More interesting things about my grandfather

So, I knew that back in the days before slavery was abolished, the McClanahans were slave owners, but I learned something interesting today in discussion with my grandfather over supper. The descendents of the slaves my family owned were still living with and working for the McClanahans at least as recently as 1932, when they moved to Tucson. My grandfather’s impression at the time was as though they were still owned, and it wasn’t until years later that he learned that not everyone ‘treats blacks that way.’ That the abolishing of slavery didn’t stop the subjugation of ‘African-Americans’ I knew, but I guess I didn’t realise my family played that role so recently as that.

My grandfather’s memory is a little blurry in places, and I guess from a young age he ran off, hitch-hiking and freight-train-jumping his way around the countryside, so I don’t know exactly when the McClanahans really, finally stopped with the slave-owning… but it sure is an interesting bit of trivia.

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Teel

Author, artist, romantic, insomniac, exorcist, creative visionary, lover, and all-around-crazy-person.