If one lawmaker has his way, Missouri will be telling a large number of its citizens that it is sorry.

The House Special Committee on Urban Affairs heard House Concurrent Resolution 26, sponsored by Rep. Talibdin El-Amin (D-St. Louis), on Feb. 27 at Lincoln University in Jefferson City.

The resolution would issue an apology for Missouri’s role in slavery.

It marked the first time a committee meeting had been held outside the Capitol building, but had much more historical significance than that.

“Until the 1960s the black legislators coming to Jefferson City could not find housing and so they stayed in Allen Hall, a dormitory that still stands at Lincoln University,” said Dr. Gary Kramer, director of the Missouri State Historical Society and author of a book on Missouri’s black history.

Lincoln is also the university that was created by the 62nd United States colored infantry of Missouri to educate freed blacks in Missouri because blacks weren’t allowed at the University of Missouri.

There were several other stories about racism and slavery in Missouri presented to the committee.

“As a government we should apologize because we sanctioned it,” said El-Amin. “The fact that we’re still talking about it hundreds of years later shows this is what should be done.”

Currently, Virginia has a similar bill “expressing profound regret” for slavery.

But El-Amin believes this isn’t enough.

“We were the last to free the slaves, let’s be the first to apologize for it,” El-Amin said. “This is the necessary step in the process of healing. Don’t tell yourself the hurt no longer exists.”

While the crowd that witnessed the meeting had no objections with the resolution and no one spoke out openly against it, one point was made by a Lincoln University student.

“The resolution itself means nothing,” said Stephan Davis, Lincoln University sophomore.

But Davis did agree with passing the resolution to make the community more aware of the lasting affects of slavery and spark further activity on educating students about it.

“It allows us to move forward,” said El-Amin.

The resolution was not voted on because committees cannot vote outside of the Capitol.

But the committee chair Rep. Rodney Hubbard (D-St. Louis) said it will most likely come to a vote in the next week.