Why We Must Reject a Reductive View of History

[@triggerpod]

Watch the full interview below 👇🏼🔥 kzbin.info/www/bejne/fpC4YX2AlNqNidE

[@jimlambrick4642]

As a young white man I worked in Tanzania for a couple of years late 60's and got to know a few Black Americans that were part of the black power movement in US and then fled to Dar es Salaam. They expected to treated like God's, but the locals reaction was they were considered as just more loud-mouth Americans suddenly exposed to the realities of Africa. Their skin color didn't matter a wit.

[@thekeysman6760]

Yes, this happened to African American friends I know too, who went to Africa and experienced how the Africans saw them! Also, just have to say it's '60s, no apostrophe before the s saying "60 is". Apostrophe omits something, as in '60s. And Gods plural, not "God is" as you said. 👍

[@ToddSauve]

@@thekeysman6760 Unless you read and spell quite a bit, people fall into many grammatical errors when writing.

[@thekeysman6760]

@@ToddSauve Spelling and punctuation aren't grammar though. So yeah, I agree with you! You proved your own point. 😉

[@QueSeraSeraaaa]

Africans reminded them who they trully are, not gods or goddesses, just random people.

[@thekeysman6760]

@@QueSeraSeraaaa truly

[@TechnoMinarchist]

It never ceases to amaze me, how infantile and naive the general public is.

[@MrSunrise-]

"No-one ever lost money under-estimating the intelligence of the American public." - attributed to P.T. Barnum.

[@waynegrant6585]

The British public aren't so clever either. The most obedient sheeple on the planet.

[@internetfairy1]

It has ceased to amaze me how infantile and ignorant so many people are. It was the advent of social media platforms that revealed this all too clearly.

[@ContrarianExpatriate]

There is nothing naive or infantile in learning about the unflattering details of your family history. In fact, your comment is the stupidity here.

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

A lot of it stems from a basic human desire for SIMPLE answers... but it's also quite literally true that half of the human race is (by definition) at or below average intelligence.

[@guillermo3564]

We wouldn't have 80% of the problems that we've got now had the entire world been properly educated from the start.

[@DavianThule-e6o]

Many Africans know all of this history. Western neo-liberals ruin it all

[@stevenfrasier5718]

This entire evil age, in which we live, is The Cosmic Classroom.

[@grosvenorclub]

It would depend on the educators and who sets the curriculum and the local society and much more . Good luck with getting agreement on all those parameters .

[@Yorkyscott]

You cannot educate someone to be smarter. Think about it

[@stevenfrasier5718]

@@Yorkyscott 😆 "Double-bind" -- I see what you did here.

[@TheReader6]

This is why it’s stupid to judge modern people based on what their ancestors did.

[@Annedowntherabbithole]

Yes, our ancestors, different people living in difficult times. We're not our ancestors

[@joannleichliter4308]

We are not our ancestors, although we carry their genes. We are neither righteous nor guilty because of their actions.

[@seasonedbeefs]

I read somewhere that familial genes only last 6 generations. Nothing more is possible.

[@kevinmills7067]

Studies have shown that people are more likely to discriminate against someone of the same race who has a different accent than they are to discriminate against someone of a different race with the same accent.

[@craigrobertson2193]

Yes I agree northern Ireland is a prime example.

[@mikitz]

In short, tribalism.

[@SuperGrimupnorth]

Black people hate on each other re skin colour.. so I don't know how do good white people think they're gonna live side by side with em... black on black crime is a term born out of the high rate on killings blacks end other black lives

[@landor7610]

That could be like the "Uncanny Valley" The closer you look like me the creepier it is because it is not quite right. But it's easier to dismiss someone that is obviously different. Well crap, isn't that out of the bible? Shibboleth? A word that foreigners could not pronounce, so even if they looked the same as you, you could tell they were not from your tribe.

[@ryanvanrensburg6073]

Exactly.. People are culturalists not rasists.

[@brandotheone]

This is not just a black American thing. I saw a lot of second or third generation Italian Americans coming to Italy thinking they would blend in with the locals, but we just see them as Americans.

