Two questions, with the hope I'll be successful in winning a copy of your book, which sounds fascinating. The first is do you also trace the trade of other prominent Northern families engaged in slave trade, such as the Browns of Rhode Island, and Thomas H. Perkins of Massachusetts, and is there a link in their slavery ventures? Secondly, have you been in touch with Wilberforce descendents in the UK, some of whom are engaged in anti-slavery initiatives today?

As mentioned in comments by Katrina Brown, this film is only the tip of the iceberg...My question is but why is this so??Don't I matter? Don't African Americans matter? The question is rhetorical because the film clips suggest that not only do we not matter but we never have mattered to America",except from an economical standpoint. Slavery is a part of the collective memory of who we were and are today - as it is with most African Americans - whether they choose to acknowledge that fact or not. My grandfather was so ashamed of his parents enslavement, that he could not talk about them without weeping. In college, I was as embarrased as my professors when they talked about the Golden Triangle., and mentioned that many Norhtern states had large slave populations. Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, I knew that whites lin the city of "brotherly love" also held slaves. Every Northern state in the Union from 1620 enslaved Africans and engaged in some form of slavery for profit. How can you say you didn't know about slaves or slavery? My great aunt came to Bristol, RI in the 1920's and worked as a domestic - she used to say to us when we asked her how could she stand living Bristol..."I am the darker brother"... who lives , (dreams) and dies unnoticed... (sic)Langston Hughes.
How is it that you come to this topic (about making money and being wealthy)three hundred and fifty years after Jamestown?
This is one POV that I will not watch... it is not enlightening; it is disheartening, and painful.
Regrets,
Dr. Elva L. Croswell

How were the slave owners able to reconcile slavery with their so-called Christian beliefs? Would this be the epitome of hypocrisy or what?

As a descendant of a Virginian who landed on these shores in the mid-1600's, I know that my family must have benefited from slavery, even if they didn't engage in the trade (which I am unable to confirm). My question is, though your particular ancestors did not directly engage in trading slaves, how much of your family's success and your own opportunities do you now attribute to the direct or indirect effects of the trade, and how would you most fairly assess a tax on your current family wealth as fair reparation for those unfairly-gotten gains?

I am struck by the passage in which you write “I also didn't know about any of the family history, let alone about slavery in the North. There's no amnesia, there's no guilt—for me, it didn't exist. Katrina asks what I would think if I were my ancestor Simon. Even though I'm not guilty, how I would deal with the fact that my brother was a slave trader?” As a secondary history teacher, how one relates and emotionally connects to the past is not only something that I find very interesting, but it is also something that I discuss with my students on a regular basis.
Recently I attended a seminar on the Cambodian genocide under the Khmer Rouge, and there were several survivors in the audience who were strong enough to share their thoughts during the discussions. One man spoke of how he was ashamed of his Cambodian heritage after making it through the refugee camps to his new “home” in St. Paul, Minnesota. Other audience members who were refugees from other countries echoed his sentiment of embarrassment for his country’s actions; though they were not complicit or actively involved in the making of the decisions that were destroying their country (in fact, they were the victims of the decisions), they still felt shamed as though they were.
I am wondering how, if at all, learning about your family’s slave trading past has affected your sense of family or cultural pride? And if it has, how have you begun to start working though these emotions?

As a native of East Tennessee and a descendant, not of slave owners, but of farmers who supported the Union in the Civil War, I am aware of the economic considerations behind the owning of slaves. During the years prior to the development of machinization, all labor, particularly agricultural labor, was necessarily done by humans. I have never understood why using actual manpower was considered abhorrent.

Given the limitations of innovation during the period of slavery in the US, do you believe your ancestors engaged in slave trade primarily for financial expediency, just as those who purchased the slaves were doing it for the same purpose?

Hello all, Tom DeWolf here. There doesn't appear to be a way for me to comment on comments, so I'm going to do my best to answer questions in the order they come in. I stopped by the P.O.V. office today in Manhattan--since I'm in New York for the Human Rights Watch Film Festival--and the 25 people who receive copies of the book as a result of posting questions here will receive a copy that I signed today.

The first questions were posed by Martha Bewick. "...do you also trace the trade of other prominent Northern families engaged in slave trade, such as the Browns of Rhode Island, and Thomas H. Perkins of Massachusetts, and is there a link in their slavery ventures?

Answer: not much. The Browns are included in my book because the DeWolfs and Browns were business and political partners. "Sons of Providence" is a great book about the Brown brothers; quite enlightening about the history of the slave trade as well as the abolition movement--all within one complicated, complicit family. And yes, there is a direct link among the various slave-trading entities. I'd call it more of a "web" that connected people, businesses, communities, and nations in ways that have many parallels to today.

Martha's second question:"...have you been in touch with Wilberforce descendents in the UK, some of whom are engaged in anti-slavery initiatives today?"

Answer: No I haven't. We have been in contact with many individuals and groups who are working to undo racism in this country and elsewhere and it is possible that some of my cousins have been in touch with the Wilberforce folks, but I'm not aware of it.

The second set of questions--which the writer describes as rhetorical--come from Dr. Elva L. Croswell, who states that she won't watch Traces of the Trade because she believes that either the film or the subject matter "is not enlightening; it is disheartening, and painful." I urge anyone reading this comment of mine to read Dr. Croswell's original comment above.

Thank you for your comment, Dr. Croswell. I respect your words and hope you will reconsider. The purpose of our family's journey was to confront the true history of our family, New England, and all of America; to face the brutality and terror of the slavery system and the "traces" of it all that we have inherited today. You are right. The legacy of slavery is disheartening and painful. When we were in Ghana, we met with Professor Kofi Anyidoho from the University of Ghana at Accra. He told us that slavery is a living wound under a patchwork of scars. We must remove the scars and clean the wound properly if we ever hope to heal.

As people of European descent we will likely say and do some wrong or insensitive things in the future--we certainly have in the past. But our commitment as a family is to stay at the table for the conversation. I encourage you and others who share Dr. Croswell's concerns to go to The Root and read my cousin Katrina Browne's description of the journey we've been on to make this film (http://www.theroot.com/id/46973). I hope it will help you understand our intentions in embarking on the journey as well as our intentions and commitment now and in the future.

John Koontz wrote: "How were the slave owners able to reconcile slavery with their so-called Christian beliefs? Would this be the epitome of hypocrisy or what?"

The short answers are "I have no idea" and "yes."

I studied to be a minister in college. I left the church and haven't attended regularly since the late 1970's. Directly above the dungeons where African men were held at Cape Coast Castle waiting for a ship to take them across the Middle Passage is an Anglican Church. My roommate throughout our journey, Ledlie Laughlin, is a retired Episcopal priest. We had some challenging--and rich--conversations during the journey. I won't go into it here. I deal with the complexities of religion and its connection to--and complicity in--the slave trade, slavery, and the discrimination and inequity that followed and continues today in Inheriting the Trade.

Suffice it to say that this is a complex and challenging issue for communities of faith and part of our outreach campaign is working directly with churches as they embark on their journeys of discovery of their own history in connection with slavery.

Kit Tennis writes: "though your particular ancestors did not directly engage in trading slaves, how much of your family's success and your own opportunities do you now attribute to the direct or indirect effects of the trade, and how would you most fairly assess a tax on your current family wealth as fair reparation for those unfairly-gotten gains?"

Our nation was founded during a time when slavery was legal. I don't believe the United States could have sustained itself economically as an independent nation without relying on the free--and stolen--labor of enslaved African people. There were many people of European descent who weren't slave traders or slave owners. But they still benefited from the system. They were sail and rope makers. They were farmers who grew food that fed enslaved African people in the West Indies. They invested in banks that invested in the slave trade. They used sugar, cotton, tobacco, rice, and other slave-produced commodities.

Many people came to this country after the slave trade was ended. They arrived in a country with a two-tiered system. And they benefited from their light skin. They had access to housing and jobs that were denied to black people.

I'd like to turn the question around at this point--not to you personally, Kit, but to anyone who is reading this. Think deeply about the implications of the incredibly pervasive system of slavery that existed, and sustained, this nation--the entire nation--for hundreds of years (including over 200 years in the North) and ask yourself: how much of your, your family's, and our nation's success and opportunities can be attributed to the effects of the slavery system? What would a fair reparation (repairing the harm--please don't freak out over the "R" word here; I'm talking about reparation in a very comprehensive, global way, which I go into great detail on in my book) look like?

