http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05165/521081.stmYesterday, the U.S. Senate got around to apologizing for failing to enact anti-lynching legislation when a law against hanging one's neighbors would've meant something.
Though a day late and 4,742 lives short, the Senate's apology was a chance for this generation of lawmakers to register how ashamed they are of their predecessors' inaction.
Between 1882 and 1968, 200 anti-lynching bills were introduced. Seven presidents petitioned Congress to make lynching a federal crime. But the apostles of states rights and white supremacy boxed every piece of legislation in committee or on the Senate floor. The filibuster was once the bigot's best friend.
The Senate apology comes just as excerpts from former Sen. Jesse Helms' autobiography "Here's Where I Stand" have begun circulating. One wonders how Helms would've voted if he were still dragging his knuckles across the floor of that august body.