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

My bet... they ACTED like Americans... For my part, when I went to Italy, I was almost entirely well-treated, or at least politely... but then, I acted like I was a guest in someone else's home (country).

[@brandotheone]

@@Nyet-Zdyes yeah, in my experience they were all well treated. But from the way they talk, dress and act they were viewed just as Americans.

[@mikitz]

For instance, the Irish don't see the American Irish as Irish.

[@sandersson2813]

Americans have a ridiculous concept of heritage. They say things like I'm 1/24th Dutch. Who gives a fuck?

[@wiseonwords]

@brandotheone - Good comment!

[@TheRisky9]

People think that whites get angry at the slavery being brought up because we're full of privilege or something. The reality is that we're being disproportionally blamed for slavery. "Everyone had slaves" is not meant to say that it was okay to have slaves. Clearly, it's never okay. It's saying, "you want me to be accountable, you need to take up some of that accountability too!"

[@workdevice7808]

Yes, but it's no good holding the non whites accountable for what they did because the non whites are not going to pay up. Whites have more money to extort and live in societies riddled with fifth columnists that can make money too if they can make it happen.

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

For me, it's more a matter of "don't blame ME for ANYTHING that someone ELSE did."

[@QueSeraSeraaaa]

If we were privileged, why the majority of the homeless are whites? They never adressed it.

[@jesterday2222]

While I get what you are saying, nobody is accountable for what their ancestors did.

[@Factsmatter16]

Black Africans sold their own people into slavery.

[@clogs4956]

For years, I’ve looked forward to Black History Month imparting some actual history. So far, it’s been highly disappointing.

[@PortugalZeroworldcup]

USA had traffic lights, sthg related to steam engine and peanut butter from ⚫ Americans And jazz But not Thomas sowell and Candace

[@landor7610]

Just look how deadly Juneteenth is compared to other holidays.

[@54356776]

​@@PortugalZeroworldcup No inventions, just developing on others ideas.

[@PaIaeoCIive1684]

@@PortugalZeroworldcup Sorry, not even these. Peanut butter was originated by Mr Kellogg of cereals fame and the traffic light pre-dated the black chap Garrett Morgan by three decades. Morgan 'improved' the existing traffic light by making it 3-way. And Jazz? As much input by Jewish as black musicians.

[@noonesishome]

It's just a poorly construction of black American history. Not even accurate. Black history month has nothing to do with me a black Caribbean woman

[@maynardtrendle820]

People pretending to feel bad about history that they didn't experience is INSANE. We all are expected to do it about anything that gets brought up- and I don't anymore.😊

[@QueSeraSeraaaa]

BLM members didn't went throught slavery, but expect anyone who are white to stop it.. If they knew that it was abolished and illegal, but not in 3rd world countries.

[@WeighedWilson]

I feel bad about all of the atrocities of history. But I refuse to feel *guilty*.

[@thecommonword6996]

It is a pleasure to see Tomiwa approach this much mishandled topic with fairness, intellectual curiosity and wit.

[@cxa011500]

People are individuals. Group guilt or identity is a mental delusion.

[@realtalk7547]

Or perhaps some make money off of propagating lies today. Abram X. Kendi comes to mind.

[@johnchristopher5733]

People don't read Thomas Sowell, and it shows.

[@happyguy2k]

Is he the bible that he has to be referenced

[@dr.tonielffaucet5988]

​@@happyguy2kIs he like a Moses?

[@californiadreamer2580]

People don't read. At all

[@happyguy2k]

@@dr.tonielffaucet5988 seems like he is lol

[@allyourbase888]

Word.

[@sierraecho884]

Hahahhahaha it´s hilarious when he says "My great great grandfather was a slave owner" I almost pissed myself laughing, they worked soooooo hard to be the victim. Every group of people was a victim at one time and perpetrator at an other. How dumb can people be to not understand that.

[@workdevice7808]

Why was the descendant of the slave upset? Unless it was to extort something out of people alive today it makes no sense. In England in the 19th Century children under 10 years old worked and died in mines. Never once heard descendants of those children's families claim to be upset or want compensation.

