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story
Ghanaian bishop offers apology for Africans’ part in slave
trade
By TOM ROBERTS
Bishop Charles G. Palmer-Buckle of Ghana introduced an unexpected
twist into the consideration of Africa and the history of slavery in the
Americas when he apologized on behalf of Africans for the part Africans played
in the slave trade. “Please forgive us if in any way we contributed to
what you had to suffer,” he said.
In an interview with NCR, Palmer-Buckle said his interest
in apologizing to blacks in other parts of the world whose ancestors were sold
into slavery stems from a 1988 gathering of priests from Africa and elsewhere.
At one point in the gathering, they went to one of the “slave
castles” in Ghana and when they got to the dungeon, someone suggested that
an African priest say a prayer.
He asked everyone to take off their shoes, “because we are on
hallowed ground.”
And then he proceeded to say, recalled Palmer-Buckle, “It was
here my ancestors were sold by their own brothers into slavery.” According
to Palmer-Buckle, the comment was unexpected, “and the black priests, all
of us, felt a certain guilt.”
Later in the day, he said, he was approached by a black priest
friend from the Caribbean who extended his hand and said, “I am your
brother, Joseph.”
Palmer-Buckle said he made light of the greeting, but the other
priest persisted, “I am your brother, Joseph.”
Palmer-Buckle said he once again tried to lightly laugh off the
greeting, but it became clear that the other priest was serious. He said,
“No, I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into slavery.”
It brought the reality home in a personal way, said Palmer-Buckle,
that in the saga of the slave trade, some Africans themselves played a horrible
role.
And since that day, the now-bishop of the Koforidua diocese has
been trying to impress on Africans and others the necessity for an African
apology as an essential element to reconciliation and healing for those whose
ancestors were sold into slavery.
The day following Palmer-Buckle’s apology, during an
afternoon reconciliation service, Bishop John Ricard of Pensacola-Tallahassee,
Fla., spoke of his own growing connection with Africa during the past decade.
He said he took his first trip to Africa 10 years ago and has returned nearly
every year since to reconnect with that continent’s beauty and
history.
“After several visits, I said to myself, ‘What a
different person I may have been had I known this’ ” as a child.
Given the reaction, he apparently spoke for many of the nearly
3,000 in the hall when he said that one of the effects of the shame of slavery
and bondage was a disinterest in Africa. He recalled that his parents and other
adults of that generation were unable to connect with Africa because of the
shame. He said he remembers his parents being deferential to whites and
“wanting always to please.”
He added, “I think I see the shame today in the violence of
our youth.”
Then referring to Palmer-Buckle’s apology, he said he wanted
to tell the bishop, “on behalf of African-American Catholics, that I
accept his apology,” a sentiment that brought a rousing, standing
ovation.
“In accepting his apology,” Ricard continued, “we
begin to travel that long road toward healing and reconciliation, so we can
accept the beauty and depth of Mother Africa, so we can accept the beauty and
depth of ourselves.”
Tom Roberts is editor of NCR.
National Catholic Reporter, September 13,
2002
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