This is an important conversation we need to have as a people, as a country, as communities. It is natural to want to blame the slave traders or the slave owners or the African people who traded their fellow Africans to the European traders. We've been doing it for a long time and it hasn't led to healing of the historic wounds. It is time to dig more deeply and honestly into all this. Be willing to have the difficult conversations. The first one is with yourself.

Eric Cameron compared the Cambodian genocide to the slave trade; a valid comparison of humankind's inhumanity to one another. He then asks, "...how, if at all, learning about your family's slave trading past has affected your sense of family or cultural pride? And if it has, how have you begun to start working though these emotions?"

This journey with my cousins has certainly impacted my thinking and allowed me to peel back the "layers of the onion" as a professor of mine once described dealing with complicated issues. I look at our nation's founders differently; particularly Thomas Jefferson--both because our ancestors received a political favor from him and because I've become involved with descendants of his and both the women he had children with (Martha Jefferson and Sally Hemings). For me this isn't about trashing Jefferson or the other slave-owning presidents, it is seeing them--and my ancestors--as the complex people they were. It is viewing all of history, even the ugly parts, and learning from the horrors of the past in order to create a more graceful future.

Since you brought up Southeast Asia, I strongly encourage you to check out a film called Nerakhoon (The Betrayal) that I wrote about on my own blog when we were at the Sundance Film Festival in January (http://inheritingthetrade.com/blog/?p=60). If you read my blog post about it I'm sure you'll understand why I recommend it and believe it is directly relevant to this discussion.

Working through these emotional issues requires a willingness to, well, work through the issues. There are many organizations helping people to do so. You can check them out on the "links" page on my website: http://www.inheritingthetrade.com/resources.html

Anne Rector correctly points out that prior to the development of machinery manual labor was how the world worked. Humans did the work. She writes, "I have never understood why using actual manpower was considered abhorrent." She then asks, "Given the limitations of innovation during the period of slavery in the US, do you believe your ancestors engaged in slave trade primarily for financial expediency, just as those who purchased the slaves were doing it for the same purpose?

I'm not sure I understand your comment about manpower being considered abhorrent. I've certainly not contended that manpower is abhorrent. But forcing people to work without their permission, without properly compensating them for their labor, and stripping them of their humanity; I do find that abhorrent.

As for your main question, yes, I do believe that the DeWolfs who engaged in the slave trade did so primarily for financial reasons--just like slave owners in the South. Many compromises have been made throughout history by people who wanted "more" for themselves and their families at the expense of others and their families.

I just have one quick question. What will you do with the proceeds of your book?

Thanks for your question, Marie. The quick answer to your question is found in the Acknowledgments of Inheriting the Trade, on page 252: "Katrina and I committed ourselves from the beginning to dedicate profits generated from the film and this book to overcoming racism and other forms of systemic inequity that exist in the United States and elsewhere."

There remains significant debt connected with this project as well as ongoing expenses to reach out with the film and the book to people across the country in order to support efforts to confront the effects of racism that continue to impact us all.

I have wanted to be an author since I was a teenager. Through this project I'm able not only to work with people I love on something that really matters, but to fulfill my professional dream as well. The more successful this book and future projects become, the greater the opportunity we'll have to continue this work.

So if anyone knows Oprah really well... ;o)

Thank you for your documentary because it will be a testimony to a generation that is not well educated in knowing their history.

When Oprah did her documentary on finding her roots, I wanted to know mine but unfortunately through DNA testing I was unable to find out specific information about what part of Africa my ancestors came from for I received a vague response, "some part of Africa."

Question: Did you make a conscious effort in producing this film to hire or work with those of other minorities? Just wondering and the reason why I ask this is that there are some minorities who are making documentaries to share stories that are untold like your story. I believe that maybe working with someone with similar interests and sensitivity would help you in visioning your over all result with your film. But this is not to discount other filmmakers but to make the point that you need others who are sensitive to your vision to help you create that compelling effect.

Thank you for your time, effort, patience and will power to make the film. I will be watching.

Thank you for your documentary because it will be a testimony to a generation that is not well educated in knowing their history.

When Oprah did her documentary on finding her roots, I wanted to know mine but unfortunately through DNA testing I was unable to find out specific information about what part of Africa my ancestors came from for I received a vague response, "some part of Africa."

Question: Did you make a conscious effort in producing this film to hire or work with those of other minorities? Just wondering and the reason why I ask this is that there are some minorities who are making documentaries to share stories that are untold like your story. I believe that maybe working with someone with similar interests and sensitivity would help you in visioning your over all result with your film. But this is not to discount other filmmakers but to make the point that you need others who are sensitive to your vision to help you create that compelling effect.

Thank you for your time, effort, patience and will power to make the film. I will be watching.

As an amateur genealogist and descendant of wealthy slave holding families from Louisiana, I think about the effects of slavery often. My ancestor, Bennett Barrow’s diary has been used extensively by historians to study slavery on southern plantations. I’m always trying to come to terms with my feelings about my family history. You can’t change who you ancestors were, but hopefully you can learn from their mistakes. It’s a complex issue and it’s hard to talk about. I’m interested in learning different perspectives on this issue.

Do you think there are differences in the history, experiences, and guilt of descendants of slave owners / traders from the north and south? I think that slavery was never just a southern problem, I’m glad that the filmmaker decided to make this film and you wrote a book about it. I hope that the film and book will help us understand our imperfect history and continue to discuss and learn.

I was curious what kind of obstacles you encountered from yourself in taking this journey? Looking so honestly into a past like this had to be difficult for you. Was there any time when you considered not continuing to discover more about the history of your family?

I doubt now my deceased parents' expressions of non-rcism toward coloreds that we were reminded of by them as my sister and twin brother grew up in Illinois. They had moved from Canada to "the states" in the 1920s and I cannot believe a journalist of DeWolfe's stature could put the brakes on racism at the Canadian border. It is more journalistic license than I care to believe exists Where else did I hear and repeat the insulting "jigaboo, ni*#&*" and more than first in my home? Not on my street, I submit this tale fr�m my pre-teen yearsalong with a red-faced apology to Joe Waller, a black man with whom I once worked at a good newspaper and to whom I swore to Joe were words had never used.

been a racist!

I have not read all the comments and I will not be able to see the PBS show until tomorrow, so my question is simple: Were there other books before yours which your gleamed your research on the topic and why has this taken so long to be written and shown on TV? Finally, do you think this will be part of the American history class rather then the versions we were taught in school?

The founding fathers recognized that slavery was wrong - but, they knew that the States needed to first be United. The U.S. would never have happened if they would have demanded slavery be abolished. The wise founding fathers understood that the United Nation had to come first and they trusted that following generations would then address the need to abolish slavery - and - so you see this did happen.

As a member of a descendancy organizaiton which has practiced bigotry, I am pleased to see this organization re-inventing itself from the epiphany of backlash against Marion Anderson's being refused access to Constitution Hall in Washingotn DC. I was pleased to see the transformative manner in which your family and many African Americans acknowledged the painful past and sought to heal. Your cousin, Katrina Browne's film brought a new freedom to people of all colors towards a human liberation. Do you think this liberation can impact a juster transfer of power and wealth,, so that renewed trust can lead to more effective, shared outcomes across racial and geographical barriers?

truly feel blessed by the show. katrina is on God's path up the mountain, as are the 10 of you. what has been your reception from contacts with various churches? as an irish catholic who learned of "nina" ( no irish need apply ) as a policy of new england employers in the past, i await transparent treatment of many issues by my church - that is the people and their clergy - and slavery is prominent in the mix of such issues. thank you for your efforts on this show, and in writing about it. hope i win a copy! blessings to all, pat o'hara

I am curious....can you identify something, like a characteristic or belief within you or your family members that prompted you to go on this trip and to explore these issues of race. I got the sense that some of your family members chose not to come. Is there something that you all had in common or did you all have different reasons for embarking on the journey? The rationale for the question--is there something extraordinary about you and your family or was it just a willingness to take the leap into these issues? Is it your elite family background highlighted in the film that compelled you all to get involved? I think it is a powerful, poignant journey that you're on (just because the film has aired, doesn't mean your journey's are over), but I wonder what about others? Will others embark on similar journeys or is your family unique?

You may use HTML tags for style and links. This was a a very moving presentation. I found this program deeply thought provoking and as I watched became more and more caught up and emotionally involved. My 2 questions are: Did you have the same set of reasons, goals, priorities and motivations for joining this "vision quest" when you originally started out as those you truly finished with? Question two: Taken in the many broad issues it covers (and lack of time and space) what about the Native Americans and do you think approipriate reparations have been made? I find it just to try to do something but whatever is and may be...is not enough.

