Beto O’Rourke Reveals His and His Wife’s Connection to Slavery
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke revealed on Sunday that he and his wife Amy are both the descendants of slave owners. . .
“A paternal great-great-great grandfather of mine, Andrew Cowan Jasper, owned these two women in the 1850s,” O’Rourke wrote. “There are also records showing that a maternal great-great-great grandfather, Frederick Williams, most likely owned slaves in the 1860s (“most likely,” because we are not certain that the Frederick Williams who is my ancestor and the Frederick Williams who owned slaves are the same person, but there’s enough circumstantial data to lead me to conclude that it’s likely).”
“Records also showed that Amy had an ancestor who owned slaves and another who was a member of the Confederate Army,” O’Rourke added.
O’Rourke’s claim comes after the media last week tried to tie Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s opposition to reparations to the fact that his great-great-grandfathers owned slaves. When the media tried to push that narrative they were met with the fact that former President Barack Obama’s ancestors were slave owners. . .
"We both oppose reparations and we both are the descendants of slaveholders."
Sen. Mitch McConnell compares himself to Pres. Obama, after being asked whether knowledge of his slave-holding ancestors has affected his stance on reparations. https://t.co/ATWPz3amwd pic.twitter.com/AZ7C7k0uhG
— ABC News (@ABC) July 9, 2019
“I benefit from a system that my ancestors built to favor themselves at the expense of others,” O’Rourke wrote. “That only increases the urgency I feel to help change this country so that it works for those who have been locked-out of — or locked-up in — this system.” (Read more from “Beto O’Rourke Reveals His and His Wife’s Connection to Slavery” HERE)
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