I want to thank Candace Bundgard for her letter to The Democrat, which was published on Tuesday. As Americans and as Mississippians, we need to be able to talk freely and work out the remainder of our angst over slavery. Every single time we confront our fears and talk to each other about our past, (which, as we say in Mississippi, is the same as our present), we make progress toward a possibly glorious future. Mississippians are the last best hope for the future of America, as the train of progress can only go as far as what is perceived as the last car.

It is true that African citizens participated in slavery, and still do. One only needs to read the recently published book called Mississippi in Africa, and rely on Mississippi author Alan Huffman’s scholarly reporting and research, to quell any doubts that Africa is troubled still, by slavery and other ills. Mr. Huffman has made a compelling case that those citizens who agreed in the 19th century to “go back to Africa” found a world much more challenging for them to live a fulfilling life than those who stayed behind here in America, in Mississippi, the land of their birth.

The larger theme of Mr. Huffman’s book is that human beings relate to the place where they were born with much more enthusiasm than a place where ancestors were born. No matter our racial identification, Mississippians are from Mississippi. We can try to help Africa solve her problems, especially since as humans we occupy the same globe, and groups try to establish boundaries differentiating themselves from others. But, we can only clean our own side of the street.

All of us who live here share the burden of Mississippi’s bad image. Progress will come if we acknowledge our image problem and do whatever we can to counteract the media messages that make others outside of Mississippi believe we are still racist and bad things happen to good people because of prejudices still being playing out here. True, our ancestors didn’t foment slavery all by themselves. True, our negative image is not of our own making. But, no matter the factors at play, it has become our problem to tackle and solve.

Our own citizens may not feel a compelling need for the healing symbol that a Mississippi government “apology” for slavery might provide. But, the rest of the world looks to Mississippi for leadership in getting beyond what they perceive as a shame and a scar on Mississippi. It seems that until America perceives that Mississippi is OK, America can’t be OK.

Finally, Mississippians don’t like to take actions prompted by outsiders. The Mississippi lawmakers will not act to “apologize for slavery” unless and until they come to realize that it is the right thing to do, for whatever reason. It doesn’t mean that folks in Mississippi are hard hearted. It just means that they won’t be dictated to. Education is the key. In this case, we need an education in public relations, not necessarily in race relations.

Constance Holt

Fayette Resident