I was blessed to go Elmira castle(dungeon), in 1994 with Dr.Asa Hilliard, who was a African-American Historian. I too, am African-American and the pain we felt as Black Community was very intense, saddening a & infuriating.
As the one young African asked you , Did slavery make you feel superior or my question is it this countries omission of African History, that programs the masses to have inferior and superior attitudes?

I was deeply moved by the film which was broadcast on my local PBS station this evening. I was especially interested in the conversation which occurred late in the film during which members of your family went around the table and named the colleges from which they graduated. I wonder how your education and the educations of those sitting at that table were financed. Since education today divides the rich from the poor more than any other factor, I wonder what kinds of education the descendants of the slaves your family purchased and sold have been able to achieve. Do you believe there could be some benefit in comparing and understanding the advantages and disadvantages passed from generation to generation of slave trader and slave? (I'm suggesting looking specifically at education, political influence, land ownership and other wealth of DeWolf descendants and comparing with descendants of some of the slaves traded by the DeWolfs.) Could it help people in the US better understand issues of poverty today?

Has any effort been made to connect with African-American descendants of any of the slaves from the deWolfe "business" to get their response to any of the large quiestions your work raised?

What an orgy of shame! I endured Traces of the Trade and discovered nothing new in it except for perhaps the disgusting depths that self-hating, bleeding heart white liberals, will descend to and self-righteously insist on dragging everybody else along with them.

What a twisted trip for white masochists, groveling before blacks who questioned and mocked them, who refused to shake their hand and who said they felt angry. White people ought to be angry at blacks always playing the victim and never taking responsibility for themselves - whether in the US or Africa.

Reparations are not the solution, especially if we subtract what blacks have cost America. Why should those who were never slave owners pay those who were never slaves? REPATRIATION is the solution. And looking at African blacks versus American blacks, some could conclude that for many the sacrifice of slavery is the best thing that ever happened. You certainly don't see blacks clamoring to return to Africa with any sense of proper pride, even though many claim to be "Afro-centric." Yet they'll stay and complain and try to shake down guilty whites instead of recognizing or admitting the common sense of Abraham Lincoln that still rings true today: the solution is racial separation.

"I will say, then, that I AM NOT NOR HAVE EVER BEEN in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the black and white races---that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with White people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the White and black races which will ever FORBID the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together, there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I, as much as any other man, am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the White race."
- Abraham Lincoln

As a High School U.S. History teacher "Traces of the Trade" is one of the finest sources I have seen that examines the often ignored role of the North in promoting slavery. It made me think of the song "Molasses to Rum" from the 1776 musical. Tom, you also were involved in another divisive issue in the film outside of race. The issue of privilege and class advantage was evident when it was revealed that you were the only family member not to attend an Ivy League college. The underlying feeling of not fitting in with the "elites" was palpable with your phrase "I think I'm going to eat in the kitchen." Do you deal with the issues of special advantages and having the proper family connections in "Inheriting the Trade?" It may be that race is just the largest chapter of this more general method of social and economic stratification.

I just finished watching the documentary Traces of the Trade. As a former Peace Corps Vol. in the Eastern Caribbean I have become interested in the history and current issues of that region. My husband and I have begun taking groups down for voluntour vacations doing service projects and our local University just sponsored a class in Barbados and St. Vincent about Slavery and plantation life. One of the professors and I are now teaming up to hopefully take groups down to the area to study slavery and plantation life as well. What suggestions would you have for us to make this more than educational? How do we best get folks to probe their own feelings about race, power, repsonsibility, privilege, etc. I'd greatly appreciate your suggestions for specific activities.

afer watching the film i felt at peace with myself and with the white race as a whole because you thought enough to retrace the steps of your ancesters as well as my ancesters and to try to feel what they were subjected to. thank you for taking the time to care. that is the beginning of healing. I dont need or want your money. I want equality for myself and my people .We want to be treated with the same respect you demand. i don't want anything given to me but I dont want to be blocked at every turn from acquireing the things that are offered to whites. Promotions on jobs, loans for housing, better schools. I want to be seen and not looked over or ignored.I think blacks and whites should come together and I feel the church would be a good place to start. take the defences down. whites need to change there thinkng and stop thinking that they are surperior to blacks. some may be better educated but they are not surperior.we need to stop talking and began acting. Speak to people in the market, the shopping centers, etc.smile be friendly. if you show love others will show love in return. I am an American

Was it Dain who stated that he got to Harvard on his own -- top of this, top of that---and would have gone to Harvard had be been born in another family? Does he continue feel that way? How about you? Do you see the injustice in our education system, including Bush's NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND?

I just want to say that I enjoyed this cathartic program immensely. It bothers me greatly that most of the schools with the largest endowments in the country got there start investing in the slave trade.

Desmond Tutu has said that the US needs a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. I agreed with that the moment I heard it. Your film is a good start.

Thank you so much for sharing this intensely personal--and yet strangely universal--journey.

Susan Todd

I missed some of your program on PBS, but saw enough. A little background is necessary. I was born in the UK and lived for 25 years in South Africa. One of my ancestors, John Morton, was Archbishop of Canterbury (obviously prior to the Anglicanization of the RC Church by Henry VIII) from 1485-1500 (ironically, you can see his papers in the Harvard Library), but my family went with Henry when he changed it, and all of them have been Anglicans since then. I have lived in the U.S. for 27 years and am continuously amused by the antics of the white, privileged, faithful & wealthy who seem to have little to do but to repeat the past and groan in their rictus of guilt.

I am an educator with a Ph.D. from SUNY Buffalo (sorry, my Fulbright Scholarship didn't pay for a Princeton, Harvard, or Brown degree!). My last ten years have been spent working with inner-city children and the homeless. This is important because my work with the poor grounds my questions to you. Because of this work it has become clear to me that people do not do charity work (or request reparations for the actions of their relatives and ancestors) because they have realized that inequalities in society must be changed through their selfless actions - what the South African blacks used to characterize as the "white, liberal guilt trip" - but because of an immoral selfishness which moves them to a public action for their own benefit: that of being recognized by their immediate peers as kind, morally important beings who have, apparently, chosen to suffer with people with whom they would never normally associate; a pathetic act like Catholics who ate fish on Fridays, Jews who atone by fasting for a day, or businesses who allow their employees to work for the poor one day a year, or Anglicans who don't eat before communion on Easter. What I saw of your film was a rather sickly-sweet rendition of an old tune. A tune played to help yourselves to a missing piece of emotionalism missing from your pointless lives without the counterpoint of having to give up anything of your privilege or wealth so that you can say to your ilk: "My, but aren't we so good?" Here are the questions:

1. Your involvement of the Episcopalian Church was precise and the church's guilt is tangible. Why didn't you demand that the Church show its admission of guilt and atonement openly? Why not demand that they go public, nationally (and internationally, given that the Anglican Church and its Roman roots have been directly involved in the slave trade all over the globe since its inception) and admit their complicity, that they agree to a period of time (say 3 years) during which their priests will preach about their church complicity and the deep sin involved, will wear something that identifies them as guilty (such as a yellow hood), will give up a high percentage of the offertory to reparations every week, and will fast completely for at least four concurrent days each month, prostrating themselves before their church altar for that period and giving themselves to prayer for forgiveness for the crimes of their church and its past leaders?

2. Why do you and your friends (whoever you define as your friends after you have stated that you will REALLY give up something to atone for your family's sins) give up 90% of your
belongings and money, wear identifiable, old clothing associated with suffering (such as a hair shirt), sleep on planking without blankets, indulge in self-flagellation using a Catholic "Discipline" or by wearing a "Cilice" (available from the �Discalced Carmelite Convent of Saint Theresa,� in Italy), and eat food that the slaves had to eat? In other words stop looking for praise for your publicly attempted atonement, but agree to suffer the pain that was inflicted by your families and ancestors.

Why not involve your wealthy alma maters in your atonement? They surely trained many of the people whose governance caused much of the suffering (didn't George W. Bush even go to Harvard?), they spread the attitudes which maintained slavery, their early social and even scientific research formed the basis for many of the American attitudes and policies, they produced the lawyers who maintained the status quo, they made the doctors who refused to treat slaves. Where is their atonement?

