Every living U.S. president, past and present, has at least one ancestor who owned slaves, with one exception — Donald Trump.
An investigation by Reuters released Tuesday into the genealogies of “America’s political elite” found that President Joseph R. Biden and all former presidents still alive are direct descendants of slaveholders.
That includes Democrats Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and even America’s first Black president, Barack Obama — through his White mother’s side — as well as Republican George W. Bush.
The only living president not descended from slaveholders is the Republican Trump, whose mother Mary MacLeod was born in Scotland and married Frederick Trump, the son of a German immigrant.
“Trump’s ancestors came to America after slavery was abolished,” said Reuters in the report, “America’s Family Secret.”
The report also determined that at least 100 members of Congress, 11 sitting governors, and two Supreme Court justices are descended from slaveholders.
“They include some of the most influential politicians in America: Republican senators Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Tom Cotton and James Lankford, and Democrats Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Duckworth, Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan,” said the article.
It reveals for the first time, in breadth and in detail, the extent of those leaders’ ancestral connections to what’s commonly called America’s “original sin.” And it explores what it may mean for them to learn – in personal, specific and sometimes graphic ways – the facts behind their own kin’s part in slavery.
Reuters said its extensive investigation “reveals how intimately tied America remains to the institution of slavery,” but the report also came across as an effort to shame politicians and justices for something over which they have no control.
The article included boxes highlighting Mr. Graham and Ms. Duckworth that displayed their photos, the number of slaves owned by their families, and the names of their ancestors.
Mr. Graham’s office responded with a comment calling slavery America’s “original sin,” while Ms. Duckworth described the findings as “gut-wrenching.”
Mr. Biden, who was listed as having a direct ancestor who owned one slave, declined to comment, according to Reuters.
Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., who hosts the long-running genealogy show “Finding Your Roots” on PBS, insisted that the investigation was “not another chapter in the blame game. We do not inherit guilt for our ancestors’ actions.”
“It’s just to say: Look at how closely linked we are to the institution of slavery, and how it informed the lives of the ancestors of people who represent us in the United States Congress today,” Mr. Gates said. “This is a learning opportunity for each individual. It is also a learning opportunity for their constituency … and for the American people as a whole.”
The report comes amid a renewed interest among Democrats in providing taxpayer-funded reparations for Black Americans. A report by California’s reparations task force calling for an estimated $800 million in reparations is expected to be released Thursday.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.