Thomas Jefferson fathered a half dozen
children with his African American slave – Sally Hemmings.
He probably fathered more with other slaves.
He owned hundreds of slaves…
men, women, and children
who toiled for him, while he wrote
the Declaration of Independence,
“All Men are created equal.”
Did he ponder those words looking out to
the fields of Monticello?
Great man of the Age of Enlightenment,
philosopher, writer, and inventor
who gladly ate while being served by his slaves.
How many Black artists, poets, inventors, and creators
did he keep locked in chains?
George Washington, Father of the Nation, with
his hundreds of slaves at Mount Vernon,
did he ever ponder the irony that he was a
Freedom Fighter who enslaved people?
Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Jefferson Davis,
slave owners throughout the South, and
slave traders in the north who profited and
even African Americans who owned slaves.
How many people were complicit in the business of slavery?
We cannot remove all of their statues and legacies,
nor should we.
Instead, each place there are statues, each plantation house
on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans paid for by slaves,
the White House and US Capitol built by slaves, the towns of Charleston and Savannah
and more — built by slaves
On all these places and statues of Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Robert E.Lee, etc.
and on all these buildings built with the blood and sweat of slaves….
Let us put a stout black chain with a thick padlock welded shut, and a sign
Built, created with the blood and sweat of African American
Men, Women and children who were slaves
Namaya August 18, 2017