The United States Senate today, by unanimous voice vote, backed a resolution apologizing for the nation to African American descendants of slavery and Jim Crow segregation laws.
This gesture was long overdue, as African Americans suffered mightily for many generations, and were denied basic human rights by many of our state governments, particularly, although not exclusively, in the Southern and border states. This is something that needs to be reinforced by education and government action to assure that never again will there be violations of civil liberties and civil rights as occurred over the long haul of American history.
As always, Americans of all backgrounds must be vigilant, and must resist in every possible way, any discrimination against anyone based on race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, disability, or sexual orientation. We must resist the kind of hate that has displayed itself most recently at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D. C., and continues to be a problem in American society.