John
Staunton, VA
It is factually true that I never owned slaves. But while this statement is true for every American person of any race, it is also the great white excuse. I think that all people today of every race owns responsibility for the moral and historical consequences of slavery. But today’s descendants of enslaved people also need to recognize that no living person was specifically culpable for the horrors of slavery. I use the statement, “But I never owned any slaves,” to call out whites who use it as means to evade responsibility. I also use the statement to call out African American descendants of enslaved people who want to personally indict individuals today for something that they didn’t personally do. Individuals can’t be “blamed” for something they didn’t do, but all people must own and take responsibility for the enduring consequences of the “peculiar institution.”
