(L to R) Former President Barack Obama, Dec. 1, 2022, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)/Former President George W. Bush at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, Feb. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)/Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., July 14, 2022 in Washington. (Tom Williams/Pool photo via AP)/Former President Bill Clinton in New Windsor, N.Y., Nov. 2, 2022 (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)
America’s slave history is deep-rooted in every fiber of the county’s fabric. A new report has unveiled that more than 100 political leaders in the U.S. have ancestors who were slavemaking and slaveholders. And some of the names might be surprising.
In researching the genealogies of America’s political elite, a Reuters examination found that a fifth of the nation’s members of Congress, living presidents, Supreme Court justices and governors are direct descendants of ancestors who enslaved Black people.
At least 100 members of the last sitting Congress are direct descendants of ancestors who owned Black slaves. Among 536 members of the last sitting Congress, more than a quarter of the Senate — 28 members — can trace their families to at least one slaveholder, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Breaking it down by political party, at least 8 percent of Democrats in Congress and 28 percent of Republicans have slavemaking ancestry. Among the politicians, Republican senators Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Tom Cotton, and James Lankford, and Democrats Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Duckworth, Jeanne Shaheen, and Maggie Hassan.
As far as the Oval Office, President Joe Biden and every living former U.S. president except Donald Trump are direct descendants of slaveholders–Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.
On top of this, in 2022, governors of 11 of the 50 U.S. states were descendants of slaveholders, as were two U.S. Supreme Court justices.
The Congressional slaveholding ancestors were among the richest in America before the Civil War; three-quarters were among the richest 10%.
In all, Reuters found names of more than 700 people enslaved by ancestors of the leaders, Reuters reported.
In 2019, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, said that he and Obama have two major things in common — they both oppose reparations and they both are descendants of slaveholders.
“You know, once again I find myself in the same position as President Obama, we both oppose reparations, and both are the descendants of slaveholders,” McConnell said recently. He was being asked about a report from NBC that his relatives were slaveholders and if it had changed his opinion about reparations, CNN reported.
Former President Barack Obama speaks in support of Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., during a rally on Dec. 1, 2022, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)/Former President George W. Bush speaks during an event to mark the 20th anniversary year of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, Feb. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)/Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., is seen before the flag-draped casket bearing the remains of Hershel W. “Woody” Williams lies in honor in the U.S. Capitol, July 14, 2022 in Washington. Williams, the last remaining Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, died at age 98. (Tom Williams/Pool photo via AP)/Former President Bill Clinton talks while touring exhibits in the National Purple Heart hall of honor at the National Purple Heart Museum in New Windsor, N.Y., Nov. 2, 2022 (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)