The truth is this is a form of self-serving hypocritical white liberal Americans pandering to a history of self-aggrandizement. I remember when I first arrived in this land, I went to visit Hyde Park (in NY), and went to one of the Rockefeller mansions. The young guide went on proudly about how great the Missus was in helping the poor - she fed them every day, she gave them clothes, she gave them money (sometimes), and she built schools for their male children. I asked the guide whether she really thought the Missus was so great given the fact that her husband caused and maintained the poverty that she, so famously, alleviated every day. "How could you ask such a thing?" Said the guide. "Mrs. Rockefeller gave a up a great deal to help the poor, and her husband was a great man."

Here's another reason for the rest of the world to dislike Americans.
As for your church, the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury recently suggested that Islamic Sharia should be incorporated into UK law, and all the Episcopalians can bicker about is whether it is right to have a gay Bishop. No wonder I left the church a long time ago - their crimes will simply multiply and be prayed away.

Chris Morton

Edited by moderator for personal attacks and language

Dear Sirs,

I have a computer and am writing to you on it so I am privileged more then most in the world, aren't I.?
Yet our family is more low income then middle. We had two learning disability children that the school system refused to make programs for as the law said. I had to quite my profession and my attempt to get more education.
I can't tell you how that has affected our lives in every aspect.
How are children grew up but didn't make it well in this world because people refused to do their jobs. Because people are prejudice.
How people that can afford vacations; afford new, safe cars; afford health care or afford healthy food rather then so much mac and cheese and rice as fillers; how those people don't even know they are privileged. They don't even realize that because their parents were college educated or owned a successful business or their Aunt or Uncle or cousin, that they had a better chance in the first place. That they worked for their degrees but they had the "chance" to work for their degrees because of the privileged place their family had in our society.

I am a Caucasian woman of 55 yrs. old. I can't tell you how my life would have been different if my generation had been encouraged to get strong educations and not marry and have children as our female place in this world. Now I am dependant on my husband's retirement, so forth and so on. I have the brains to have added my own retirement, my own "benefits, but the prejudice, the status known, expected for my social class never "told" me these things about how our world really works.

We won't even be able to afford the new TV system coming out so won't be watching PBS anymore next year. Who was arrogant enough in this world to think they have a right to make us all get new TVs and who can afford that.

All that to say, there is privilege, prejudice, unspoken class systems EVERYWHERE. Some worse then others and I am not saying that is "right". But I am saying it is. It is in this human race, has been threw out history.
Can we try to be aware if we are privileged. Can we always try to help in some way with whatever small or large amount of privilege we have those less fortunate then ourselves. Absolutely yes.
In our lesser status we still send a little through Christian Children's to a youngster in Equator. But just do it, whatever "it" is in your own life.
But to select one race, one class, one income level and apologies from all others in that group - I think only those who have not struggled in regular life would think of such a thing.

Just do "right" in whatever station you are in life. Get on with living in what is a difficult world for most of us, get on with helping, get on with doing your best in fairness. Not inventing some fake apology or reformation or whatever and then including everyone of that race - how foolish. We are all individuals and we have not all acted the same, we have not all had the same privilege no matter the color of our skin. Don't put me in a class because of the race I am no matter what race that is, no matter what class.

It is wonderful the DeWolf generations faced what their ancestors did, how they made their money. It is wonderful that they now know there is responsibility in privilege and they will be aware of that in whatever situation that now comes into their lives. But it is no bigger, no different, no better then any of us.
And where are the generation descendants of the African people that betrayed their own? Where is their realization and apologies?

Just get on with life, now, or most likely you will again put yourself above others in the process of trying to help.
Here you are making riches, money still off your slave trading family history by writing and selling your book?
Just get on with living the best fairness you can with what you have been blessed.

Thanks for a chance of expression.
Sincerely,
Linda

Dear Sirs,

I have a computer and am writing to you on it so I am privileged more then most in the world, aren't I.?
Yet our family is more low income then middle. We had two learning disability children that the school system refused to make programs for as the law said. I had to quite my profession and my attempt to get more education.
I can't tell you how that has affected our lives in every aspect.
How are children grew up but didn't make it well in this world because people refused to do their jobs. Because people are prejudice.
How people that can afford vacations; afford new, safe cars; afford health care or afford healthy food rather then so much mac and cheese and rice as fillers; how those people don't even know they are privileged. They don't even realize that because their parents were college educated or owned a successful business or their Aunt or Uncle or cousin, that they had a better chance in the first place. That they worked for their degrees but they had the "chance" to work for their degrees because of the privileged place their family had in our society.

I am a Caucasian woman of 55 yrs. old. I can't tell you how my life would have been different if my generation had been encouraged to get strong educations and not marry and have children as our female place in this world. Now I am dependant on my husband's retirement, so forth and so on. I have the brains to have added my own retirement, my own "benefits, but the prejudice, the status known, expected for my social class never "told" me these things about how our world really works.

We won't even be able to afford the new TV system coming out so won't be watching PBS anymore next year. Who was arrogant enough in this world to think they have a right to make us all get new TVs and who can afford that.

All that to say, there is privilege, prejudice, unspoken class systems EVERYWHERE. Some worse then others and I am not saying that is "right". But I am saying it is. It is in this human race, has been threw out history.
Can we try to be aware if we are privileged. Can we always try to help in some way with whatever small or large amount of privilege we have those less fortunate then ourselves. Absolutely yes.
In our lesser status we still send a little through Christian Children's to a youngster in Equator. But just do it, whatever "it" is in your own life.
But to select one race, one class, one income level and apologies from all others in that group - I think only those who have not struggled in regular life would think of such a thing.

Just do "right" in whatever station you are in life. Get on with living in what is a difficult world for most of us, get on with helping, get on with doing your best in fairness. Not inventing some fake apology or reformation or whatever and then including everyone of that race - how foolish. We are all individuals and we have not all acted the same, we have not all had the same privilege no matter the color of our skin. Don't put me in a class because of the race I am no matter what race that is, no matter what class.

It is wonderful the DeWolf generations faced what their ancestors did, how they made their money. It is wonderful that they now know there is responsibility in privilege and they will be aware of that in whatever situation that now comes into their lives. But it is no bigger, no different, no better then any of us.
And where are the generation descendants of the African people that betrayed their own? Where is their realization and apologies?

Just get on with life, now, or most likely you will again put yourself above others in the process of trying to help.
Here you are making riches, money still off your slave trading family history by writing and selling your book?
Just get on with living the best fairness you can with what you have been blessed.

Thanks for a chance of expression.
Sincerely,
Linda

This was a good film. Your approach was very timid. There was a point when you all were going through the DeWolf papers and looking at the
shackles and whip that you actually could feel you emotionally connected.
One thing that all whites could do for Aftican Americans is to open records
of this sort to make it easier for us to locate our ancestors and history
whatever it be.

This is Tom's cousin, James, from the film.

In response to Kathy's question, it was actually my father, Jim, who said that he believed he got into Harvard on his own merit. While we had a debate at that moment, in which Katrina, Tom, and I had to argue that Jim's admission to Harvard was definitely related to his family environment, he has since agreed with us.

I think it's fair to say that for Tom, Jim, and me, education is a top priority when it comes to addressing the legacy of slavery. There is indeed a great deal of injustice in our educational system. It's not just government policies like "No Child Left Behind," either. Family and community matter a greal deal, too. There are significant advantages to having parents who are well-educated, to having a local school system that believes students can succeed, and all the other aspects of an environment that sets children up to succeed, rather than putting up obstacles to their success.

How do you make permanent changes in your lives that recognize the power of white privilege and the need for white people to change, if racial justice is to be realized in the U.S.?

Tom,
Why does your family feel it is our responsibility to make ammends for past generations mistakes?

I feel that the history of this country right and wrong is what has made us and is the reason we are here today. While I strongly do not agree with slavery we did not live at that time and we can not be held accountable for something that happened so long ago when we did not directly have a hand in. Was it wrong of people back then to deal in the slave trade?? Yes it was but it was not only the whites if you research it was the Africans that rounded up villages of Africans to bring to the slave traders so should the Africans be held accountable as well for enslaving their own people?
Thank you for your answers I thought the program was enlightning

If you or any of your family offered an apology to the black communities of Ghana or the U.S., did the black community accept your apology? If so, did any of you feel that blacks were relieved to have an apology of any sort, or were they able to absorb the apology in your presence? Thanks for putting your family history out for the world to see, it was quite an eyeopener.

