Did you know that Barack Hussein Obama's family owned slaves?

Question

On a related note, the Baltimore Sun and Chicago Tribune are reporting on Barack Obama’s ancestry in an inexplicable way.

Many people know that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s father was from Kenya and his mother from Kansas.

But an intriguing sliver of his family history has received almost no attention until now: it appears that forebears of his white mother owned slaves, according to genealogical research and Census records.

The records — which had never been addressed publicly by the Illinois senator or his relatives — were first noted in an ancestry report compiled by William Addams Reitwiesner, who works at the Library of Congress and practices genealogy in his spare time. The report, on Reitwiesner’s Web site, carries a disclaimer that it is a “first draft” — one likely to be examined more closely if Obama is nominated.

According to the research, one of Obama’s great-great-great-great grandfathers, George Washington Overall, owned two slaves who were recorded in the 1850 Census in Nelson County, Ky. The same records show that one of Obama’s great-great-great-great-great-grandmothers, Mary Duvall, also owned two slaves.

For a white candidate this would be front page news. NOTHING - for Barack.

I don't think it is relevant anyway - whoever this was.

It was a long time ago and I don't care. I'm just saying - if this was a WHITE candidate more would be made of it by the media - AND I still would not care.

It is NOT going to make me vote against him. The fact that he is a Democrat is!

Answer 1

To directly answer your question, I suspected so. Most of the American aristocrats come from slave owning Families.

Like "The Bush Family" they owned hundreds of slaves. And still have slaves on the Family Compound in Paraguay.

The issue seems to be you come from a poor family that lacked the resources to own slaves.

Unless your living in a third world environment. Slave ownership is a non issue. Human Right is the issue. What are people doing to make the World better.

Go big Red Go

Answer 2

There are many, many Americans who have descendents that owned slaves. When it usually becomes front page news is when the politician has a history of or is at least perceived to have a racial bias themselves. Also, the whole thing with Al Sharpton and Strom Thurmond was news because well, that's news, very uncomfortable feeling for Sharpton I would imagine. Anyway, it's possible that Obama's African ancestry would show the same thing. Back before Europeans invented slavery as we know it, Africans had their own form of it. It was more like being an indentured servant, for paying off debts or favors, but it was a form of slavery nonetheless. Some people eat this sort of thing up with a spoon, but I think most people acknowledge you can choose your friends, but you cannot choose your family - or your descendents.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

Quite frankly what Mr. Obama's ancestors did or did not do has nothing to do with him. He didn't do those things. Just because a person is German does not make them a Nazi.

I think it is news only because they can't come up with anything worse about him than that he smokes.

What does this have to do with his candidacy anyways?

Bush failed to meet his obligations in the National Guard that wasn't even history and no one says a word.

Bush Sr. has oil dealings with the Saudi's no one says a thing.

Mr. Obama smokes cigarettes and his ancestors owned slaves and now he should not be considered as an appropriate candidate for the presidency?

Yeah. Okay.

Answer 5

Yes I knew this. The fact is a curiosity at best. The release and the reporting of the story is far more interesting. Somebody who is very much opposed to Barack Obama is likely pushing the story.

I can only ask...who is MOST opposed to Obama as we speak? Who is competing MOST with Obama for the black vote? Who is most notorious for political hardball? Who gains the most by besmirching this guy today and letting the "vast right-wing conspiracy" take the fall?

The answer is so obvious...if it weren't so sad, it'd be Hillaryious!

Answer 6

So? Who cares if a part of his family had slaves? Is not his fault and I don't even like Obama but I think this is stupid and I don't understand why has Yahoo! even bother to report this. This is just like Romney's great-grandparents' polygamy. It doesn't matter! Family history of any candidate shouldn't be given and shouldn't hold any bearing on elections. Maybe if Obama was a white candidate, it woud've been bigger news but the fact is that Obama is the media's darling. They're not going to damage him that much. Even so this story is stupid and I thought you wuldn't bother losing 5 points to report this.

Answer 7

No, I wasn't aware of this. Yet, strangely, I don't seem to care either. If I went through life blaming people who's American ancestor ever owned a slave, I wouldn't have the myriad of diverse friends that I do now.

George Bush ancestors may have owned slaves as well. I don't care.

Answer 8

This has been all over the news. I think you're watching far right wing media who claim no one is reporting. I've seen it at least a dozen times on CNN. Most white Americans, whose roots stretch back to early 1800s owned slaves. So, I'm not sure why this is shocking. Few except the wealthy did just before the civil war, because slaves became expensive commodities after the ban of their import.

Answer 9

Thomas Jefferson owned slaves and fathered a child. Also, Strom Thurmond fathered a child with a slave. It's sad that America has a history of allowing slavery.

It is reported that on Barack's wife's side, there was slave ownership. I think it is good that we are discussing how the past affect's America's future. I'm sure the Middle Eastern countries, whom we are forcing democracy on, are enjoying our history lesson also.

Answer 10

Didn't you recently post a question about it being time to get "past" slavery????
I could care less if his mother's family ever owned slaves. He's still a politician with some of the best forward- thinking ideas since Clinton.