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

My theory... He's one of those people who blame LIVING white people for the sins of the past... and now... he'd just learned that, by his own rules, HE was just as guilty. Alternatively, his idea that his ancestor was somehow noble for having been a victim, just got obliterated by learning that he was also a "perp". Or both. Either way, the new information rocked his foundation... his idea of who HE is... his long-held beliefs.

[@terratrodder]

@@Nyet-ZdyesI think people like him have been taught that slavery is only based on racism and hatred with little to no exposure to the idea that it was almost always based on economics.

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

@@terratrodder That guy is English. They don't quite have the history that we do in the US... meaning that they probably don't teach it the same way.

[@QueSeraSeraaaa]

There were no concerns for children back then, which is far more darker and messed up.. They were hired for any jobs without being raised or cared about, it's not like the present days where people are concerned for their wellbeing. Even today (on a different subject), animals in circus is frowned upon.

[@workdevice7808]

@@Nyet-Zdyes That's a really good summing up. Really good comment.

[@dugbert9]

Ainsley Harriet finding out his g g grandfather was a slave owner perfectly illustrates why it is folly for people living in 2023 to get emotional about what people in 1825 did.

[@jgalt308]

Not if the default message is "No you can't."

[@PaIaeoCIive1684]

In the case of the USA, white people in the south have a 2% chance of having a slave owner ancestor. For black southerners it is 11%. The first licence to own slave in the US was issued to a black man.

[@dugbert9]

I'd like to see some evidence to back that up. I'm not disagreeing but if I use it in future debate I'd like to be able to quote my source. @@PaIaeoCIive1684

[@PaIaeoCIive1684]

@@dugbert9 Damn, I got this snippet over a year ago on an ACW YT video from a guy who was researching the topic. Wish I'd written the source down. Wikipedia, despite the left-bias, may have same info under 'Black slave owners in the US' or a similar page. Given that many ex-slaves went into the slave owning business a high level of ancestral slavers among black southerners isn't surprising, especially as blacks who didn't do this tended to emigrate north or west instead. Sorry, can't remember the source - the figure just stuck in my memory.

[@jgalt308]

@@dugbert9 The Horrible Fate of John Casor, The First Black Man to be Declared Slave for Life in America Black people in early America weren’t slaves. After this lawsuit, they could be Casor was originally an indentured servant, which meant he was practically a slave in some senses. But what was bought or sold wasn’t him, it was his contract of indenture, which obligated him to work for its holder for the period it set. At the end of that time, indentured servants-who could be of any race-were considered legally free and sent out into the world. This might sound like a rough deal, but indenture was how the British colonizers who lived in what would later become the United States managed to populate the land and get enough people to do the back-breaking work of farming crops like tobacco in the South. People who survived their period of indenture (many didn’t) went on to live free lives in the colonies, often after receiving some kind of small compensation like clothes, land, or tools to help set them up, writes Ariana Kyl for Today I Found Out. That was the incentive that caused many poor whites to indenture themselves and their families and move to the so-called New World. But Africans who were indentured were often captured and brought over against their will. That's what happened to the holder of Casor’s indenture, Anthony Johnson. Johnson served out his contract and went on to run his own tobacco farm and hold his own indentured servants, among them Casor. At this time, the colony of Virginia had very few black people in it: Johnson was one of the original 20. After a disagreement about whether or not Casor's contract was lapsed, a court ruled in favor of Johnson and Casor saw the status of his indenture turn into slavery, where he-not his contract-was considered property. Casor claimed that he had served his indenture of “seven or Eight years” and seven more years on top of that. The court sided with Johnson, who claimed that Casor was his slave for life.

[@jimhughes1070]

He was rolling the dice!! I'm a simple hillbilly but even I know that Africans owned other Africans in the United States 😮👍

[@QueSeraSeraaaa]

Look up Anthony Johnson, that confirm that fact.

