4 Reasons Why Virginia's Recent Statement of "Profound Regret" Isn't Enough

The House of Delegates recently approved a resolution expressing "profound regret" for Virginia's role in the slave trade. Why no apology? GOP leaders wrangled over language for weeks, fearful that an outright apology would lay the groundwork for a debate over reparations.

But not every Virginian was completely on board. B. Frank Earnest Sr., commander of the Virginia Chapter of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans, said Virginia should not be addressing the issue. "It was a national wrong, and it should be addressed nationally," Earnest said. "Countries all over the world had a hand in it and sold blacks, so why just Virginia?"

Good question, I thought. So, here are four reasons for "Why Virginia?"

Virginia - The Origin of Slavery

The first recorded Europeans arrived in Jamestown on May 1607. This year marks the 400th anniversary. In 1619, 20 Africans arrived on a Dutch ship and were traded for goods, marking the start of slavery in what would become the United States. Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy for most of the Civil War, later became a hub for the slave trade, which remained a defining part of the state's culture until the end of the Civil War, in 1865.