Monroe Chat

I don't understand this? Why would a person accept ownership or require a pardon for actions taken by ancestors??

My siblings are their own people (a lot closer in the Family tree) and I do not either accept nor associate myself with their successes or questionable actions

My Uncle actually traced my Family back centuries, they discovered that one individual was a Highwayman, a robber.. not so much of the Robin Hood variety I do not feel a sense of ownership to his crimes, nor shame, for it wasn't me who committed them.

Maybe this says something about my personality that requires review but I seriously do not understand why this Gentleman is seeking a pardon for his ancestors (at who's cost?) that up until the tracing of his Family line, he didn't even know existed ....hmmmmm



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Nationally syndicated radio host Tom Joyner is asking South Carolina to posthumously pardon two of his great-uncles - black landowners executed in 1915 after being convicted of murdering an elderly Confederate Army veteran.

Joyner learned of the fate of his great-uncles, farmers Thomas and Meeks Griffin, during filming of the PBS documentary "African American Lives 2," which first aired in February 2008 and was based on research by Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr.

The program traces the lineage of 12 people, including Joyner. The host of "The Tom Joyner Morning Show" said he was stunned to learn of his South Carolina roots and two great-uncles he didn't know existed - much less of their execution.

"The records will show they did not do what they were executed for, and maybe now they can rest in peace," Joyner said from his Dallas studio.

(AP) Radio personality Tom Joyner is shown during his morning talk show in Dallas, Friday, Oct, 2, 2009....
Full Image
He said a pardon would bring long-overdue justice, adding "I started trying to put myself in my great-uncles' position and tried to imagine what they must've been going through."

The Griffins were forced to sell their 130 acres to finance their defense. After they died in the electric chair on Sept. 29, 1915, Joyner's grandmother moved to Florida where the family's known history begins.

Full Story: http://apnews.myway.com//article/200910 ... SCHO0.html