You may use HTML tags for style and links. Where are the proceeds from
your book going?If per chance they are not being used to educate
and level the playing field after your journey into "hell" then what exactly
was gleaned from your quest. As an African American is was painful to
watch, to see this laid out before me. The most touching moment was when
the black lady rejected you for entering her sacred space and you got "it".
There has always been the sense that white skin "counts" for something.
Going through the 60's as a child of the 60's and still feeling that we cannot
heal until we open these wounds and America apologizes and make
ammends in terms of Payment, then we CANNOT move on. The country was
built on the backs of black slaves, free labor, and payback is "hell". I am
in recovery as an African American, struggling daily to get to a point that
the pain is eased and the forgiveness comes. It is a daily and continuing
struggle. It is for the entire black race, if we admit it or not.

You may use HTML tags for style and links. Where are the proceeds from
your book going?If per chance they are not being used to educate
and level the playing field after your journey into "hell" then what exactly
was gleaned from your quest. As an African American is was painful to
watch, to see this laid out before me. The most touching moment was when
the black lady rejected you for entering her sacred space and you got "it".
There has always been the sense that white skin "counts" for something.
Going through the 60's as a child of the 60's and still feeling that we cannot
heal until we open these wounds and America apologizes and make
ammends in terms of Payment, then we CANNOT move on. The country was
built on the backs of black slaves, free labor, and payback is "hell". I am
in recovery as an African American, struggling daily to get to a point that
the pain is eased and the forgiveness comes. It is a daily and continuing
struggle. It is for the entire black race, if we admit it or not.

I would like to know what, if any, spiritual or enlightened consciousness has happened in you, due to your experiences with your up close look at the enslavement of Africans? Do you see your life as benefitting from the historical enslavement of Africans and do you still consider "white privilege"
your birthright?

Wow. The dialogue is at least starting to get interesting. Growing up in the late 60's and 70's in a racially diverse town and school system, I was afforded a better education on how to live and how to accept differences in culture for what they are. Different cultures. Racial tension was paramount, yet it never occured to me that skin color was the key to someone's worth. What I did realize, and think about often today, is the advantage I have always had, through no effort of my own, of having white skin, blue eyes, and blond hair. I know that I can never fully comprehend what is must be like to be a black woman (or man) who has to walk into a business meeting, doctor's office, school play, or clothing store always on the alert for, always vigilant against, an ignorant and race biased remark or worse. It must be exhausting; TOTAL understatement!! I was born with the "advantage" of having white skin, and I have done very little to stand up against racial and societal injustices even with the belief that I am no better than those "less fortunate". Thank you for this chance for me to wake up and start acting as I believe. There is no easy, clean answer, and many cultures have suffered at the hands of "whitey", Native Americans come to mind, so the job of repair is HUGE and may never be fully complete. But if we can realize that we have to start somewhere and acknowledging the wrong for what it is, horribly injust and evil behavior, then maybe we have a chance to right some of it.

I watched the documentary last night, "Traces of the Trade" and many exculpatory ideas surfaced through the documentary such as compensation. The issue between white and black is beyond any compensation. It is rooted in the heart, attitudes, and beliefs.
My question to you is do you have any close black friends? And I don't mean black acquaintances, colleagues, or neighbors.
I think a lasting way of compensating others is through shedding the layers of prejudice, culture, family background, and beliefs. How about each white person reaching out (in true friendship) to a non-white person or each black person reaching out to a non-black person where the barriers of prejudice, superiority, class, and status are broken. Sounds utopian... but if we were to be blinded to the color of the skin then our sight will lead us toward healing and less separation among ourselves.

To the DeWolf family...Thank you ,Thank you, Thank you. The healing has begun not just for your family but for me as well. As a black american woman i am filled with deep rooted anger and pain because when we discuss racism or slavery we are often misunderstood or disregarded. We are often told that our anger is unwarranted. I felt your family "got it" and that is so important to the entire black community. Please continue to reach out to people and educate others about your family's experience.

I'm finding it very distressing that alot of the comments by white people on this post display anger with the DeWolf family because they are apologetic for what their family has done. Why the reluctance to aknowledge racism or the impact of the slave trade on the black community? Why choose to deny it and quickly dismiss it as a historical blunder? It is so much more than that. The weight of slavery is unmeasurable because as Katrina Brown stated in her sermon the effects were ongoing after slavery ended e.g. jim crow laws.

I enjoyed the program and congratulate your family for going into such a courageous journey, physically as well as spiritually. I was surprised to learn that slaves had not been aprehended at gun point by the slave traders but had actually been bartered and sold by their own leaders. That being the case, don't the black ancestors bear an almost equal responsibility for this shameful trade? Is this being discussed? Thank you

Last night I watched the Traces of the Trade P.O.V. show on P.B.S.

I think the main problem with the DeWolf family is not that their ancestors were involved in the slave trade so much as the fact that they continued on when the slave trade was illegal! That means their ancestor was a certified criminal by their own country's standards of the time. He was not any different than the modern day drug dealers who also rationalize their illegal behavior.

Another thing I want to comment on is that the African-Americans and the African nationals are two completely different breeds of cat, much the way that Japanese nationals are completely different from Japanese-Americans; people forget that. For that African-American visiting Ghana to complain about whites in her midst sounded as racist (if that's the word) as if I were to complain about encountering colored people in Europe had I been on an European vacation. It would be absurd and unrealistic with the modern world.

My big gripe about people who whine about social sins, such as racism, is that they seem to forget about their own personal sins and even in their very own families. That would seem to me to take a higher precedence in concern than worrying about changing other people and even the world.

My being a Roman Catholic is going to color my view on history much the way that Protestants or secularists have their own perspective.

The DeWolf's family's one-upmanship amongst themselves regarding their college education was laughable when one remember's how many self-taught well-educated people exist in the world. Getting an Ivy League education many times simply advertises to the world that you've been thoroughly indoctrinated in liberalism; not something to brag about, I think.

I watched the show hoping to further my historical knowledge about the U.S. and perhaps I learned a thing or two, but the show also came across as an exercise in self-flogging perversity. More wisdom definitely needs to be shed on all the participants of that show. Perhaps they need to interview the writer Dinesh D'Souza.

Mike Reininger

That's interesting, Mike, that you place more importance on the fact that members of the DeWolf family were sometimes breaking laws than on the nature of the business they were in.

If I could speak with my fifth-great grandfather, James DeWolf, I wouldn't focus on which laws he might have broken, nor would I praise him, either, for the fact that he stopped trading the moment the U.S. outlawed the trade.

I would concentrate on what I see as the immorality, and the inhumanity, of his chosen line of work.

Congratulations on a fine show on the DeWolf family, which aired last night here in Juneau, Alaska.

I have been involved in research on John D'Wolf (1779-1872), an American sea captain and Northwest coast fur trader of Newport RI and Dorchester MA. He was also an uncle of Herman Melville, who mentions him in two novels.

My research is on Russian-America and D'Wolf's wintering in Sitka in 1805, when he paddled by kayak with the German Georg von Langsdorff from Sitka to the village site on Chatham Strait to which the Tlingits retreated after their battle with the Russians in 1804 (when Baranov recaptured Sitka, after the Tlingit victory of 1802). Our book just appeared a few weeks ago, from the University of Washington Press, and is called Anooshi Lingit Aani Ka, Russians in Tlingit America: The Battles of Sitka of 1802 and 1804. D'Wolf appears mostly on pages 299-303, and von Langsdorff's parallel account follows on pp 305-316.

My questions: is he a cousin of some kind of James DeWolf and the Bristol family, and was he also involved in the slave trade? (John appears to have been involved only in the NWC-China fur trade, and his career is fascinating.)

Sincerely,
Richard Dauenhauer, Ph.D.
President's Professor of Alaska Native Languages and Cultures
University of Alaska Southeast
Juneau, AK

I would like to thank the DeWolf familly for having the courage to investigate their history in the trading of slaves and letting us watch the journey. Have you thought about tracing your family tree for black descedents of the DeWolf family?

