Thank you for reiterating this very important, but highly uncomfortable point, Henry. -- Stephan on 4/23/03 12:50 AM, [log in to unmask] at [log in to unmask] wrote: > I somehow missed the beginning of this exchange. Was there a question > that started all this off? There is ample documentation of "white slaves" > so why would anyone argue over that fact? Re: George Washington's slaves > -- "The general's house servants are mulattoes, some of whom have kinky > hair still but skin as light as ours. I noticed one small boy whose hair > and skin were so like our own that if I had not been told, I should never > have suspected his ancestry. He is nevertheless a slave for the rest of > his life." -- Louis Philippe, _Diary of My Travels in America_, translated > from the French by Stephen Becker, New York: Delacorte Press, 1977, pp. > 32-33. A visitor to Mount Vernon in 1833 made a similar observation: > "Among the females was a Mulatto so light as to show the red in her > cheeks, very modest and intelligent. The blood of some offshoots of the W. > family no doubt ran in her veins": Tap. Wentworth to John S. Burleigh, > March 12, 1833, Mount Vernon Collection, A-259, M-1294. (That final > sentence contains speculation: the slave's white ancestry may have been > from the Washington family or from some other family.) One can argue over > what all this means, but facts are facts. White slaves did not become > "white people" when they became free. When white slaves were freed they > were still known in their communities as being former slaves and as having > mixed blood, so they were regarded socially as black, which carried legal > implications. Any Southerner knows of many "black" people who are as white > as Ronald Reagan but regard themselves as black and are considered to be > members of the black community. Certainly there can be no argument over > that. > Henry Wiencek > > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions > at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html