Yale University has issued a formal apology for its historical ties to slavery.
The apology is part of Yale’s “ongoing work to understand its history and connections to slavery,” the university said in a news release Friday.
Yale also announced the release of a book, “Yale and Slavery: A History,” by professor David W. Blight with the Yale and Slavery Research Project, and a range of actions and initiatives based on the project’s findings.
“Confronting this history helps us to build a stronger community and realize our aspirations to create a better future,” Yale President Peter Salovey said in the release. “Today, on behalf of Yale University, we recognize our university’s historical role in and associations with slavery, as well as the labor, the experiences, and the contributions of enslaved people to our university’s history, and we apologize for the ways that Yale’s leaders, throughout our early history, participated in slavery.”
Does this actually do anything, though?
It acknowledges the truth, which is more than they had done previously. It is a step. The more people are aware of history, then hopefully the less likely they are to repeat it.
The fact that this isn’t literally just “we’re sorry” but they took the time to actually research and write a book on the topic, and actively promote it? Yeah I think that has value.