I'm an African-American and I was raised in various households. I was always curious and wanting to get to know people of different colors, nationalities, etc. I wanted to learn from them; how they lived, and how we were different and alike. I wanted to applaud your family for taking the journey and the project so seriously. I don't think it's so much as what your ancestors did as your fault, but I do think we think the world owes us something (some of us) because of the wrongs that were done. I think we have far more opportunities than they had then and there's certain issues we must acknowledge and come to terms with as a race to move past certain pains. I don't feel as if anyone owes me anything, but I do wish people would do as you have done and not try to hide the past and forgive more.
I have had the pleasure of tracking and meeting siblings that I've never met and we continue to get to know each other because we were separated so young and some have deep issues that they still have not resolved, and until they do that the healing cannot begin not matter who apologizes or tries to shed light. I appreciate what you've done and for pbs for the educational materials

I am a daughter of 3 generations of share croppers. What was unigue growing up in my family was how the older members never expressed hatred toward whites or even pointed out the injustices they suffered as a result of their black hertiage. What I heard was the stories about being hungery and homeless. Education and working was encouraged. I watch historical programs about the black struggle in America. The images of boundage, entrapment, beatings, rape and murder grieves my heart. The tears swell in my eyes and pinges of doubt and abhorrence tear at the very fabric of my christian upbringing and human compassion. I now understand why my grandparents and parents never talked about their experiences. Maybe it was a good thing because for a long time I grew up not knowing the struggles between white and black people. My parents both had a 8th grade education. I am the oldest of nine children and the first person in my family to earn a college degree. In my family tree I have experienced and seen the effects of self-hatred and racial prejudice due to slavery, oppression and discrimination. I believe blacks should be compensated for their plight in America. If not with money(40 acreas and a mule) then with education. Allow us and our childrens children to attend a college/university of our capability, choice and free of charge. Apologies and forgiveness are necessary for healing. But action in the form of proper and lifetime education is essential to the recovery of the black human race. Thank you and your family for seeking, accepting and sharing the truth.

I am a daughter of 3 generations of share croppers. What was unigue growing up in my family was how the older members never expressed hatred toward whites or even pointed out the injustices they suffered as a result of their black hertiage. What I heard was the stories about being hungery and homeless. Education and working was encouraged. I watch historical programs about the black struggle in America. The images of boundage, entrapment, beatings, rape and murder grieves my heart. The tears swell in my eyes and pinges of doubt and abhorrence tear at the very fabric of my christian upbringing and human compassion. I now understand why my grandparents and parents never talked about their experiences. Maybe it was a good thing because for a long time I grew up not knowing the struggles between white and black people. My parents both had a 8th grade education. I am the oldest of nine children and the first person in my family to earn a college degree. In my family tree I have experienced and seen the effects of self-hatred and racial prejudice due to slavery, oppression and discrimination. I believe blacks should be compensated for their plight in America. If not with money(40 acreas and a mule) then with education. Allow us and our childrens children to attend a college/university of our capability, choice and free of charge. Apologies and forgiveness are necessary for healing. But action in the form of proper and lifetime education is essential to the recovery of the black human race. Thank you and your family for seeking, accepting and sharing the truth.

NOTE TO READERS OF THIS BLOG FROM THE AUTHOR:

The number of posts on this blog jumped from 18 to 48 in the past 18 hours so I'm going to do my best to answer as many questions as I can in as timely a fashion as I can. If any questions are closely related to others I'll try to provide an overall response. If you feel that your question hasn't been answered to your satisfaction, feel free to e-mail it to: info[at]inheritingthetrade-dot-com and we'll do our best to get back to you in the near future.

AND, feel free to go to my personal blog and join the conversation there on a range of related subjects: http://inheritingthetrade.com/blog/.

Thanks for your patience...

Tom

Margaret wrote at 3:21pm on June 24: "You can't change who you ancestors were, but hopefully you can learn from their mistakes. It's a complex issue and it's hard to talk about. I'm interested in learning different perspectives on this issue. Do you think there are differences in the history, experiences, and guilt of descendants of slave owners / traders from the north and south?"

My sense of things is that, yes, there are as many differences in history, experiences, and thoughts about guilt or non-guilt, as there are people. More than ever I'm convinced of both our shared, communal humanity (sometimes graceful and loving; far too often brutal and inhumane) AND the uniqueness of each individual's life experience. That sounds incredibly obvious as I write it but I believe that a lot of our problems with each other is that far too often we don't recognize or honor our shared humanity and we multiply the problem by not respecting each individual's unique history, family, beliefs, and so forth.

I am descended from Quaker immigrants of 1682 who settled in the Penn Colony. Some were involved in the Underground Railroad. To my knowledge none ever participated in slavery in any other way. As a child I did not live in any area in which there were black residents. My exposure to the racial problem was "Uncle Tom's Cabin." I never lived or worked with blacks, not by intent but by circumstance. As a consequence I see no deserved sense in the idea of reparations. It is my opinion that if we were all to be able to search our ancestry we would find that we likely have decended from slaves at some time. The African slaves are only the last of a long line still being extended in one form or another by traders in Africa and Asia.

It is outrageous to even consider making demands of the present Nation of USA to apologize for slavery and to believe that The Congress should create a law obligating all the citizens of the Nation to make reparations, no matter the form, to a single minority group of other citizens. Other groups came to this continent in dire circumstance and made their way out of it. Successful Africans should be glad they made it out of the perpetual misery of Africa by whatever means. Forget Africa as an excuse. It is only a place where ancestors lived and died for thousands of years, not a homeland. Allegiance is to this nation. Money should not and does not compensate emotional hate or anger for a percieved offense. It certainly does not verify foregiveness.

It is unfortunate that the incident of slavery occurred over the many years. Few events occur as we would have them, particularly those that occurred before we were born. I do not think that the D'Wolfe family of today should believe or feel that they are responsible for any act of their forefathers; however, if their emotional state is such that they believe that subjective apology will relieve it, make it to God--there is no soul living who deserves it nor has any aurthority to forgive it. Leave the rest of us out of your personal guilt trip to deal with it ourselves as we see fit if necessary, whether inside or outside of your church. Resolutions of church bodies have no weight or authority. It is between you and your God without the mediation of a priest.

Gerald Mendenhall

Amaryah wrote June 24, 2008 06:07 PM:" I was curious what kind of obstacles you encountered from yourself in taking this journey? Looking so honestly into a past like this had to be difficult for you. Was there any time when you considered not continuing to discover more about the history of your family?"

Thank you for this observation, Amaryah. I believe that most of the obstacles we face in life are the one's we encounter within ourselves. That was certainly my esperience. My first--and biggest--point of alarm (when I actually thought about flying home rather than continuing on) was the day before our journey began. It just hit me clearly what I was about to embark upon with 9 complete strangers. I'm grateful that another family member was with me and we talked through it all. I'll be forever blessed to have participated in this journey. The more we studied, learned, and talked about the history the more I wanted to learn. If you read "Inheriting the Trade" you'll get a more complete sense of my own transformation in relation to the history and how, ultimately, I have found this journey to be liberating. Consequently, the thought of discontinuing the quest for more knowledge about the history of our family and our nation didn't grow; it diminished.

With all the aftermath the slave trade manisfested, to apologize for ancestral wrong doings is like taking a box of BandAids to the victims of Hiroshima and saying, "I didn't drop the bomb, but I want to help you out."

I thank the people involved in making the film, and look forward to reading 'Inheriting the Trade'. I think it's high time that the dialogue cuts through the fear and resentments.

Personally, MY family is from Ireland. Poor, uneducated, immigrants. White immigrants who were able to assimilate easily after one generation, who were able to get jobs, education and housing just by going to work. They were not denied the opportunities America had to offer because of the color of their skin,. My family (who were NOT the ones responsible for slavery) didn't have to suffer generation after generation of fear, degredation, injustice, and predjudice. The fact that my ancestors didn't trade or own slaves, that they in fact did face cultural bias and were considered "less than" by the more established white population, does not give me the right to ignore my responsibility. Neither apathy nor ignorance is an excuse any longer. We are all citizens of a global community who cannot hide from our responsibility to make things right for those who suffer from injustice. We have a choice to continue or stop the madness. To continue to lose or to start winning.

The documentary was beautifully and sensitively done..imagine my delight the day it aired on PBS here in Phila. when a friend emailed me to watch it as her daughter Jude Ray ws the coproducer and lives only 7 miles from me. Another friend had already alerted me to the airing..Ann Guise is the founder and main force behind "BrightLights" an innner city reading and self development program for gradeschoolers...10 or so of whom she took to Ghana this March to trace their roots. After the airing she was on the phone..terribly excited about the film and we are making plans to get a copy to show at our church with discussion. Kudos to you all. barb

DISCUSSION FORUM at TRACES OF THE TRADE website

I also want to encourage anyone who is interested in further conversation in the future to visit the Discussion Forum at the Traces of the Trade website (http://www.tracesofthetrade.org/). There are a variety of forum topics and over 80 members so far.

Hello, do you plan on making a So California Visit? and if so, would you be willing to speak about your book and venture in my African American Studies Class In Los Angeles CA?

