*
At least 100 members of the last sitting Congress aredirect
descendants of ancestors who enslaved Black people,representing
at least 8% of Democrats in Congress and 28% ofRepublicans. *
The group includes Republican senators Mitch McConnell,Lindsey
Graham, Tom Cotton and James Lankford, and DemocratsElizabeth
Warren, Tammy Duckworth, Jeanne Shaheen and MaggieHassan. *
President Joe Biden and every living former U.S. presidentexcept
Donald Trump are direct descendants of slaveholders:Jimmy
Carter, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. *
Governors of 11 of the 50 U.S. states in 2022 weredescendants of
slaveholders, as were two U.S. Supreme Courtjustices. * The
Congressional slaveholding ancestors were among therichest in
America before the Civil War; three-quarters wereamong the
richest 10%. * In researching America’s political elite, Reuters
foundnames of more than 700 people enslaved by ancestors of
theleaders. * Some 23% of respondents to a new Reuters/Ipsos
poll saidknowing that a candidate’s ancestors enslaved people
would makethem less likely to vote for that candidate, and
whiterespondents who said they’re aware of having a
slaveholdingancestor were more likely than other white people to
supportpaying reparations for slavery.
(Edited by Blake Morrison)
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