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Here is a recent story about a recent meeting between people with family histories on opposite sides of the slave issue. Some of the things that are brought up in the story are somewhat ridiculous (e.g. that someone is responsible for the evil acts committed by one's grandparents or great grandparents) but the article is still somewhat interesting.When kin of slaves and owner meet
I've read stories like this before… I was hesitant to read this one as it was a CNN.com, figuring on extreme bias…Outside of their connection, I wonder if either have looked into the real history of their bond? A couple stories I have read showed the slave owning side were very kind to their slaves, and even treated them as family, which is why they had the same last name. Of course I know this was not always the case, just curious if they have looked that deep into their connection.
What was the point of the story? Seems to want to stir the pot more than anything. I really like the comment about how whites are afraid to talk about race.
Betty roars with laughter. She admits black families have misperceptions about white families, especially the descendants of slave owners. Black families, she says, believe most whites “won't talk about this, because you don't have the courage.”
I just said Huh? If a white tries to seriously talk about race they are immediately attacked as a racist and told their opinions have no validity. Their is only one accepted discourse about race and if you disagree, the prudent course is to hold your peace.
Yeah, I felt the story was assuming too much P.C. stuff, and was actually somewhat offensive. Consider the following sentence from the story: "Betty had faced down racism, and white people, before. She was one of the first African-Americans to attend a desegregated school in Virginia. She'd even written a book about it."Imagine a sentence from CNN referring to a white person "facing down gangbangers, facing down black people". I don't know that such a sentence would make it past a final edit because of the racial implications. Yet, it gets in when it's a politically-correct situation.Sorry if I'm going off topic!
It is not off-topic. The story assumes and implies that slavery is the root cause for any continuing victimization of black people by whites. It essentially continues the trope that blacks or African-Americans if you prefer are not responsible and can have no responsibility for anything bad that happens to them. It also implies that this Betty Kilby actually lowered herself to speak to the descendant of her ancestors owners. To me, there is something disturbing about the whole tone of the article.Personally, I don't see what they have to talk about. My family owned slaves, and I have never tried to find their descendants. Seriously, what would we talk about? ??? That was 150 years ago and we should try treating it as water under the bridge instead of something to get upset about. I don't feel apologetic that my family owned slaves, that is the way it was and nothing I say or do can change the facts of what happened. I personally have never owned a slave so why should I apologize? That is like an Italian apologizing for Rome having such a large Empire, the only difference is the distance in time.
Sorry to dredge up an old topic, but this one has some personal relevance. I got a pretty well researched family tree from cousins and I had a thought about trying to see if I could find some information on a few dead ends from family that is still in the area where ancestors lived. While not extremely likely, it is possible that Bibles or correspondence are still there in a home passed down through generations. My idea was to find this family via facebook and possibly other social sites. Some of my ancestors were cotton farmers in a small town in Georgia. Searching there, I did find some people with the last name I was looking for and it is quite possible they were descended from slaves at the plantation. I did not contact them and don't intend to, partly because there is almost no chance they would have the information I am looking for and partly because I do think it is possible that such inquiries would not be well received even if it is far enough back in history that neither of us is really effected by it. I also have Norman ancestors and I refuse to apologize to Anglo-Saxons. ;D
Sorry to dredge up an old topic, but this one has some personal relevance. I got a pretty well researched family tree from cousins and I had a thought about trying to see if I could find some information on a few dead ends from family that is still in the area where ancestors lived. While not extremely likely, it is possible that Bibles or correspondence are still there in a home passed down through generations. My idea was to find this family via facebook and possibly other social sites. Some of my ancestors were cotton farmers in a small town in Georgia. Searching there, I did find some people with the last name I was looking for and it is quite possible they were descended from slaves at the plantation. I did not contact them and don't intend to, partly because there is almost no chance they would have the information I am looking for and partly because I do think it is possible that such inquiries would not be well received even if it is far enough back in history that neither of us is really effected by it. I also have Norman ancestors and I refuse to apologize to Anglo-Saxons. ;D
That's interesting....at least you know you have some basis for further research if you ever want to do it. For example, if you were to go to the library (or courthouse?) near where the town is located, you could possibly find old newspaper stories or records on microfiche which may mention what your ancestors were up to during the late 19th or 20th centuries.
I have documents from the 19th and 20th. The family was in that town from around 1800 until the early 1900s. Georgia had a land grant lottery and Revolutionary War veterans were given substantially more entries than anyone else, so a lot of soldiers moved there. My ancestor was one. What we don't have is any information about where he was before hand.