In response to Bob Bustamnte's question about whether I'll be in Southern California and can I speak to his African American Studies class in Los Angeles I'll give a broad response:

One overriding goal of this journey is what happens now that the book and the film are out in the world. "What's next?" was a common question posed to us throughout the making of the film and the writing of the book. What's next is an outreach program. All of us will make ourselves available to visit schools, colleges, museums, churches, community groups, reading groups, anti-racism groups, conferences and conventions. Some of us will be doing outreach work full-time over the next year. Some have full-time jobs so will participate as they are able. Speakers and facilitators from the �Traces Family� who are available for screening events include Katrina Browne, me (Tom DeWolf) and other family members, as well as others who are in the film such as Harold Fields, Constance Perry and Co-Producer Juanita Brown. Email speakers[at]tracesofthetrade.org for bios, availability and fees.

We strongly recommend using trained facilitators if you are going to host a dialogue. A discussion guide for facilitators--and other resources--are available at http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2008/tracesofthetrade/resources.html. If you need to find a facilitator, there are many networks that can help you find someone in your area. For a partial listing of such networks please go to www.inheritingthetrade.com/resources.html.

Bob, in answer to your specific question about my plans to visit Los Angeles again (I was there in February and would love to come back at some point), please send an e-mail to info[at]inheritingthetrade.com and we can discuss it further.

Jerry Rubin asked: "Were there other books before yours which your gleamed your research on the topic and why has this taken so long to be written and shown on TV? Finally, do you think this will be part of the American history class rather then the versions we were taught in school?"

Absolutely. There's a wealth of information out there. I hope to add a list of books on a soon-to-be-developed "resources" page on the website soon. If you check out the "notes" at the end of "Inheriting the Trade" you'll see the books I specifically utilized in writing my book. Off the top of my head I recommend Edward Ball's Slaves in the Family, Henry Wiencek's The Hairstons, Adam Hochschild's King Leopold's Ghost. Just out are Douglas Blackmon's Slavery by Another Name, Marcus Rediker's The Slave Ship, and Ben Skinner's A Crime So Monstrous. All are significant contributions to uncovering this part of our history that has been hidden for so long.

There have been many books written, significant scholarship on the subject developed, and many people to whom I am grateful for providing the shoulders we can stand upon today. Our family is blessed to join this growing chorus of people and organizations who have been shining a light on the dark side of history for a long, long time.

And please understand, I'm no masochist. It isn't my intention to shine a light on horror and terror and the underbelly of history because I want us all to wallow in guilt and sadness. I simply believe that it is important to consider the full scope of history in order to understand how we got to where we are today.

I do hope that our film, Traces of the Trade, and our book, Inheriting the Trade, will be utilized in educational settings around the country. We've been contacted by many high school and college teachers who have let us know that the book and/or film will be utilized as part of their curriculum in the coming school year. I've been invited to speak at several universities in the coming year. Our hope is that current and future generations of students will have a far more complete view of history in their classrooms that you and I had when we were in school.

It is truly time...

Anne wrote: "I was pleased to see the transformative manner in which your family and many African Americans acknowledged the painful past and sought to heal. Your cousin Katrina Browne's film brought a new freedom to people of all colors towards a human liberation. Do you think this liberation can impact a juster transfer of power and wealth, so that renewed trust can lead to more effective, shared outcomes across racial and geographical barriers?"

I do believe that what you describe is possible. I believe this is one of the main reasons that my cousins and I participated with Katrina in this journey.

Patricia O'Hara asks, "what has been your reception from contacts with various churches?"

To date it has been completely positive. Personally, I've worked most closely with Episcopal and Unitarian/Universalist people/churches and it has been a wonderful experience. I'm not personally a member of a "faith community" but see churches as places that ought to be the kind of "vessel" for difficult conversations like this. Churches profess to believe in spiritual things. Church people profess to hold each other accountable. I'm pleased with the resolutions that have been passed by the national Episcopal and UUA organizations. I'll be speaking at the UUA annual General Assembly this coming Saturday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

I've worked with, and will continue to work with, various dioceses of the Episcopal Church of the U.S. Along with my cousins. We've been in contact with other denominations as well and look forward to more work on healing from these historic wounds with any, and all, religious/spiritual communities.

In previous posts I've pulled a specific question out of longer entries. In this case, I find the questions so compelling that I'm including the entire post from Nicole: "I am curious....can you identify something, like a characteristic or belief within you or your family members that prompted you to go on this trip and to explore these issues of race. I got the sense that some of your family members chose not to come. Is there something that you all had in common or did you all have different reasons for embarking on the journey? The rationale for the question--is there something extraordinary about you and your family or was it just a willingness to take the leap into these issues? Is it your elite family background highlighted in the film that compelled you all to get involved? I think it is a powerful, poignant journey that you're on (just because the film has aired, doesn't mean your journey's are over), but I wonder what about others? Will others embark on similar journeys or is your family unique?"

Thanks for this, Nicole. I would guess--I've not had this conversation with my cousins--that each of us had our own reasons for participating in the journey Katrina designed. There were certainly other family members who chose not to participate. Some because of job, family, and other obligations and some because they did not support what Katrina was doing.

I don't perceive anything extraordinary about any of us, or our reasons, who chose to participate. Some may have--I honestly don't know; haven't asked--been influenced by some form of guilt, belief in justice, curiosity, or a combination of these and other reasons. My perception is that the common thread was willingness; willingness to confront issues, to take time away from family and employment, to be vulnerable in an effort to do our part to make the world a better place for our kids and grandkids (and ourselves). It was nothing extraordinary in my opinion. It's what we humans do for the most part. We try to be, and do, our best. We try. We stumble. We try again.

AND, most important to me of what you wrote, no, the journey is NOT over. It definitely continues through this blog, through the conversations you are having with your family and friends, Nicole, through people who read my book and think deeply about ways in which we--collectively and individually--can help each other heal from deep wounds.

Will others embark on similar journeys? Of course they will. You just did...

Tom,

The world has changed considerably since the time of your journey. I am interested in understanding your perspective to the Obama campaign for president. Do you sense that this is "the" opportunity in some sense for reparation by casting a vote for an African American candidate?

Thanks, Glenn

Kay Stroud asked: "Did you have the same set of reasons, goals, priorities and motivations for joining this "vision quest" when you originally started out as those you truly finished with? Question two: Taken in the many broad issues it covers (and lack of time and space) what about the Native Americans and do you think approipriate reparations have been made? I find it just to try to do something but whatever is and may be...is not enough."

The answer to the first question is that for me personally, my reasons evolved as I became more aware of the issues and my connection to them. It was a very natural progression.

As for indigenous people, Indian people, I had the liberty of a lot more space in my book than Katrina had in a 90-minute film so I deal a lot more with the connection between slavery and the Trail of Tears (a direct connection, by the way), for instance, and the enslavement of indigenous people before African people were ever brought to the shores of what became New England, and the annihilation of Indian people through the policy of "manifest destiny" by European immigrants.

Have appropriate reparations been made? I answer with a few questions: do all Americans have equal opportunities? Does everyone have equal access to education, housing, and health care? Is everyone treated equally within and by the criminal justice system? If your answer to any of these questions is "no" then appropriate repair of the damage has not been accomplished.

Sandy wrote about access to education; particularly in light of the scene in the film where we sat around the dinner table discussing privilege and where our fathers went to college.

Sandy, yes, I do believe that we can learn a lot from studying the educational opportunities afforded people of European descent compared to people of African descent (along with political influence, land ownerships, etc.). There is a direct connection. When the G.I. bill after WWII was designed to benefit white people in ways that black people were not allowed to benefit, it was an affirmative action program for white people. The descendants of those G.I.s inherited the benefits--or lack of benefits--from their parents. Does it help explain disparities in wealth, land/home ownership, and privilege today? It seems like a pretty clear indicator to me...

Glenn Dotson writes: "The world has changed considerably since the time of your journey. I am interested in understanding your perspective to the Obama campaign for president. Do you sense that this is "the" opportunity in some sense for reparation by casting a vote for an African American candidate?"

You know, Glenn, there is a politically correct answer out there and I'm going to resist the temptation to use it. It's too late at night and I've been at this for too long today. So I'm just going to write from my heart and let the chips fall where they may. I do not consider Senator Obama's candidacy to be "the" opportunity for reparation. I do consider it "an" opportunity for another step on the path toward healing. We tip-toe around the gigantic elephant of "race" in the living room of our country to the best of our ability. But think about this. Forty years ago Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered after speaking in support of garbage workers in Memphis, Tennessee. During that time I watched the television news being hosted by Walter Cronkite as black people were assaulted by fire hoses and police dogs as they protested for the rights they should have received when our Constitution was adopted almost two centuries earlier.