[@BertWald-wp9pz]

My wife is Chinese living in the UK with me, a British person. She invited some Chinese friends who live in the US to visit us. Whilst clearly all Chinese and all had been born in China, it quickly became apparent how there was an American/UK dividing line in their thinking. For instance with gun law my wife thought it was crazy to allow fire arms to be widely owned and her friends from the US defended their right to bear arms. I thought, if this can happen in just twenty years away from their homeland then culture is far more malleable than I previously thought. Of course not all migrants integrate this well. We may not be blank slates but clearly environment is the main driver which means attitudes are received - including the negative ones. It is not self evident.

[@brismith2728]

So you think their beliefs are stupid, that in itself is stupid.

[@johnristheanswer]

When in Rome....

[@BertWald-wp9pz]

@@brismith2728 I did not say that nor do I think it. I was only alluding to the way people reflect the cultures they are introduced to. This is a higher level generalisation than the one you ascribe.

[@28pbtkh23]

@@brismith2728 - he didn’t say that at all. He was clearly too subtle for you.

[@declancorcoran151]

You know what, you've just articulated something I've always felt, a lot of "culture" is just following the herd. People act like their culture is something almost divinely handed down when in reality they are just too lazy, or too uneducated to think for themselves. Independent thought is so rare in this world that it should be treated as a superpower. National stereotypes exist for a reason, and that reason is a lot (if not most) people have never actually stopped to think about all manner of things, they just follow the herd and different herds have gone different ways over the years. If we stopped to actually think why it is we hated our "enemies" we'd probably have a 5:32 5:32 lot le 5:32 ss enemies to hate.

[@Hexisu]

And this is why learning history is sooooooo important.

[@larrybethune3909]

Like who fought against the Russians in WWII ( adanaC )

[@PaIaeoCIive1684]

Yes, and not 'learning' it through Black History Month falsehoods or activist TV programmesand teachers.

[@MsCadamia66]

there is nothing to say, no one can pay for the sins of others.

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

... nor should they be asked/expected to...

[@mikitz]

Nor for the sins of their fathers and nothing more than their own alone. Let alone no-one should expect others to do for their fathers' sins either.

[@californiadreamer2580]

I'm reminded of the revelation to the US's Angela Davis on a similar TV show that one of her ancestors came over on the Mayflower. Never saw someone so shocked.

[@oritafilms]

Angela is messed up. Did she really think that none of her female ancestors never spent time in bed with a white man?

[@chesterming4602]

The Vice Presidents grandfather was one of the largest slave owners in Jamaica.

[@curtisbryce5096]

Hah Hah. The past should be left where it is. If you dig into it, you may not like what you find.

[@notreallydavid]

Better, examine it, stand your ground, look it full in the face, and accept that it might be unsettling or ambiguous.

[@DanH-u3f]

When you start to dig up the past, you will find unintended surprises. There were KKK members who had black ancestors and blacks who owned black slaves. It's best to let the past be the past.

[@nw8000]

LOL That wiped the smile of his face

[@markhartfield8186]

He doesn't need to apologise for his ancestors

[@ralphmalph5191]

2:05 "Pot calling the kettle black" epiphany.

[@STESTOOGE]

We are ALL slaves! The sooner mankind realise we all have one life and just live it,thebetter!

[@vuchaser99]

Our ancestors may have been slaves, and I or my decendants may be in the future. But I have not been a slave except to my own failings.

[@thekeysman6760]

​@@vuchaser99You're mistaken. The system...We are not free.

[@outbackgearforu]

That’s how it’s been from the beginning,slavery is how most societies are built,modern day slavery is through a bank and it’s called debt

[@Yugemos]

@@thekeysman6760Even if there was no system you wouldn't be free. Autonomy is an illusion.

[@Cardifftoyboy1]

Such a lovely man... A delight to watch and I would think that he felt this quite deeply.

[@johnmcdonagh374]

In Ireland people call 2nd or 3rd generation Irish Americans who come here for a homecoming 'plastic Paddys'. They just come across as your typical loud, sometimes patronising, Americans.

