Slavery was an abomination.
Agreed.
...I don’t think it is reasonable to hold up a single example of anyone as a reason to perpetuate the slave class.
Again, agreed.
But I am not sure of your point.
Solely this: Mr. Ellison was a free Black man who himself owned 60+ Black slaves and participated actively not only in their purchase, use, and sale, but also in deliberately causing Black children to be born for the purpose of selling them. Additionally,
While there might have been 250,000 free negroes in the south before the war, there were still, by your numbers, some 3 million or so who were slaves.
Among whom Ellison was not at all unique in practicing slavery, and was indeed not the worst offender of his race.
Understand?
OK. I understand your point, but it is going to be lost on the majority.
I mean, there are people who view the people of history through our eyes and our values/norms.
It was “normal” for southern farmers to own slaves. It was “normal” for us to not trust the “Japs” during the forties. It was “normal” for us to just want to kill as many of them with nukes as we could.
I agree, we need to keep all of this stuff in its proper context.
Personally, I think Black history month is stupid.
When my kids were in middle school, we had a party at our house. There were probably 20 kids here. Throughout the day i asked them what MLK was famous for. A vast majority—a super majority—told me that he freed the slaves. If this is the best that they can do for BHM, they should just can it and use the month for review.
At the same time, Mr. Ellison had no rights that a white man was bound to respect. He was not, and could never be a citizen of the U.S., or of the Confederacy had they won their independence. Being a wealthy slave owner didn't change that.
BFL