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Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke revealed on Twitter that both he and his wife Amy were descendants of slave owners.
"Something we talked about at public meetings – the legacy of slavery in the United States – now has a much more personal connection," O'Rourke said. "I have recently been given documents showing that Amy and I are descended from people who owned slaves."
O'Rourke included a link to a medium.com article titled "Rose and Eliza", referring to two slaves owned by her close relatives.
"A great-great-great-grandfather, father, Andrew Cowan Jasper, owned these two women in the 1850s," O'Rourke wrote.
The Democratic presidential candidate, former US representative Beto O. Rourke, speaks at the annual Manchester Democrats Potluck Picnic in Oak Park, Manchester, New Hampshire.
(AP)
He added that documents also showed that one of his wife's ancestors, Amy, owned slaves, while another was part of the Confederate army.
O'Rourke said he spoke about the legacy of slavery in the United States while campaigning, but that such discussions now have "a much more personal connection".
As a democratic debate on slavery, politicians suggest that Americans are not convinced
O'Rourke's disclosure comes as slavery reparation discussions have become a hot topic among Democratic candidates in the 2020 presidential election.
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Last month, Democrats in the House held a hearing on reparations for slavery for the first time in more than a decade. The aim of the panel was "to examine, through an open and constructive discourse, the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade".
Fox News Gerren Keith Gaynor and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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