Daily Press from Newport News, Virginia • A14

14 DAILY PRESS NEWS Limit one per customer, while supplies last. 15.99 COMPARE AT $20 EL PASO QUESADILLA MAKER 69.99 COMPARE AT $129 OGIO GOLF BAG 12 hour SALE OPEN 9 am to9 pm SATURDAY EXTRA 30 to 50 off our everyday low prices 7 002001020618063 Take ANY ONE SALE ITEM until noon June 20 Couponmustbesurrenderedattimeofsale. Notvalidonpreviouslypurchasedmerchandise.Cannotbecombinedwithothercouponoffers.Maybeusedwith SteinMartMasterCard Panache Gift Finds and BOGO golf balls. Not for use by Stein Mart associates. 20 off 7002001020618055 Take RED DOT Clearance merchandise alldayJune20 Valid on select items.

Not valid on previously purchased merchandise. Cannot be combinedwith other coupon offers. May be used with Stein Mart MasterCard Rewards must be surrendered at time of sale. Offer valid in participatingstores. Not for use by Stein Mart associates.

20 off Good ALL DAY! Sale valid on select items. Entire stocks not included unless Styles will vary by store. Home department not available in all stores. Savings off everyday discount prices. Price adjustments cannot be made to previously purchased merchandise.

Sale valid Saturday, only. For your nearest Stein Mart store visit www.steinmart.com or call 1-888-steinmart 7002001060618023 Take HOME Clearance merchandise alldayJune20 60 off Good ALL DAY! Notvalidonregularorsalepricedmerchandise.Notvalidonpreviouslypurchasedmerchandise.Cannotbe combinedwithothercouponoffers.MaybeusedwithSteinMartMasterCard surrenderedattimeofsale.Offervalid6/20/09inparticipatingstores.NotforusebySteinMartassociates. WASHINGTON Senate passed a resolution Thursday calling on the U.S. to apologize officially for the enslavement and segregation of millions of African-Americans and to acknowledge fundamental injustice, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow The resolution, sponsored with little fanfare by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, passed on a voice vote.

It now moves to the House of Representatives, where it may meet an unlikely foe: members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Several CBC members expressed concerns Thursday about a disclaimer that states that in this resolution authorizes or supports any claim against the United States; or serves as a settlement of any claim against the United The CBC members think that the disclaimer is an attempt to stave off reparations claims from the descendants of slaves. Congressional Black Caucus Chair Barbara Lee, said her organization is studying the language of resolution. Other CBC members said read it and like it. in a disclaimer takes away from the meaning of an said Rep.

Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. number of us are prepared to vote against it in its present form. There are several members of the Progressive Caucus who feel the same Thompson and other Black Caucus members noted that a 1988 apology that the government issued to the Japanese- Americans held in U.S. camps during World War II had no disclaimer and prevent them from receiving compensation. language is said Rep.

William Lacy Clay, D-Mo. Sen. Roland Burris, the lone African-American, went to the floor after the Harkin resolution passed and said, want to go on record making sure that that disclaimer in no way would eliminate future actions that may be brought before this body that may deal with Such concerns by the Black Caucus could slow a resolution that many lawmakers and civil rights groups considered such a slam dunk that plans are already under way for an elaborate signing and apology ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda early next month. of a Rep. Steve Cohen, shepherding the Harkin resolution in the House, sponsored a slavery apology bill that excluded a disclaimer and passed in that chamber last year.

