This was perhaps the most shocking thing about the Atlanta white marketing associate's Facebook photo of a 3-year-old African-American boy: nobody said how cute the child was; nobody asked jokingly whether he was an intern; instead, with no prompting, the conversation on Gerod Roth's page turned racist and ugly.
I didn’t know you were a slave owner.
But Massuh, I dindu nuffin.
Pls tell me his name is Toby.
kunta . . . kunta kinte.
Their comments turned the photo into a shameful meme about slavery and spoke volumes about how slavery still lingers in our consciousness. And this was among a group of people who appear to be Millennials, the group that was supposed to usher in a "postracial" America.
Perhaps they could learn a few things about the institution of slavery. Perhaps we all could.
For example: True or false: Georgia was founded as a colony that allowed slavery. Or try this one: True or false: All but a few African-Americans living in the South before the Civil War were enslaved.
For the answers, and for 12 more questions, see our exclusive quiz about the South's "peculiar institution." And read a story about two Georgians, one black, one white, who came to terms with slavery's legacy.