re: Tonight I learned: 90 years before Rosa Parks, Blacks in NOLA desegregated Streetcars.

quote:

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but the question can and must be asked, do you really need intellect to know that owning another human being, no matter at what part of the timeline of human history, is wrong?

at least we can agree

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Did they see them as human beings though? Something so plain and clear that you and I see today. You’re taking for granted that that’s how people viewed the world 170 years ago. The entire history of civilization and everywhere it has touched in any form is soaked in blood.

ETA: and I’d add further argue that Lee realized this during his life which is why he emancipated his slaves years before the civil war and was a proponent for reconciliation between north and south after the war. Jackson used his position of power to educate slaves and attempt to elevate them. McDonough donated his fortune to educate both black and white children. Yet they still at one point owned them. Nuance. These are imperfect human beings who still had good contributions to society alongside their transgressions.