University of Alabama moves to apologize- acknowledge slavery links

• Originally published on 4/16/2004 by the Associated Press [here]
  

Story from AP / JAY REEVES, Associated Press Writer

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- Acknowledging its historical ties to slavery, the University of Alabama will erect a marker near the graves of two slaves on the campus at Tuscaloosa, and place others on buildings where slaves once worked and lived, officials said Thursday.

President Robert Witt said the university, founded in 1831, will also commission a history that includes the early contributions of minorities. And campus recruitment tours will mention campus sites linked to slavery and integration.

Witt's announcement came shortly before a ceremony planned by black students to acknowledge two slaves buried in unmarked graves near an old campus cemetery. "It turned it into a celebration," said graduate student Zenobia Harris.

Next week, the faculty senate is set to vote on an apology to the descendants of slaves who were owned by faculty members or who worked on campus before the Civil War. While some on campus contend an apology for slavery would be an empty gesture, Witt disagreed.

"I have no problem with it," he said, provided an apology isn't the end of efforts to make the university more open to minorities.

"I think it is important to look back at the university's history," he said. "There is nothing to be gained and something to be lost if we shrink from doing that."

About 15 percent of Alabama's 20,000 students are members of a racial or ethnic minority, according to the university Web site.

Alabama isn't the only school reviewing its ties to slavery. Brown University in Providence, R.I., last month began a two-year inquiry into its links to the slave trade.