Progress! Mayor and State Rep. Personally Apologize for Recy Taylor Gang-Rape
On Tuesday, Abbeville Mayor Ryan Blalock and Alabama State Rep. Dexter Grimsley held a press conference in front of members of Recy Taylor's family and offered personal apologies for her 1944 gang-rape and the failure to investigate or bring the perpetrators to justice. In addition, Rep. Grimsley -- an Abbeville native himself -- has vowed to introduce a resolution for an apology in the Alabama House, to bring about the formal recognition now Recy deserves. This is excellent progress, so keep the pressure up!
In an article by Ben Greenberg in Colorlines, Rep. Grimsley credits the Change.org petition, which now has over 14,000 signatures, with influencing his interest in Recy's case. Danielle McGuire book, At the Dark End of the Street, was the first work to bring the case back to light. As a young African-American woman during the Jim Crow era, when Recy was gang-raped by a group of white men who admitted to the assault, racist law enforcement made certain none of those men (now all deceased except perhaps one) would ever see trial. Now 91, Recy has a final desire for some justice in the form of an apology from the city of Abbeville and state of Alabama. "I think more people should know about it … but ain't nobody saying nothing," Recy says. The petition on Change.org, sponsored by Recy's brother, Robert Corbitt, is asking Alabama officials to fulfill her wish.
Robert, who has taken up his sister's campaign since his retirement, states that he is pleased to receive the personal words of regret expressed by Mayor Blalock and Rep. Grimsley, but awaits an official apology from the city and state. Rep. Grimsley has pledged to introduce an apology resolution during this session of the state legislature, ending in approximately six weeks, so it's important to continue to build support for his proposal by signing the petition to the state legislature. Thus far, there have been no comparable plans by the Abbeville city council to introduce their own apology resolution; though the mayor has admirably stood up to offer a personal apology to Recy, he has not called upon the council to pass such an item.
Robert has told Change.org that whenever he shares his sister's story with Abbeville residents (he still lives in that city), they agree that Recy deserves whatever justice can be provided at this date -- but so many simply have never heard Recy's story, which makes official recognition a major awareness-raising opportunity. Robert emphasizes that Abbeville today does not suffer the same prejudices of 70 years ago, when even Rosa Parks and the NAACP's engagement couldn't bring about justice, and many Alabama residents have commented on the petition with their personal support. Passing an apology resolution is a chance for the city and the state to demonstrate how far they've come.
In 2007, Alabama passed a state resolution apologizing for the slavery, sponsored by Senator Hank Sanders (D-Selma), expressing "profound regret" for the state's role in slavery and the continued impact of that historical injustice. Similar resolutions have been passed in other states and by Congress; the Senate has also apologized for its failure to enact anti-lynching legislation. An apology resolution on behalf of Recy and the other uncounted black women who suffered sexual violence prior to the civil rights era with no hope of remedy in the criminal justice system, would be another step forward in this established vein of recognizing past wrongs and promoting healing and closure.
Alex DiBranco
is a Change.org Editor who has worked for the Nation, Political Research Associates, and the Center for American Progress. She is now based in New York City.
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