With the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the UK coming up on Sunday, there’s a lot of debate about whether we should, as a nation, apologise formally for the horrors of the years of slavery.
The title of this post is not meant in any way to be flippant, it’s the question I have about this matter of apology. Nations and cities are increasingly being asked to apologise for past atrocities, it is becoming the norm. And our leaders are tendering apologies, half apologies, apologies that aren’t really apologies, and variations on that theme.
I understand the impulse behind requests for apology, but I don’t think it’s the right request. There is no point in Tony Blair (I was tempted to finish the sentence right there, but I digress) apologising for the British slave trade. Of course this was the foulest “business” imaginable. Any Christian, any person of faith, anyone with the slightest humanity must be sick at heart that the slave trade happened and continues to happen around the world.
But I think the right request is not for apology, but for each of us to look into our hearts and understand that it was the darker instincts of Christians, people of faith and members of the human race that enabled this to happen. I believe we are called to great good and it is self-evident that we are capable of great evil. I don’t mean that a group of people out there is capable of great evil, I mean that under certain circumstances you and I are capable of it. We must forgive ourselves for this capability and we must forgive each other. We must be thoughtful every time we reach a fork in the road. We must strive to be self-aware. We must not be silent in the face of injustice.
But politicians making politically motivated apologies? What’s the point?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Having been on both sides of this issue as a white mother of black children, I think it is safe to say that most white people do not understand the point of an official aopology for the African slave trade because they are not forced to deal with the lingering repercussions of it on a daily basis. I remember at one point thinking the descendants of former slaves were just ridiculous. That was before God gave me close African American friends who invited me into the reality of their world and long before I made the journey into that world through my children. It was certainly long before I invited God into that particular area of my life.
I am heartened by your sensitivity to the part the church played in the slave trade but I also believe an apology is a good place to start. It is difficult for there to be true reconciliation before those who have been wronged feel validated. What most descendants of the Europeans who began and benefitted from the slave trade fail to realize is that system still benefits them still today, simply because they are white.
“An apology, what’s the point?” Perhaps a better question is, “An apology, why is it so difficult to give?”
Sherri
Sherri, thank you so much for taking the time to post this comment. I find what you say very interesting and helpful. You are right to ask why it is so difficult to apologise.
For me, my recoil is bound up partly in my perception that our current political leaders are not sincere and do things for political expediency. Obviously not everyone will share my views on this.
So the question of sincerity is an important one to me. I feel that apologies are in danger of being empty.
In fact, reading your comment and thinking of sincerity, I was reminded of the sign of peace we give each other during the Catholic Mass and I believe is given in other Christian services as well. When members of the congregation turn to each other to offer peace, this is sometimes a perfunctory and embarrassed shake of the hands. But sometimes when another human being meets your eyes and your hands touch, or you embrace, there is a real communion between souls. It’s a question of allowing your whole self to be seen.
I’m aware on a personal level of the racism that is one terrible legacy of slavery, as my dear nephew (nearly 17) is mixed-race and we have sometimes felt the impact of his heritage through the reaction of others. And of course the word you use, reconciliation, can only come through healing. If apology is a pre-requisite to healing, then we should apologise. I just want it to be real.
At least this question over apology is getting people to talk about the issues.