Georgia Republican leader expects slavery apology will pass

ATLANTA - Georgia's top Republican state senator said Friday that he has struck a deal with several of the state's top black leaders for the state to apologize for its role in slavery.

State Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson said he expects that something will pass in the final days of this legislative session.

"I have been arguing privately for awhile that Georgia ought to be at the lead and not forced into anything on the slavery issue," the Savannah Republican said.

"It's not that we personally, or our parents, participated in slavery, but the state of Georgia did."

Earlier this month the Georgia arm of the NAACP called on the state Legislature to follow Virginia's lead on the slavery issue.

A Virginia resolution that passed unanimously in February expressed "profound regret" over slavery. Lawmakers in Missouri are now considering a similar proposal, and Democratic U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen introduced a resolution in Congress asking the federal government to apologize for slavery and Jim Crow-era discrimination.

Johnson said the issue in Georgia is tied together with a separate Senate bill which cleared committee this week to designate Confederate History Month. He has met with state Sen. Al Williams, state Rep. Tyrone Brooks and state Insurance Commissioner Michael Thurmond, all prominent black leaders.