[@df289]

Ignorance is bliss

[@ballenboy]

Who sold the African slaves? Who was the original slave owners? Hmmm...

[@androidcaller7902]

I remember laughing when this episode aired. I bet they wouldn't do it now!

[@t3tsuyaguy1]

This so beautifully exposes the nonsense of inherited blame and inherited grievance. I'm mixed race. I am descended from Louisiana slaves one side, and my white ancestors were poor farmers and millers from Norway and Wales respectively. Both moved here AFTER the civil war, to states that never engaged in slavery in the first place. Applying the logic of DEI advocates, this gentleman would automatically be seen as more victim than me, and my fully Welsh and Norwegian cousins would be seen as owing some kind of debt to him. Meanwhile, my great great grandparents were living in isolated communities in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, not even encountering black people; whilst his great great grandfather was using other black people to get his bag.

[@saltburner2]

Ainsley should not be so concerned: none of us is responsible for the actions of our ancestors. If I were to discover that one of my ancestors had been hanged for murder, I would feel no guilt. "it wasn't me, guv".

[@mattanderson6672]

Thanks guys! Well said

[@dchappy6985]

Where did this Ideology of universal racial Identity come from? 🤔

[@darrenmcmellon8575]

I’m surprised they actually aired this episode

[@davidlythgoe4079]

I like this guy .

[@JohnBdog]

After the age of consent, if people look backward for excuses, they stop their own development towards being a fully functioning adult.

[@nonyadamnbusiness9887]

First of all, until the 19th century no one questioned slavery. There were many black slave owners in English speaking countries. While a few freedmen went on to become rich planters, which required owning slaves to be profitable: many bought their wives and children, which required owning slaves because you couldn't legally just set a slave free. Most jurisdictions required posting a sizeable bond and/or relocating the ex-slave far away. A far as a reductive views goes: We desperately need to get away from it completely. It works great only for taking things apart. We must adopt a systems view.

[@diannegooding8733]

From the time of ancient groups of “people” there were slaves. It was regarded as normal. We now recognise and have done for about two centuries, that slavery is evil and wrong. We can not do anything about slavery two hundred years ago except read about it. However there is vast Slavery today which should be the focus of our attention and efforts to stop it. UN estimate fifty million slaves in the world today. That is appalling! Act.

[@Bertie22222]

I'm a white anglo saxon protestant that has been afforded all the privilege in the world apparently, but i can tell you that generations of my family have all lived out of reach of the till.

[@adriennem3168]

The script was so beautiful back then

[@johnxforce4]

And this is why history is important… good or bad.. I think if more and more people did this kind of research on their family history the mind set would be so different.

[@tillytilford2158]

Where are the reparation demands now :D

[@ileanamuntean7338]

Guess what, they had slaves in Africa, they still do.

[@orbojunglist]

1:35 How about "ooh, spicy!"

[@adventussaxonum448]

To be fair to Ainsley, I think he took it well. He said "life's complicated" or words to the effect.😅

[@garryjones8050]

Sad thing is, he would probably have become an angry activists if he hadn't been made aware.Ainsley, no less a man because of any of his forebears

[@lechenaultia5863]

Considering the dominant narrative, he took the news very well!

[@PWMoze]

I think FF was thinking of the BBC's football pundit Alex Scott who had a similar revelation on 'Who do you think you are'. I think the pop performaer Marvin Haghes experienced a similar thing too?

[@HappyAitch]

I remember the Alex Scott one, there she was ready to trot her outrage out and then got slapped in the face by the truth.

[@GlenRoss-ug5jm]

@@HappyAitch She didn't ike it whe she discovered one of her ancestors was a slave owner.

[@HappyAitch]

@@GlenRoss-ug5jm she certainly didn’t

[@GlenRoss-ug5jm]

@@HappyAitch That's why if any African Americans or African Caribbeans want reparations they had better look up their family tree because they just may discover not all their ancestors were slaves but black slave owners.

[@rogeramezquita5685]

This is why everyone need to read thomas sowell

[@harryc1971]

History is messy and sometimes unpleasant

[@Jeremy-ql1or]

This man OWES himself reparations! It is the only way to ever right the wrongs of his ancestors and collect what is owed to his ancestors!!

