Irish Examiner view: Time we accepted our role in slavery and tackle racism

President Joe Biden points to Opal Lee after signing the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Today is Juneteenth, which marks the day, in 1865, that the last African-Americans learned they were free. While the day is commemorated in many US states, this year it has been designated a federal holiday after US president Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law.

Mr Biden said it was a day to remember the “moral stain and the terrible toll that slavery took on the country, and continues to take — what I’ve long called America’s original sin”. He urged Americans to learn from their history, but the issue extends far beyond the US.

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While we are slow to admit it, Ireland had many links to the transatlantic slave trade which are still visible in the built environment of our towns and cities. The records of the Slave Compensation Commission show that some 180 people with Irish addresses, including several Irish clergymen, were compensated for losses after slavery was abolished.

It is time we acknowledged our role in that abhorrent trade and, more crucially, admit that racism is still an issue in the present day.