He argued that the passage of the resolution by itself would not go
far enough in achieving what was necessary for the country at this
time. "Just passing a resolution alone even if you have full support,
will not go far in achieving what needs to be achieved. We need to be
out in the schools and us as leaders of our country need to lead by
example," he contended.
>From hakimida at reparationsthecure.org  Sun Feb 25 18:45:14 2007
From: hakimida at reparationsthecure.org (Ida Hakim)
Date: Sun Feb 25 18:40:17 2007
Subject: [cure-news] Virginia Lawmakers Pass Slavery Apology
Message-ID: <45E22D9A.2040100 at reparationsthecure.org>

Virginia Lawmakers Pass Slavery Apology
By LARRY O'DELL
AP

RICHMOND, Va. (Feb. 24) - Meeting on the grounds of the former 
Confederate Capitol, the Virginia General Assembly voted unanimously 
Saturday to express "profound regret" for the state's role in slavery.

Sponsors of the resolution say they know of no other state that has 
apologized for slavery, although Missouri lawmakers are considering such 
a measure. The resolution does not carry the weight of law but sends an 
important symbolic message, supporters said.
 
"This session will be remembered for a lot of things, but 20 years hence 
I suspect one of those things will be the fact that we came together and 
passed this resolution," said Delegate A. Donald McEachin, a Democrat  
who sponsored it in the House of Delegates.
 
The resolution passed the House 96-0 and cleared the 40-member Senate  
on a unanimous voice vote. It does not require Gov. Timothy M.
 
The measure also expressed regret for "the exploitation of Native 
Americans."
 
The resolution was introduced as Virginia begins its celebration of the 
400th anniversary of Jamestown, where the first Africans arrived in 
1619. Richmond, home to a popular boulevard lined with statues of 
Confederate heroes, later became another point of arrival for Africans 
and a slave-trade hub.
 
The resolution says government-sanctioned slavery "ranks as the most 
horrendous of all depredations of human rights and violations of our 
founding ideals in our nation's history, and the abolition of slavery 
was followed by systematic discrimination, enforced segregation, and 
other insidious institutions and practices toward Americans of African 
descent that were rooted in racism, racial bias, and racial 
misunderstanding."
 
In Virginia, black voter turnout was suppressed with a poll tax and 
literacy tests before those practices were struck down by federal 
courts, and state leaders responded to federally ordered school 
desegregation with a "Massive Resistance" movement in the 1950s and 
early '60s. Some communities created exclusive whites-only schools.
 
The apology is the latest in a series of strides Virginia has made in 
overcoming its segregationist past. Virginia was the first state to 
elect a black governor - L. Douglas Wilder in 1989 - and the Legislature 
took a step toward atoning for Massive Resistance in 2004 by creating a 
scholarship fund for blacks whose schools were shut down between 1954 
and 1964.
 
Among those voting for the measure was Delegate Frank D. Hargrove, an 
80-year-old Republican  who infuriated black leaders last month by 
saying "black citizens should get over" slavery.
 
After enduring a barrage of criticism, Hargrove successfully 
co-sponsored a resolution calling on Virginia to celebrate "Juneteenth," 
a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.
>From hakimida at reparationsthecure.org  Tue Feb 27 14:43:51 2007
From: hakimida at reparationsthecure.org (Ida Hakim)
Date: Tue Feb 27 14:38:41 2007
Subject: [cure-news] Virginia Remorseful But Not Responsible?
Message-ID: <45E49807.7030406 at reparationsthecure.org>

*Caucasians United for Reparations and Emancipations
PO Box 156, Red Oak, GA 30272 / www.ReparationsTheCURE.org
*
*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

*Virginia Remorseful But Not Responsible?
White Reparationists Ask Virginia To Take the Next Step
*

Date: February 27, 2007

Contact: Ida Hakim, 770-964-3963,
hakimida at reparationsthecure.org
Larry Yates, 540-436-9357,
llyates at shentel.net


"It seems that Delegate Frank Hargove got his way," said Ida Hakim, 
founder of Caucasians United for Reparations and Emancipation (CURE). 
Ms. Hakim was referring to a member of the Republican majority who, 
earlier in the Virginia General Assembly session, suggested that African 
Americans just needed "to get over slavery." The public response 
demanded that something be passed. But Hargrove's sentiment found its 
way into the adopted resolution.

The resolution's sponsor had asked the Assembly to adopt a resolution 
including this language: "That the General Assembly hereby atone for the 
involuntary servitude of Africans and call for reconciliation among all 
Virginians;"

Yet, as adopted, the resolution now reads: "That the General Assembly 
hereby acknowledge with profound regret the involuntary servitude of 
Africans and the exploitation of Native Americans, and call for 
reconciliation among all Virginians;"

"CURE members know the difference between atoning and offering profound 
regret," stated Ms. Hakim. "We wonder if Virginia?s General Assembly is 
really saying to the world, 'We profoundly regret that our tourism 
industry's promotion of the 400th anniversary of the founding of 
Jamestown is tainted by our role in bringing chattel slavery to the 
continent.'"

"If the Virginia Assembly can acknowledge that its state hosted the 
introduction of slavery into North America in 1619;" continued Larry 
Yates, who lives in Virginia?s Shenandoah Valley, "if it can admit that 
in 1924 it adopted the 'one-drop rule'; and if it can confess that it 
resisted the abolition of slavery by enforcing Jim Crow in place of the 
abolished Black Codes, then why can it NOT apologize and atone for its 
role in this history?"

The resolution, a product of negotiations among House and Senate 
conferees, states: "?the moral standards of liberty and equality have 
been transgressed during much of Virginia's and America's history." Yet, 
it proceeds to portray Native communities giving their children over to 
the Reservation School System as a means to "[ensure] their children's 
education" in the face of Virginia's own segregated educational system.

The resolution, as adopted, acknowledges that: "?slavery, having been 
sanctioned and perpetuated through the laws of Virginia and the United 
States, ranks as the most horrendous of all depredations of human rights 
and violations of our founding ideals in our nation's history, and the 
abolition of slavery was followed by systematic discrimination, enforced 
segregation, and other insidious institutions and practices toward 
Americans of African descent that were rooted in racism, racial bias, 
and racial misunderstanding;?"

It goes on to state: "?the most abject apology for past wrongs cannot 
right them; yet the spirit of true repentance on behalf of a government, 
and, through it, a people, can promote reconciliation and healing, and 
avert the repetition of past wrongs and the disregard of manifested 
injustices;"

"We see this expression of regret by the General Assembly as a small 
step, at best, in the moral journey of whites," stated CURE member and 
former Georgia Green Party candidate Hugh Esco. "Every day, white denial 
perpetuates the harms of America's 'peculiar institution.' And we will 
continue to suffer the fallout for our forbearers' immoral ideas about 
commerce until we can not only acknowledge this history, but apologize 
for our role in it and take substantive steps to repair the damage these 
choices created and which our own denial perpetuates."

"If a government or an individual really has 'the spirit of true 
repentance' spoken of in this resolution, it will propel them beyond 
mere verbal expressions of regret and into action," continued Donna 
Lamb, CURE?s Communications Director. "While we are glad this resolution 
was passed, we continue to support the call for full and complete 
reparations to descendants of slavery, which we see as the only true 
means to the reconciliation and healing so needed by this country."