Saying sorry

Interview | Law professor Carol M. Swain on why she says conservatives should support a national apology for slavery | Marvin Olasky

Carol M. Swain is professor of law and political science at Vanderbilt University Law School and the founding director of the Veritas Institute for racial justice and reconciliation. She and some other Christian leaders are calling on Congress and President Bush to issue a national apology for slavery. In past years liberal Democrats have unsurprisingly called for such action, but so have a few conservatives.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), while a member of the House in 2000, co-sponsored Rep. Tony Hall’s (D-Ohio) Apology for Slavery Resolution of 2000. The bill was never voted on, but three years later Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) pushed for the creation of a congressional committee that would, among other things, investigate the pros and cons of a national apology for slavery. Republican leaders quietly killed the legislation and aides in Sen. Brownback’s office say he does not intend to reintroduce the bill.