Today an African American man may well become the President of these United States. Reparation? In the sense of the word I use it--repair, healing--yes, absolutely. The election of Barack Obama will carry with it a degree (I obviously don't know how much) of healing; of repair. People in other countries will view us differently than they do now. We will view ourselves differently than we do now.

Will it solve racism, inequity, injustice? No. It certainly won't be that simple. In the words of Professor Kofi Anyidoho of the University of Ghana at Accra, we have built up centuries of scars over unclean wounds. In order to heal we must do the work of removing the scars in order to clean the wounds properly to begin healing.

It's up to us. It's a lot of work. It may well be the great human endeavor of the 21st century. I sure hope so.

Lascelles Anderson asked, "Has any effort been made to connect with African-American descendants of any of the slaves from the deWolfe "business" to get their response to any of the large questions your work raised?"

The only African people I'm aware of that the DeWolfs owned were Adjua and Pauledore, two people who were brought from West Africa by James DeWolf and given as a Christmas gift to his wife in 1803. They stayed with the family throughout their lives. Adjua died three years after the end of the Civil War. Pauledore and Adjua married and had several children; all daughters. We don't know any of their descendants. Adjua D'Wolf's headstone stands in the DeWolf cemetery not far from the grave of the man who enslaved her.

The 10,000 African people the DeWolfs brought to the West Indies and North and South America were mostly sold to others and we have no record of who they were. Those who remained on the plantations in Cuba remain a mystery. The relationship between the U.S. and Cuba makes it exceedingly difficult to do any research.

That said, we have met one African American man who we believe may well be related. We have been unable to locate proof. I also received a call from an African American man in Florida who says he's descended from the marriage of a white DeWolf ancestor and his African American wife from the mid-19th century. This is an area of research I hope to pursue in the future.

Among other things, David Ben-Ariel wrote (at June 25, 2008 12:32 AM), "What an orgy of shame! I endured Traces of the Trade and discovered nothing new in it except for perhaps the disgusting depths that self-hating, bleeding heart white liberals, will descend to and self-righteously insist on dragging everybody else along with them." And... "Reparations are not the solution, especially if we subtract what blacks have cost America." And much more...

David, with this and everything else you wrote, you and I disagree. I appreciate that you took the time to watch Traces of the Trade. My focus is on working with people with whom I share a belief in the inequity of the systems in our nation and what we can do to level the playing field. Your focus on repatriation and separation makes no sense to me.

I don't feel guilty. And I'm not interested in dragging you, or anyone else, with me. You disagree with what our family hopes to achieve in terms of repair, integration, and understanding among people who have spent centuries misunderstanding each other. I can live with that and hope that you can as well.

High School teacher Bob McHugh wrote: "Do you deal with the issues of special advantages and having the proper family connections in 'Inheriting the Trade?'"

Yes. One of the advantages of writing a book is having a lot more space to dive more deeply into these issues.

Susan Dittman takes groups to the eastern Caribbean to do service projects and hopes to educate participants more regarding the history of slavery and plantation life. She asks, "What suggestions would you have for us to make this more than educational? How do we best get folks to probe their own feelings about race, power, responsibility, privilege, etc. I'd greatly appreciate your suggestions for specific activities."

I'd recommend either gathering prior to your journey to talk about these issues, use Traces of the Trade and other resources as conversation-starters, recommend reading Inheriting the Trade and other books, check out the work of Peggy McIntosh, Tim Wise, and others regarding race, power, and privilege, and provide the time and opportunity during your time there for continuing conversations. If you go to the "links" section of my website there are several organizations that you may be able to connect with for your own training as you strive to train others: http://www.inheritingthetrade.com/resources.html.

Gertrude Frey (who wrote June 25, 2008 01:31 AM).

Thank you for your heart-felt words. As you continue your journey I sent my best wishes for good health and peace for you and those in your life.

As an avid genealogist, and the "keeper" of the family history, I've been blessed with discovering many interesting facets of my ancestors. Some of these facets are less than "politically correct", in the scope of modern American. Most notable is the number of Confederate soldiers in our history. I have often been asked to explain how Southerners can possibly want to honor men who fought (and lost) for the Rebel cause. There really is a simple explanation: In today's time of war, there are many citizens against our being in Iraq. I hope that not one American would say they do not honor our soldiers, who are serving so proudly. After watching the film, I almost got the impression that several of the family members were ashamed of the DeWolf patriarchs. It is with great hope that one day my gr-gr-gr grandchildren will look back at the actions of our generation in the proper context. Isn't it possible to hate the actions of men, while still honoring the men, themselves? "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:34)"

I just finished reading the rest of the comments and questions on this blog and to the writer who comments about us all possibly having slaves in our family tree let me share the story of one of my ancestors who had been both a slave (indentured servant) and a slave master.

His name was George Eskridge and was born circa 1660 in Northern Wales. He died in November, 1735 in Westmoreland County, VA.

According to one tradition (as I copy from my Daughters of the American Revolution records), he was kidnapped into an impressment gang while walking along the coast in Northern Wales as he was studying a law book. He was subsequently sold into servitude for eight years to a Virginia planter. He was treated harshly and forced to sleep on the hearthstones in the kitchen of his master's home. After eight years of servitude, he returned to England, completed his law studies, and was admitted to the bar. He then returned to VA and was a member of the VA House of Burgesses almost continuously from 1705 to 1735.

George Eskridge was named guardian of Mary Ball circa 1721 when she was 13 till she married Augustine Washington in 1731. Mary Ball named her son "George" Washington after "George" Eskridge.

Now, it's my understanding (with my limited historical knowledge), that most of the slaves (indentured servants) before Bacon's rebellion in 1676 were white/Europeans. After that time period, Britain then thought it wisest to institute what we today call "race-slavery".

Dinesh D'Souza asks in his book titled: "The End of Racism", I believe it's in chapter 3 if my memory is correct, "Was slavery a racist institution?" So here with the giving of my example of George Eskridge, one can see how in the 17th century, slavery was not completely a racist institution but rather just a cultural product of its time.

Slavery is still a horrific evil nonetheless. Perhaps the worst aspect was the busting apart of the families in some circumstances. As far as the whipping of laborers/slaves, that was a common procedure in early America even amongst whites in the military; for example, just read "Undaunted Courage" by Stephen Ambrose about Lewis and Clark's journey.

Recently I read the book "Life and Times of Frederick Douglass". What an enlightening book and one I recommend to everyone. I believe Frederick Douglass was a genius. Perhaps his having rubbed elbows with the New England elite had rubbed off on him. But then I also read the biography of President Andrew Johnson and could understand how poor whites could feel intimidated by black slaves that came from aristocratic plantations and hence Andrew Johnson's resentment of the freed slaves and also slave owners.

Thanks again for Traces of the Trade on P.O.V. I'm always eager to add to my knowledge of American history, although I have no intentions of being any kind of scholar pertaining to the subject of slavery.

Tom,
This film reminded me of this contrast: Thomas Jefferson sitting in his study writing of the sins of slavery while 200 of his slaves were outside laboring in his fields and William Wilberforce spending his life dedicated to the abolition of slavery. Both knew slavery was wrong but one was motivated to fight it rather than profit from it. Wilberforce's deep personal faith in God was the difference!
Do you really think that inviting people to discuss race issues and promoting knowledge of past sins of our ancestors will be enough to change people's minds and actions? Don't get me wrong...I liked the documentary and thought it was an interesting journey for your family and for the viewers. It might even get people to think about these issues but will it motivate a white family to seek out a black family to befriend, feed the poor, sacrifice some comforts to help someone else? You said the church might be the place to start..I agree.

When in West Africa were you able to contact descendants of the Africans who sold the slaves to De Wolfe? Their attitudes?

Sir Tom, I found the film hopeful. I grew up in South Carolina, and lived through the integration of schools; my sister was the first black to graduate from Airport High School, and the rest of us were the first blacks to attend an all-white school from our neighborhood. Some of what I experienced was painful, but I would not trade those times. I think what you and your family are doing is very brave.
My question: how do I get to have a dialogue with you and or your relatives. How do we get you to come to a townhall meeting, etc? I live in Washington state. Your Go Ducks! was awesome!
Also, I would like to know if the other 180 relatives who chose not to participate still communicate their with you or even share even more concerns regarding your journey?