US Senate apologizes for slavery

WASHINGTON - The US Senate offered a formal apology for slavery Thursday, five months after Barack Obama became the country’s first African-American president.

The Senate’s non-binding resolution “acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery” in the past US history.

It follows a similar apology that was adopted by the lower House of Representatives last year. Many state legislatures have also offered apologies.

A ceremony at the US Capitol is being planned for next month, now that both houses of Congress have adopted resolutions, the Congressional Quarterly reported.