Connecticut legislators are considering making their state the first in New England to apologize for slavery and other racist policies of old.
A legislative committee is hearing testimony on the bill Monday.
The resolution says slavery was practiced in Connecticut from the 17th through 19th centuries. There were about 5,100 slaves in the Connecticut colony by the mid-1770s. That’s about 3 percent of the population at the time.
The resolution also urges schools and organizations to acknowledge Connecticut’s evolution from a colony to a leading state in the abolition movement.
New Jersey last year became the first Northern state to apologize for slavery. Five other states have done so.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
