A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit the Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, Mississippi. One of the most compelling features of the museum are tall black pillars featuring the names of every human being reported to have been murdered by lynching in the state of Mississippi. The pillars were organized by date, beginning in 1882. Front and back. Date, name (if available), race, location, accusation. 

May 13, 1885	Rich McGowen	Negro	Columbus, Lowndes Co.	Incendiarism
Mar. 20, 1901	Terry Bell	Negro	Terry, Hinds Co.	Race Prejudice
Dec. 24, 1903	Eli Hilson	Negro	Brookhaven, Lincoln Co.	Race Prejudice
May 5, 1919	Unknown Female	Negro	Pickens, Holmes Co.	Writing Insulting Note
Sep. 10, 1919	L.B. Reid	Negro	Clarksdale, Coahoma Co.	Keeping Company with White Woman
April 4, 1921	Rachel Moore	Negro	Rankin Co.	Inciting Race Trouble
Sep. 29, 1923	Unknown Girl	Negro	Pickens, Holmes Co.	Bystander, Victim of Mob
Aug. 18 1930	George Robinson	Negro	Raymond, Hinds Co.	Resisting Officer of the Law
Mar. 20, 1944	Rev. Isaac Simmons	Negro	Liberty, Amite Co.	Hiring Lawyer to Protect Land Title

Say Their Names if you can. 

As you weave your way through the pillars, your footsteps trigger pre-recorded vitriol, representative of the foul phrases directed towards Black Siblings prior to desegregation. There is a Klan robe on one side, and photos of brilliant Black Civil Rights leaders on the other. 

The exhibit (and my journey through it) broke off at 1949 and opened into a large circular room where Hezekiah Watkins, a museum employee who also happens to be the youngest member of the Freedom Riders, (a group of civil rights activists who dedicated themselves to the enforcement of federal rulings to desegregate public buses; was sharing his story with a group of high school students… but as powerful as that story is, it is an account for another day.

When we come to the question of reparations, there is no doubt in my mind that America owes a national debt to Black America that far exceeds that of any figure Congress perpetually haggles over. If we are framing our understanding of apology as encompassing Remorse, Responsibility, and Reparation, then I would argue that as a society, the process of making an authentic apology hasn’t even begun.

Remorse is defined as “intense and painful self-condemnation and penitence due to consciousness of guilt .” There is an implied sense of empathy– an ability for the perpetrator to be pierced by the implications of their action (or inaction, as the case may be). Mutuality. Solidarity. A “with-ness” that does not exist in mainstream culture and, in many cases, the mainstream church.

When I look at my sons, do I see ghosts like my friend from Cameroon? Do I tell my husband not to take my children out at night because I fear they could be harmed because of the color of his skin and the false narrative imbued in his melanin? Do my children think that the reason they can’t read is because they are Black? Am I afraid to go to the doctor because I know that the mortality rate is higher for Black women than for White? Do I feel terror during a routine traffic stop? Do I wonder why my child was elected to stand in front of their classmates during active shooter drills? Do I constantly wonder if I or anyone I know is putting a target on our backs by challenging any one of a myriad of daily microaggressions? Do I watch family members die younger than their white peers either due to the effects of generational trauma on their immune system or because appropriate medical care was not accessible?

What is the compounded interest on generational terror, illness, redlining, subpar educational systems, unfair wages, and unjust criminal systems? What is the interest on the complicity of the church in these matters– and more?

An authentic apology is not a casual acknowledgment that “regrettable” things happened in the past, but a pang that strikes deep into the soul and compels white America to take responsibility for the fact that not only has harm been done, but that it continues to occur– and is rapidly accelerating in many parts of the Country. 

The response that is required to this movement of violent evil is an act of true revival– Not necessarily tent meetings and baptisms– although they may have their place; but a revival born of remorse and bold repentance that is visible in the public square as tables are overturned by rushing streams of justice.

No more police brutality, no more enslavement through the penal system, and no more attempts to erase Black history and culture from our public libraries and schools.

Then, and only then do I believe that our nation will be ready to offer tangible and healing measures of reparation.

By Naphtali Renshaw

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“Remorse.” ″ – Wiktionary, https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=remorse. Accessed 12 May 2023.