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The following is a letter that I sent to the newspaper here at John Brown University, The Threefold Advocate, that was published on 2006 January 26.

Attending the chapel on 2006 January 16, I was struck by a comment made by a fellow student: “Even though I wasn't directly responsible for a lot of the hideous things that happened in the history of African-American people, I still have some part of responsibility in it because… any of my family could have been part of those who were persecuting them.” I really don't know what to say to that except for the plainly obvious: “No, you're not!”

The student said that she feels responsible because any of her family could have been a part of the persecution. I, however, happen to know that my ancestors were responsible for what happened in history. Looking back through the genealogical records of my family, I have seen the wills of my forefathers which bequeathed “negros” to their children. I was shocked upon knowing this but realised that it was typical in that time period — typical, but not excusable.

History is full of evil. Throughout the past, there have been atrocities of great magnitude. Some of them that come to mind are events that occurred years ago on other continents such as the Spanish Inquisition, the Armenian Genocide and the Nazi Holocaust. Others happened in this very country such as the genocide of the First Nations, the slavery of African Americans and the following segregation. I find these events to be despicable in the highest degree. Even though my ancestry was involved in some of that, I was not. I have never killed, persecuted nor thought of someone to be less of a person simply because their skin, eyes or hair was a certain colour, but my ancestors have. Does that make me responsible? I don't see how it could, and I don't see how it should. That was them; that was not me. Being held responsible for actions committed by other people simply because I am descended from them seems like racism to me.