WASHINGTON: At least 100 members of the last sitting Congress are direct descendants of ancestors who enslaved Black people, representing at least eight per cent of Democrats in Congress and 28pc of Republicans.
The group includes Republican senators Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Tom Cotton and James Lankford, and Democrats Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Duckworth, Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan.
President Joe Biden and every living former US president except Donald Trump are direct descendants of slaveholders: Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
Governors of 11 of the 50 US states in 2022 were descendants of slaveholders, as were two US Supreme Court justices. The Congressional slaveholding ancestors were among the richest in America before the Civil War; three-quarters were among the richest 10pc.
In researching Americas political elite, Reuters found names of more than 700 people enslaved by ancestors of the leaders.
Survey says President Joe Biden and every living former US president, except Trump, are direct descendants of slaveholders
Some 23pc of respondents to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll said knowing that candidates’ ancestors enslaved people would make them less likely to vote for that candidate, and white respondents who said they’re aware of having a slaveholding ancestor were more likely than other white people to support paying reparations for slavery.
Where slavery’s descendants stand
Bills introduced in the House and Senate would create a commission to address the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between 1619 and 1865 — and the racial and economic discrimination against Black Americans that followed. Such a commission, the bills say, would consider a national apology and proposals for reparations.
Some of the leading voices on the matter, both for and against, have a personal connection to the issue: They have one or more ancestors who were slaveholders.
Among them are three prominent Democrats who have co-sponsored reparations bills: senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Van Hollen, and Representative Lloyd Doggett. Opponents include Republican senators Tommy Tuberville and John N. Kennedy, and former Representative Louie Gohmert.
The issue is divisive, a survey found that slightly more than half of respondents identifying as Democrats 58pc support reparations. Just 18pc of Republicans do. The divide is even greater between Black and white America. The poll found that 74pc of Black Americans favour reparations compared to just 26pc of white Americans.
A House resolution introduced in May in favour of the idea cites estimates from “respected economists” that reparations to eliminate the racial wealth gap would cost at least $14 trillion..
Proponents say such payments are meant to help compensate for more than slavery itself. They cite systemic racism and other forms of discrimination that followed emancipation.
Opponents say reparations would further divide the country. They question who would get the money: Would all Black Americans, or only descendants of people who could show that their ancestors were enslaved? They also say it’s wrong to have taxpayers finance reparations, given that no one alive today is responsible for slavery.
In examining the genealogies of members of the 117th Congress, Reuters found that at least 100 lawmakers have direct ancestors who enslaved Black people in the years before 1865, the end of the US Civil War. Some have espoused strong positions on reparations.
Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2023
