Charleston Apologizes for City’s Role in Slave Trade

Charleston, the South Carolina port city where about 40 percent of enslaved Africans who were brought to North America landed after being taken from their homelands, has become the latest city to apologize for its role in the slave trade.

In an emotional and at times heated meeting that drew a standing-room-only crowd, the Charleston City Council on Tuesday night approved a two-page resolution in City Hall — a structure built by slaves — that its supporters saw as a step toward racial healing.

The resolution, which was approved by voice vote and was met with loud cheers, recognized that the city had flourished at the cost of those enslaved and apologized on behalf of the city for its role in the trade. It also acknowledged wrongs committed against African-Americans by slavery and Jim Crow laws.