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Anita,
As I have stated to one of the list members, when I look in the mirror I 
wonder which ancestor(s) I resemble. Who am I most like personality 
wise, etc. With mixed ancestry a person should find it difficult to 
choose a favorite or to be angry with one because of circumstances you 
do not understand or have incomplete information about.

After doing DNA testing and finally being able to connect to a tribe in 
Africa,  I realized that my ancestors participated in slave trading and 
continue today with enslaving their young women for religious purposes. 
These are some of the reasons I have not participated in some of the 
discussions about slavery. How can I condemn one and defend the other 
based on race?

Linda



Dear Linda:

I totally agree.  Everyone's hands were dirty in the slave trade to the new
world.  I also feel the same way about my slave owner ancestry as that is as
much of my family as those that were enslaved.  I choose to try and
understand the choices the owners made in the context of their times and try
not to impose my 21st century values on them.  On the flip side I also try
and imagine what my enslaved ancestors thought and how they adapted to their
limited circumstances.  I know as my GGgrandfather escaped from slavery
after ownership was passed after the sudden demise of his white owner father
(who was going to free him) to his two white half brothers who reneged on
the father's wishes.  I am trying to trace the most likely path from Tchula,
MS to Texas that an escaped slave with his wife on horseback would take. 
Mind you my GGgrandfather was a  light skinned mulatto who was well dressed
and grew up with his brothers, so he could have passed himself off as white
man taking his slave woman on a trip with him.

Anita

Anita