ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — The family of the chief justice who presided over the Supreme Court 160 years ago apologized to the family of a slave who tried to sue for his freedom.
Charley Taney on Monday apologized for the words written by his great-great-grand-uncle Roger Brooke Taney in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision. Roger Taney wrote that African Americans could not have rights of their own and were inferior to white people.
Charley Taney stood outside the Maryland State House on Monday and apologized to Lynne Jackson, the great-great-granddaughter of Dred Scott, whose lawsuit prompted the decision. Jackson accepted the apology for her family and for “all African Americans.”
Monday marked the 160-year anniversary of the decision. The apology took place in front of a statue of Roger Brooke Taney.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
