Reuters explores what the ancestral connections to slavery mean to presidents, governors, members of Congress and Supreme Court justices -- and to Americans themselves.
Let’s be clear on this, if you have ancestors that lived in the U.S. over 150 years ago and had any wealth in the first half of the 19th century or earlier, you are likely descended from slave owners. This is just a sad fact of our history and it seems to be being used for political means. It’s just as accurate to say that all of those legislators come from old money.
Maybe I’m being a little sensitive due to knowing that my family also owned slaves at one point - and having had that sinking feeling when meeting someone of African descent that shares my last name knowing how they likely got it. But I feel like this article minimizes the truth. Slaves weren’t just owned by the ancestors of political elites. I get that’s not stated that way, but it’s important to remember that almost 1 in 5 people were slaves by the time slavery was abolished.
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Let’s be clear on this, if you have ancestors that lived in the U.S. over 150 years ago and had any wealth in the first half of the 19th century or earlier, you are likely descended from slave owners. This is just a sad fact of our history and it seems to be being used for political means. It’s just as accurate to say that all of those legislators come from old money.
Maybe I’m being a little sensitive due to knowing that my family also owned slaves at one point - and having had that sinking feeling when meeting someone of African descent that shares my last name knowing how they likely got it. But I feel like this article minimizes the truth. Slaves weren’t just owned by the ancestors of political elites. I get that’s not stated that way, but it’s important to remember that almost 1 in 5 people were slaves by the time slavery was abolished.