[@Selvarin]

"OMG I can have ancestors who did things I'm not proud of!"...We are a product of our times. People need to look at the whole picture when it comes to history. It isn't always simple good person/bad person. History is rarely so simple.

[@chrischris4181]

i think the missing part here would be found to be more horrific. because most likely at the end of his slavery he would have likely been one of the guys they sent out to recapture runaways. maybe he lead the hunting parties and did such a good job they freed him.

[@garryrichardson4572]

More people need to see these conversations. I am Tasmanian,Australian. My ancestor arrived here in 1830 . 1 year after the black line. He was a convict. Accused of inciting violence during the machine wrecker riots although he was just trying to negotiate a better deal for those who were being displaced as the big land owner expanded so he could use the new steam engine. This weekend we are to vote on “ the voice “ to create. Actually I don’t know what they are trying to do. Trigger s are you able to do some research on the voice Australia? Too late to make a difference because I am voting no. But anyway my reason for commenting is the colour of your skin doesn’t make a difference to your level of oppression/ privilege.

[@gooble69]

"Too late to make a difference because I am voting no" Good on you. We dodged a bullet with that one. Had that racist Voice got across the line Australia would've have been committed to a never ending death spiral of victim-hood claims for the next 100 years...

[@thatsrealroughbud...2394]

I think people are so incredibly privileged now that slavery isn’t overtly accepted (it’s still very prevalent), that they forget it now is the exception. Now is the abnormality. Slavery was the norm in the entirety of the world, for all of history until it was abolished very recently. It blows my mind people don’t get this. That people aren’t more grateful.

[@thatsrealroughbud...2394]

@eljay5009 I literally said it's still very prevalent, just not overtly as acceptable. it's often disguised because it's not deemed acceptable BECAUSE of Western influence. The most common type of slavery is debt slavery that relies on the enslaved being illiterate, and not knowing that the slaver is charging them more than they make per day in food/hovel rental than they pay them ensuring they will be enslaved forever. Unironically, the exact set up that had the Irish, Welsh, Italians and Slavs enslaved in coal mines etc. in America that people are CONSTANTLY claiming isn't "real slavery". I know it still exists, but not overtly in the West BECAUSE of the British. Yet, only western nations are demonized for it.

[@zaxbitterzen2178]

Everyone.....owned......and sold......slaves. Everyone.

[@GeoffryGifari]

The bloke in the first clip.... was he in a meme?

[@Shadedgray]

Every culture owned slaves unfortunately some still want to own slaves especially in certain regions

[@timdavison4675]

I wish someone could give a famous speech about not being judged except by the content of our character....oh wait...

[@joedennehy386]

Different times Ainsley

[@ancientfuture9690]

If nobody is inherently evil BECAUSE of theie skin colour...then it follows that nobody is inheritently innocent and good BECAUSE of their skin colour. The HUMAN condition has no conditions.

[@stormhawk3319]

The word slave comes from the Slavs, a large group of Europeans who made the bulk of the Mediterranean slave trade committed by both the African Moorish Kingdoms & Islamic Ottoman Empire over several centuries. Just to point out the Moors where black, the Ottomans Arabs and the Slavs where “white”.

[@llamalinguist3250]

One more reason not to blame descendants for the sins of their ancestors.

[@Lilyandmoomin]

Slavery isn’t just a black person history. White people where enslaved many many centuries before black people where enslaved in North America. Black people from Africa enslaved their own country’s black population, sold them and shipped them off to Egypt, India, Europe, and the romans enslaved other people from England, Germany, Netherlands. Basically the whole of Europe and the sold and shipped them of to India, Egypt, Rome etc. it’s such a shame that the whole slavery thing isn’t taught properly so this whole subject can once and for all be done with.

[@QueSeraSeraaaa]

My college almost had me believing that "it only happened to blacks". But i knew that this information was vague.

