149. The Slave Trader in My Family Tree

A few years ago, Steve Baughman Jensen discovered that his third-great-grandfather wasn't just a slave owner — he was a slave trader who "invested his surplus earnings in negroes." He also helped lead a paramilitary organization that sought to preserve and expand slavery. This is an ancestor Steve's beloved grandmother had celebrated. One whose framed poem hung in Steve's den. Steve has now written a book about confronting him — and other ancestors who passed down to me the false story that white people are better than everyone else. Steve confronts his ancestors because stories build identities and drive systems, and his family’s story helped build systems that still harm people today. The conversations demonstrate how imagination can make these hard truths more personal, and therefore more real. At the same time, these visits with dead family members offer healing. They help Steve recognize the spots in his own thoughts and behavior where he's inherited not only genetics, but also a toxic story. They help metabolize grief and shame into responsibility. Steve spent 23 years as a trial lawyer, seeking justice on behalf of individuals who became sick from toxic exposures. Mental health issues brought that chapter of his story to a close 10 years ago. Today, Steve is a writer, a racial justice advocate, and a proud husband, father, and grandfather. He believes in the power of stories to shape and transform us.To learn more about Steve's work, go to:https://healingwhitehistory.substack.com/https://www.youtube.com/@healingwhitehistory