He described the scheduled Rotunda event as understanding, a beginning of a Instead of making preparations for the event, Cohen found himself Thursday trying to convince Black Caucus members that the disclaimer is simply ultra-careful legalese that senators insisted upon and impact the drive for reparations. set reparations Cohen said, his voice trailing. to be against an apology Failing or achievement However, some African- Americans hailed the Senate vote as a monumental achievement. Charles Ogletree, a Harvard University law professor who mentored President Barack Obama, placed it on par with the federal apology to Japanese-Americans and said it comes at a time of significant milestones for African-Americans. year celebrating the 80th birthday of Martin Luther King, the 200th birthday of Lincoln and the 100th anniversary of the Ogletree said.

resolution was blunt and direct. It states that Africans and their descendants were forced into slavery in the U.S. and the original 13 colonies from 1619 through 1865 and brutalized, humiliated, dehumanized, and subjected to the indignity of being stripped of their names and To that end, the resolution to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow wrong of segregation was done by the federal government of the United States of America, and we acknowledge said Sen. Sam Brownback, a co-sponsor of the resolution. CIVIL RIGHTS Slavery apology has surprising opposition By William Douglas MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS SACRAMENTO, CALIF.

Chinese immigrants helped build ships, levees, irrigation systems and the transcontinental railroad. They worked in farm fields and mines and helped develop the abalone and shrimp industries. For their efforts, they were rewarded with special taxes, forced out of towns and denied the rights to own property, marry whites and attend public schools. They also were subjected to violence and intimidation and denied equal protection by the courts. In 1882, they were made the targets of the first law limiting immigration, the Chinese Exclusion Act.

State Assemblyman Paul Fong, aCupertino Democrat whose maternal grandfather was subjected to immigration restrictions, thinks time the state and the federal governments formally apologize for mistreatment of the Chinese. was a double standard all the until the mid-20th century, Fong said Tuesday. marry who they wanted. They buy property until the 1950s. Asians become (naturalized) not the first time that state lawmakers have sought to make amends for past mistreatment.

Earlier this month, Connecticut became the seventh state to apologize to blacks for the wrongs committed under slavery. Alabama, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina and Virginia are the others. Crucial to California The Chinese started coming to California in large numbers during the Gold Rush, hoping to strike it rich and return home. Many stayed and more came, working in the mines or taking other jobs, including helping build the transcontinental railroad. Eddie Wong, executive director of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation, said Chinese immigrants made contributions to building society, building the economy of California.

That should be recognized along with an Fong has introduced a resolution in the Assembly that cites the contributions made by the Chinese and expresses deep regrets for the discrimination. The measure is scheduled to be considered next week by the Assembly Judiciary Committee, the first step in winning approval from the Legislature. He has scheduled a news conference Wednesday to publicly announce his efforts. Fong said he also plans to seek an apology from the federal government and some form of reparation, such as a contribution to maintain the Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco Bay. The center housed Chinese immigrants between 1910 and 1940 as they tried to prove they were eligible to enter the U.S.

The island is a state park that could be shut because of budget problems. Apologies for government mistreatment and reparations have been rare in Congress. In 1988, Congress apologized for the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II and offered $20,000 payments to survivors. It also issued an apology in 1993 to native Hawaiians for the unlawful overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Legislation is pending in Congress to apologize for slavery, and for years of mistreatment to Native American Indians.

Becoming a maternal grandfather experienced the discrimination in California firsthand. When he arrived in the United States in 1939, he spent two months on Angel Island undergoing questioning to determine if he was eligible to enter the country, Fong said. He eligible, under the immigration restrictions that allowed Chinese to immigrate if they were members of certain professions, were the children of immigrants in those professions or were the children of Chinese- Americans who were citizens because they were born in the U.S. grandfather paid about $2,000 for fake identification papers and took a new name of Chan Share, becoming a The term referred to immigrants who purchased fake identification papers from the Chinese who claimed they were citizens and wanted to help their children in China immigrate to America, a practice that blossomed after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake that destroyed many birth records. were discriminatory laws on the books at the time, and he had to get around Fong said.

was the way they did His grandfather settled near San Mateo and became a flower grower, later becoming one of the founders of the Chinese Bay Area Chrysanthemum Growers Association. PAUL FILE PHOTO Chinese inscriptions are seen on a monument outside barracks in Angel Island, Calif. Chinese immigrants were essential to the founding of California. Official: Accept blame for By Steve Lawrence THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Product: DPress PubDate: 06-19-2009 Zone: ALL Edition: 1ST Folio: A14 User: rlwilliams Time: Color: CMYK Notes:.