[@Redrosewitch]

The guy on Who Do You Think You Are? is TV chef, Ainsley Harriot. I assume the lady's either his wife, sister or daughter or a historian that's helping him research.

[@punygreenman5956]

As soon as I recognized who he was all I could think of was "hehe boaiy!"

[@brismith2728]

The truth hurts doesn’t it.

[@TheBrendon67]

Give that book a good ol’ rub.

[@theophrastus3.056]

The “simple view” is politically valuable. That’s why it’s used by politicians.

[@PedrSion]

Will the oppressed millionaire Harriot be paying reparations ?

[@estern001]

Reparations?

[@adriennem3168]

Black on black

[@jgalt308]

Yup, free ticket back to the African country of origin. ( coach )

[@ellenstanton2043]

History is messy

[@enzosperandio8314]

Isn’t there more slave today than ever in history? Isn’t the vast majority of the slave in majority black country?

[@QueSeraSeraaaa]

The majority of slaves were blacks traded by other blacks. Nowadays, a black comitting a crime isn't rare as the mainstream medias want us to believe.

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

People have a natural tendency to want simple answers to questions... and simple solutions to problems. Both of which are problems in themselves.

[@EcosseOuiser]

You showed the clip of Ainsley Harriott but it sounds like FF was talking about the Alex Scott episode 👇 “Alex meets historian Dr Suzanne Francis-Brown, who shows her the baptism record for Hernietta’s father Samuel Coombs. He is described as “of colour”, another term for someone with mixed heritage. His parents Robert Francis Coombs and Frances Tracy lived during slavery but were not enslaved. Next Alex learns that Robert Francis Coombs owned slaves himself, as some free people of mixed heritage did at that time. When slavery was abolished in 1833, Robert submitted a claim for compensation for 26 slaves. In his will of 1851, he left Frances Tracey, described as his housekeeper, a yearly annuity of £15, and made provisions for her to live in his house after his death. He also left a legacy to Eleanor Francis Tracy, one of his former slaves, and to the children they had together, Edward and Diana Coombs. “At the start of this journey,” Alex says, “I thought we’d touch on slavery but I didn’t think that my family owned property in terms of owning people. It was hard to take. I don’t think the stories are told a lot about black people owning slaves, that ownership of a human life is so wrong.” Who Do You Think You Are (October 2021)

[@christopherkenney4766]

I want reparations from Ainsley Harriott. Not because of slavery you understand, but because of the terrible TV programs he makes.

[@codyeakinsbradley]

IDK about other people in the comments, but I'm one of the only white guys at a factory and black Americans and Africans do not get along there.

[@adriennem3168]

Is it because black Americans are more entitled and lazier then Africans?

[@dom0]

What happens?

[@reedr7142]

At least the guy gets it. He doesn’t make an excuse because of his race.

[@truth.952]

My forefathers weren't slaves but they were very poor working class factory fodder slaves in all but name.look up the history of how the poor working class lived n Victorian times it's truly appalling...I dont give a flying fuck about that it is just a fact its history .I certainly dont carry any of that garbage with me today it was generations ago..let it go

[@Calidastas]

History can be as much of a prison as a key.

[@siggyincr7447]

There isn't a human alive today who doesn't have ancestors who did horrendous things by today's standards. The difference between victim and victimizer is often just one of opportunity, no matter the race. I can't help but think the reaction to finding out his ancestor owned slaves was more performative than anything else.

[@mikitz]

I'm part of a tribe that has been enslaved at some point in history. There are some eight billion of us now.

[@QueSeraSeraaaa]

Stay strong!

[@johndelong5574]

What we dont know could fill a wharehouse

[@marcqusg2618]

The short segment shown may be troubling to anyone who did not learn this part of American History, like for the man in the documentary. However, many of the blacks that owned slaves, owned relatives, because some states would not allow slaves to be freed. This is how many black families were able to remain together during those periods. I wrote a paper on why many blacks remained in the south, given that the north was free. The biggest reason I came across was to be near family.

[@Yugemos]

To be fair... There were good white people who had children with Africans who had the same situation to fear their children's lives.

