David Ayers
Jul 23, 2017 · 1 min read

Seems very much the most appropriate thing to do, if you ask me. I don’t understand how others cannot see your perspective on this. Personally, when I see my last name shared by black folks, I feel a strong twinge of discomfort to think that it means a person with my last name once owned slaves. I don’t know enough of my on genealogical history to know if I in fact am descended from those slave owners or not, but I certainly hope I am not. it would sicken me to know ancestors of mine engaged in such a detestable practice. I can only imagine what it would be like to have to live with what amounts to a brand on myself and my family. Your own words go a long way towards confirming what I have imagined it to be like. Now, while none of us choose our names, this is something different. Our surnames are part of family history, handed down through generations, usually. Our given names usually come from our parents, given to us with love and hope for the future. (At least in the best case scenarios. I realize that’s not the case for everyone, unfortunately.) These surnames given to black Americans by slave owners are neither gifts nor history. They are brands to identify property. Hardly different than branding cattle, just associated with a different kind of pain.

I can hardly blame anyone for wanting to distance themselves from this kind of history. More power to you!