I've had ancestors in the US for 401 years (Nov 1621) and there were already slaves here before that. Some of my ancestors owned slaves. All branches of my family benefited from slavery. The one ancestor I may exempt from that is a 2nd great grandma's brother who arrived in the US from Germany in 1860, enlisted in the Union army in 1861 and fought in many major battles of the Civil War. He was at Appomattox. #Genealogy #fairness #restitution
Much of my family too has been in the US for not quite that long, but nearly.
It doesn't make sense to deny that slavery & racism are intertwined with so much of the U.S. history. Well, and the U.K. too, for that matter -- but that's a different story.
Although I do not know of any direct ancestors who owned slaves, they sure as heck fought to maintain slavery.
I don't want people to lie about it or pretend it doesn't exist. I know I was lied to about it as a child.
@poemblaze
Do you feel... like, I don't know, angry or threatened when people talk about it?
I don't.
Seems like a lot of white people do, though. Disproportionately!
I can't change the past, but I can hopefully influence the future.