Perhaps inspired by the remarkable 2004 apology from the Lexington Herald-Leader on the 40th anniversary of the passing of the Civil Rights Act, another newspaper had offered up a belated apology 50 years after the fact. The Tallahassee Democrat recently ran a special section about the 1956 Tallahassee bus boycott. Included in the package was an article headlined,”Fifty years in coming: Our apology.” Editor & Publisher has a good story on the paper’s decision. An excerpt from the article:
…the bus boycott was a singular and defining event around which the journey toward equality could be embodied. Thus, it should be viewed as among the most significant moments in the history of Florida and the nation, not only as a civil rights action, but also an important - and among the earliest - student-led civil protests in this country.
Leaders in that journey toward equality should have been able to expect support in ending segregation from the local daily newspaper, the Tallahassee Democrat. They could not. We not only did not lend a hand, we openly opposed integration, siding firmly with the segregationists.
It is inconceivable that a newspaper, an institution that exists freely only because of the Bill of Rights, could be so wrong on civil rights.
But we were.
While the Democrat today is a far different organization from what it was 50 years ago, we have never formally apologized for our actions. Nothing will change history, certainly not a few words. But words are a powerful tool and can have a lasting and healing impact.
Recently, the Democrat apologized privately to Henry and Derek Steele for how this institution treated their father and other civil-rights leaders. We told them we intended to apologize publicly, not only for how we treated the Rev. Steele and others as individuals, but also for how we behaved throughout that era. We now do apologize.
A public apology on behalf of the institution does not undo what was done, but it is a symbol - and simply the right thing to do. Sometimes words need to be said, and written, for the healing to begin. Painful emotions bottled up inside for all these years - feelings of hurt, betrayal and anger - need to be addressed.
This is the time for that to occur…
