Heritage Album

Does it piss you off to know your ancestors were slaves but not exactly who they were?

It just makes me mad to not really know much of anything about my ancestors. I'm African American and a little Native American from two tribes (Cherokee and Blackfoot) but I do not know anything else. Rumor in my family is that I have a great grandfather who was white and owned a plantation, meaning that he must have slept with one of his slaves to create a family member. Remember, Native Americans were enslaved as well as Africans. I've observed that it's a lot easier for caucasians to trace their ancestors than it is for blacks. I'm guessing because we were enslaved and uneducated? And didn't know what a family tree was just knew that a tree had more freedom in those times. So yeah, it's really aggravating. I'd like to trace my family tree but simply cannot. I can't ask my family becasue a lot of them died out (In those times lynchings and such went on, so survival wasn't easy) What are your view on this???? Why do you think it is that a lot of blacks can't trace their ancestors but it is much easier for whites to do so? And no I'm not racist, actually my boyfriend who's white, is pretty pissed about it too and is just as curious as I am.

Public Comments

1. If you weren't slaves you still wouldn't know since sub Saharan africans had no written language.
2. Watch the old mini series "Roots."
3. Those were very different times. They lived by the 'laws' of the land and the culture of that era. You can't go around being pissed about things you can't change. I can understand your initial reaction though. I am white but would be a little miffed to find out that my ancestors owned slaves. The truth of it is that they probably did if you look back far enough. Instead of being pissed about it I choose to educate my kids about the dangers of racism and prejudices of all kinds. There is nothing uglier in life than those things. Vow to do things differently and take steps to make the world a better place by your actions and what you put into your community. Give your own ancestors something to be proud of.