[@AndreasViking1]

Most were not Slave owners for these reasons

[@marcqusg2618]

Confused on the comments under my post. The point I was trying to make is there is plenty of nuance to why some blacks owned slaves. Of course, if we look at world history, all races took part in some form of practice of slavery.

[@johnsimpson8893]

Should Ainsley pay reparations?

[@kevanbodsworth9868]

History: in a nutshell,. Rich people made deals with rich people in other nations that both used thier people to make, grow or dig up stuff for them to trade and make a load more money, while those who did the work did not or only enough to keep working, History compact, QED...

[@BrassToff]

What do you expect from a programme of actors and celebrities who are encouraged to go down whatever narrative the programme wants as long as it triggers some emotion ? Do you believe that you'd get a programme about a family of agricultural labourers ? As always, a good idea when it first came out but which the BBC then uses to perpetuate its own agenda over the next few decades. I've pretty much given up watching mainstream media.

[@Zeebad_1st]

That fucks up the reparations doesn't it.

[@ktwashere5637]

so the "black lady" celebrity whose family owned slaves is actually Ainsley Harriot who is male and a tv chef.

[@AT-AT-AT-AT]

brazil’s history is all about this.

[@Carl-i6f]

So does ansley get cancelled now.

[@saltyrogers8085]

Suck it Ainsley 😂 go make a new episode of RS Cook. Hell of a show that.

[@notreallydavid]

Unsettlingly, Solomon Northup - the author of Twelve Years a Slave - wrote very favourably of one of his masters. It would've been interesting to have seen this relationship depicted in the film, but it would've gone down very, very badly - even though we ought to be able to confront uncomfortable realities that Just Shouldn't Be eithout losing our shit. (Slavery stinks - I'm not a member of the creepy 'Ah, but...' apologist crowd. A 'good' owner is still an exploiter and a violator.)

[@jgalt308]

another reductionist view of history...well done.

[@reneep.1978]

??@@jgalt308

[@isNATOWorthIt]

​@@jgalt308 How was that reductionist? Are you sure you understand the meaning of the word? He pointed out something called a 'nuance' in the English language. It is odd how people claim to see the grey, but the moment a point about it is made they immediately lurch back into black-and-white thinking. Just in case English is not your first language, and you missed the 'nuance', he said that he wrote favorably of 'one' of his masters, not all of them. Then they clarified that they still consider it a despicable practice. This is very close to a dictionary-level case of 'nuance', and the opposite of 'reductionist'.

[@jgalt308]

@@isNATOWorthIt So, I guess you missed the "reductionist" part. The clarification begs the question...compared to what? But feel free to dig yourself an even deeper hole.

[@isNATOWorthIt]

@@jgalt308 A clarification does not need to be compared to anything. It is merely a clarification, that the person wished to make known, while also decrying the institution. Clarifying points about events/institutions, is a key part of determining a nuanced view of any scenario. Again, is English your first language, or do you just dislike having things explained to you? Also, I noticed that you refused to address the actual point I was making about this being very close to a dictionary definition of nuance, which I am happy to quote to you directly, if you so desire.

[@fragglemum]

Just a random thought did he buy them to give them a better lifestyle ?

[@jgalt308]

Maybe...that would require a bit of research...and there was a radical difference between north american slavery compared to the rest of the western hemisphere.

[@fragglemum]

A released Slave .... buys slaves

[@akiraraiku]

Many emancipated slaves owned their family members since they didn't have the financial means to free them.

[@m6smitten]

We are all programmed to prefer those within our tribal group. However it is the West, until recently, where tribal identity mattered the least - Welcome back to the Stone Age everyone.

[@jennybrewer7193]

Are they going to pay reparations ??????

[@MrJiggerG]

It is astounding that a huge portion of the population doesn't know history. They only know the ideology cherry picked version of history. Clearly, this Black man had no idea that slavery was an accepted and a worldwide practice. The same goes for colonialism. These practices were not unique to White people. Also, it was the Western nations who abolished the slave trade, although it is still being practiced in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, illegally.