Apologies have their place, but collective action is better

Apology is defined as “a regretful acknowledgment of an offense or failure.” In mid-September, in an appearance at the West End Museum, Brian Golden, director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) apologized to those who were driven out of the city’s ethnically diverse West End in the “urban renewal” era of the late 1950s and early 1960s.

“We offer an official but heartfelt apology to the West End families affected,” said Golden. “The old West End was destroyed in the name of ‘slum clearance.’ Although the damage was done decades ago, it still remains.”

Then, in late October, the Massachusetts Port Authority honored the group of mothers who 50 years previously had protested against Logan Airport expanding into their East Boston neighborhood by sending hundreds of huge trucks through their kid-filled streets.