The Long Trail to Apology to Native Americans

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All manner of unusual things can happen in Washington in an election year, but few seem so refreshing as a proposed official apology from the federal government to  American Indians -- the first ever -- for the "violence, maltreatment and neglect" inflicted upon the tribes for centuries. A resolution of formal apology for "a long history of official depradations and ill-conceived policies" has been quietly cleared for a Senate vote, with proponents predicting passage. [more]

Detroit contractors must tell City whether they have benefited from Slavery

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The Detroit City Council has passed a largely symbolic ordinance that would require contractors who want to do business with the city to disclose whether their companies profited from slavery. Chicago, Los Angeles and Wayne County have enacted similar laws. Detroit's ordinance says contractors must search their backgrounds, and then sign an affidavit divulging investments and income from the slave industry ...
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Bank One 'probably' Dealt with Slave Businesses

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For the second time in a month, Bank One has filed an amended slavery disclosure affidavit with City Hall -- this time revealing fresh new details of its search for skeletons in the closets of its Louisiana predecessors. Determined to avoid a repeat of the slave disclosure controversy that has embroiled its merger partner, J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank One states in the new affidavit that Citizens Bank, formed in 1833, and Canal and Banking Co., formed in 1831, "did business in Louisiana during this era and probably did business with persons or entities that employed slaves." ...
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Bank One tells city its units may have had ties to slavery

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Bank One has filed an affidavit with City Hall warning that it "owns subsidiaries that conduct business in states where slavery was practiced" and that predecessors of some of those companies may have had ties to slavery. Although Bank One checked the box that says it has "found records relating to investments or profits from slavery," the carefully worded disclosure statement filed by Bank One Capital Markets in connection with a water bond issue makes no such claim. ...
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Actions would speak louder than apology, Indian tribes say

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After centuries of deal-breaking, land-taking and what many tribes consider genocide, some Washington politicians want the government to offer American Indians an apology. U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican, has sponsored a resolution apologizing "to all Native Peoples on behalf of the United States" as a way to smooth the often-rocky relations between the two. ...
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City Councilwoman claims J.P. Morgan Chase Co. lied about Slavery Past

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With an assist from her daughter ,the City Council's champion for slave reparations produced what she called irrefutable evidence to support her claim that J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. had past ties to slavery and ''lied'' about it on an affidavit. ''They said they had nothing to do with slavery. ... The affidavit says if you lie, then your [ city ] contract is null and void,'' said Ald. Dorothy Tillman (3rd). ...
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Wayne County seeks company disclosure of slavery ties

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Some companies seeking to do business with Wayne County would have to disclose their historic ties to slavery under a proposal that could come to a vote next week. The plan before the County Commission would apply to companies bidding on contracts of $20,000 or more. Wayne County has about 2 million residents and includes Detroit and its southern and western suburbs. ...
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Lawyer argues for academic reparations

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Rose Sanders Touré, a Harvard-educated civil rights lawyer who works in Selma, said Wednesday night that the University and the rest of the country should pay academic reparations for minority groups. While that may be a hard sell to some people at the University, student and faculty leaders pushing racial equality at the Capstone won major victories in the past week, with UA President Robert Witt announcing efforts to recognize the school's racial past and the Faculty Senate voting Tuesday to apologize for the actions of former slaveholders at the University. ...
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Ogletree says: 'Slave reparations go beyond money Movement is about recognition'

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Reparations to the descendants of African slaves isn't just about money, one of the foremost authorities of the burgeoning movement told an audience at Tulane University's Law School on Thursday. Harvard Law School professor Charles Ogletree Jr. said he doesn't believe every African-American should receive a check for the pain and suffering of their ancestors. The money should be placed in a trust fund to assist the poorest of the poor, he said, adding that economics, education and health care should be top priorities. ...
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