Recy Taylor (Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP)
As reported by The Root, ColorLines reports that although Abbeville city and Alabama state officials held a press conference yesterday to express their personal sympathy for Taylor, 91, and the injustice that the case has come to represent, there has still been no official apology. Read more at The Root
The Root's Cynthia Gordy (read it here for a history of the crime, its mishandling by officials and the symbolism it took on in the civil rights movement).
After reading this piece, Change.org launched a petition asking Alabama government officials for city and state apologies to Taylor. (Corbitt has since put the petition under his name, and it has gathered more than 7,100 signatures.)
The petition caught the attention of Alabama state Rep. Dexter Grimsley, who has pledged to introduce a House resolution calling for a state apology to Recy Taylor "before the session is out."But so far, the apologies, while heartfelt, have stopped short of the official sanction Taylor and her family have been waiting for. At a press conference on Monday, Grimsely said, "I open my heart up and say that I am deeply sorry for what happened." Abeville Mayor Ryan Blalock weighed in with, "Anytime one of our residents whether past or present feels pain or feels victimized we certainly want to offer that apology."
Following the press conference, Taylor's brother told me by phone, "While I'm pleased with the mayor's apology, it's nothing official. We were looking for an official one from the city, the state and the county." Read more at The Root