Good PR Though Late

Charleston, SC is apologizing for its deep involvement in the slave trade nearly 200 years ago. It is late, but still a good step to acknowledge its error. Nothing can change the fact that nearly 100,000 slaves passed through its market. As the article notes, “Forty percent of Africans forcibly brought to the US set foot on American soil here. In fact, some 80 percent of African-Americans can trace their roots back to Charleston, says the International African-American Museum.” The town oozes Southern charm, but its City Hall was built by forced labor. Its grand old mansions were maintained by slaves. Its kitchens filled with slave cooks. Its gardens tended by slaves. One might say a formal apology is not enough for the ugly past, but it is a formal statement of sorrow and words have some effect. Charleston is building a Museum of Slavery to reveal its past.  That also is overdue, but a step forward. Both actions are good PR.