Thank you Ms Borg.

I don’t think I said the slaves thought they were inferior, but that nearly all white people did. It’s hard to know much about the slaves as people. We know there were a few slave rebellions and we know about runaways forming groups. But those are events. Slaves were nearly universally illiterate. There isn’t much written record to go on. Oral history always contains some truth, but it’s very hard to evaluate how much.

Textbooks were a poor example In some states (but not all), their content is directly controlled by the state government and tends to reflect partisan political views.

As for the statues, I have no objection to their removal, if the citizens of the towns and cities involved choose to do so. They are public monuments. The public should decide. I do not think outside groups should try to coerce or threaten those towns or citites. You say this is a small gesture. It is if it’s a voluntary gesture. If it is coerced, it’s a hollow gesture, with more conflict to come.

I sincerely hope that there is not an escalation of violence by those on either side of this issue. That could provoke much larger problems with very dangerous potential outcomes.

Mike