Beto O 'Rourke Reveals That His Ancestors Were Slave Owners

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke revealed on Sunday that he and his wife are both descendants of slave owners.

The former Texan legislator came out frank in a Medium message, claiming he'd discovered it through old family records.

"I was recently given documents showing that Amy and I were from people who owned slaves," he wrote. "Among the other properties listed in their property register were two human beings, Rose and Eliza. A paternal great-great-great-grandfather, Andrew Cowan Jasper, owned these two women in the 1850s. "

O 'Rourke stated that there were also "records showing that a maternal great-great-great-grandfather, Frederick Williams, most likely possessed slaves in the 1860s (" very probably, "because we are not sure that Frederick Williams, who is my ancestor and the Frederick Williams who owned slaves are the same person, but there is enough circumstantial data to allow me to conclude that it is probable ). "

In addition, "documents also showed that Amy had an ancestor who owned slaves and another who was a member of the Confederate army," according to the presidential candidate.

"A topic that we thought of and discussed at town halls and the campaign – the legacy of slavery in the United States – now has a much more personal connection," O'Rourke said. "The fact that enslaved Americans belonging to my ancestors were denied freedom, the ability to accumulate wealth, whole civil rights in America after slavery also had long-term repercussions on them." and their descendants. "

"I benefit from a system that my ancestors built to favor to the detriment of others," he added in his message, a defense of reparations.

O'Rourke added, "We all need to know our own story about national history, just as I am learning mine. I believe that only then can we take the necessary steps to repair the damage done and stop visiting this injustice inflicted on future generations. "

He went on to say that they would continue to support reparations for the descendants of slaves – beginning with "an important national conversation about slavery and racial injustice".

"We all need to know our own history with respect to national history, just like I learn mine," concluded O'Rourke. "Only then, I think, can we take the necessary steps to repair the damage done and stop visiting the injustice inflicted on future generations."