So there’s a racist in your family

Samantha Swindler has a great article that some of us maybe able to identify with. It’s called “So there’s a racist in your family“, and it’s published in the Daily Progress, Jacksonville, Texas. She has a very important lesson that many should take to heart – in the course of your genealogy research, you may come across some information and relatives that are a bit unsettling for one reason or another, but always remember that you are not your ancestors.

Excerpt from the article:

It was a little bit embarrassing to realize Adrian Fuqua was in a White League, even though I obviously never met the man. But I’ve always believed that one’s ancestry, background, or “who your daddy is” doesn’t necessarily determine your character. If you are relying on the glories or the oppression of your ancestors or family to define you — you sadly aren’t your own person.

I would like to believe that the unjust Reconstruction government had more to do with my great great great grandfather’s involvement in this battle than simple racism, but I’ll never know for sure. The important thing is it doesn’t make me a good or bad person either way.

It’s a good article dealing with something that many may not want to talk about, or something that’s not to be brought up among some in the family – I’ve got ancestors that were not exactly noble, and because of that, information about them was not passed down, and there was a huge gap in history in one branch of the family. Suprisingly it’s still a sensitive issue, and one that I may write about in the future.

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