(Setup: A single white male gets up in front of a jury. The jury is comprised of cutouts of black cardboard figures (representing the black populous). It could be a simple jury of twelve, or a seemingly multitudinous jury comprised of 42 million American blacks, with rows upon rows of card-board cutouts going back and shrinking in perspective, like a series of dominoes. The man argues his case in front of the jury.)
“You want an apology from me. I’m not capable of giving one. I’m not personally sorry. By this I do not mean that I’m not sorry for all that has happened to you, to black people, since you’ve come to America’s shores. For that, I am sorry. (Though I could also say that you’ve benefited in some ways, if I were being frank and less than sympathetic. Look at the rest of Africa for God’s sake, but that’s neither here, nor there.)
“As I was saying, I am sorry; sorry for all that has happened to you, to your people. But I am not personally sorry. It is not my responsibility. I was not there four hundred years ago when all this happened. Truth be told, neither were you.
(“And as an aside, what I don’t get is that since I was a kid I’ve been hearing…
