This should get interesting………

Damn, I didn't know Anderson was related to Cornelius freakin Vanderbilt!

yeah, stoney, his mom is Gloria Vandy…

weird, ain't it?

Yep, Stoney. His mom is Gloria Vanderbilt, famous for the nastiest custody battle of the 20th century, former Studio 54 regular, and jeans designer. His family's obscenely rich.

Which is why I call him my boo. *sigh*

I'm not surprised by the connection, however. Unless one's ancestors came to American just a couple of generations ago or have married only within the same ethnic group, there are some interesting histories somewhere back there. When my dad started a geneology project for both sides of my family a while ago, he found links to Shawnee, Scottish, Irish, German, English, Polish, and Danish relatives. And there's a strong likelihood that my 3xgreat-grandfather was African-American.

I hope Anderson takes up the offer. I'll bet he does.

Whups. I meant to say I hope Michelle takes up the offer. I'll bet she does.

Dammit. Once Andy gets in my head, everything else stops. Time for lunch. I need to clear my noggin.

I think the visit could be empowering, certainly historic and "hope"ful.

Wow. The things I learn on Mollygood! Or as my boyfriend refers to it, Mollywrong.

"If her husband is elected, Michelle Obama would be the first First Lady with slave roots."

Unless there have been genealogy/DNA tests done on each First Lady, there is no way of knowing if this statement is true, at least according to what I was taught and have experienced.

I was taught in history class that during and after the time of slavery in the southern US that it was not uncommon for light-skinned persons of mixed African and Caucasian descent to "pass for white". (One of the reasons that the “one-drop rule” came about was due to this practice.)

I knew several of my paternal grandmother's relatives who were as "white" as any Caucasian in terms of skin color, eye color, facial features and hair texture. My grandmother told me that she had heard of older members of her mother's family who had "passed and lived as white".

(I was also taught in history class that there was a time in the northern US when "free blacks" and Caucasian indentured servants were considered to be of the same social class and inter-married, producing offspring some of whom also “passed as white”.)

I bet Jim Robinson never imagined the possibility that his great-great granddaughter might someday be the first lady! Imagine how proud he would have been.

This means that Anderson OWNS Michele right. Can her take her super-annoying ass and chain her in the basement?

no. 10, are you calling anderson cooper a lady!?

being chained in the basement is strictly for Solange Knowles.

(a shout out to dlisted…)

I'm not surprised by this. Rich people are rich for a reason. Especially when it comes to old money, much of their wealth was acquired by dubious/inhumane/often down right illegal (i.e. the Kennedy's) means. I believe Michelle Obama would be the first First Lady with slave roots that we know of. Slave blood runs deep in the veins most Americans. I wouldn't be so sure that she's the first until I see DNA evidence from other first ladies proving otherwise.

@Dee - Great points! I am familiar with many "passing" practices as well. Foreign bought slaves were actually more highly valued than indentured servants because they were paid for. There was a time when black slaves and white indentured servants worked side by side in the same fields, shared living quarters and regularly intermarried. I remember a floating "statistic" from a few years ago which stated that if your (white) family has been in this country for at least 8 generations you most likely have at least one black ancestor.

Well, MY ancestors were here waiting for Columbus - the rest is history.

princess, your ancestors were in Little Feat?

I kid, I kid…

yeah, always cracks me up when people say that he "discovered America"…um, I'd say the people who where here BEFORE 1492 kinda discovered it.

All Columbus did was go the wrong way and think that America was the West Indies.

I cannot for the life of me understand how slavery ever existed.

Boggles my wee mind. And I can't even begin to feel the kind of empathy I know I should feel for the people that endured those experiences.

Wow. Judging people from the past is fallacious. Yes it seems like slavery was a reprehensible act, but let's remember it was legal before it wasn't in the colonies. Calling someone a 'horrendous lazy pig' for owning slaves is just plain silly. Several Native Americans owned slaves and I have yet to hear, from the enlightened hipster set, how they were 'horrendous lazy pigs'…

Yes, it does seem like slavery was a reprehensible act.

It does.

And let's do remember that it was legal.

Let's remember that with absolute horror. Then let's ask ourselves why we are angrier about hipsters' insufficient criticisms than we are about slavery.

sar, I'm going to start calling you "plantation", 'cause you just owned Tim's ass.

I am sick for laughing at that killorn.

Why does no one ever talk about the Africans that rounded up the people to sell to the evil white men? Apparently, they were just victims.

do tell, upchuck.

I don't think America gets to point any fingers.

And why does no one ever talk about why I feel nervous around squirrels? Apparently, they're trying to steal my shoelaces.

Number 25 is obviously some child who should be in bed on a school night.

Uppy, come onnnnnn….. I want to hear about how slavery is the black man's fault.

I really don't know. It just made me sound all smarty-pants and important. It's something my dad used to say. He also used to say that people who drove blue convertibles were communists. My grandma drove a blue convertible. But I drive a Buick. A brown one.

ok I love you now.

haahahahaha

You do? Do you really mean it? Because other than Duane nobody else says they care. I try and try to get people to like me but they say they don't like it when I call them retarded and stuff. It's just a bad habit I guess, like smoking or pissing on my neighbor's vegtable garden. I am really trying to not yell at people I don't agree with and hit them in the teeth with my shoe. Duane says that if I don't hit anyone in the teeth for a month he'll take me to Disneyland for my 54th birthday. I think I can do that. That's why I come on here. I can't hit any one with my shoe. Okay now, I will go for now.

THIN ICE, UPCHUCK.

UpChuck is one of the regulars here…

I remember seeing someone make a post about UpChuck but it was posted AS UpChuck.

someone's messing with us…

The French and English came and tried to wipe out the TRUE NATIVE AMERICANS….they only THOUGHT they got rid of us,then the ENGLISH and FRENCH brought people from Africa to America to be enslaved. So put the blame where it truly should be placed…..the ENGLISH and FRENCH…they were always stirring up trouble. You don't hear us (Native Americans) CONTINUALLY whinning about it….it happened, it is in the past…..we can't help what happened back then any more than the decendents of the "slave owners" can help what their ancestors did - for pete sake - and to continually rehash it over and over and over again isn't solving a thing.

It was alledged that Andrew Jackson's wife was part black. So Michelle would not be the first with black roots but would be the first black first lady with black roots.

@princessvelzora - Surely you jest. I realize that anyone can post a comment on a public gossip blog but I would really suggest you think before you type. You're perfectly free to speak for yourself but your assertion that the attitude you take toward past injustices is shared by all Native Americans is easily proved incorrect.

Native Americans aren't interested in rehashing the past? Are you aware that an entire legal defense fund was set up for just that purpose? http://www.narf.org

Native Americans aren't interested in seeking justice for past crimes? I guess that $455 million dollar settlement various tribes were recently awarded for unpaid gas and oil royalties going as for back 1887 is just going to sit in a bank and rot, huh?
http://www.democracynow.org/20.....nment_owes

I realize that it's just the internet, but seriously, there's already plenty of "ignorant" in the world, why create more? In other words, why don't you go be a dumbass some where else!

Regardless of your feelings, the past influences the future. The fact that Anderson Cooper could become an Emmy winning journalist without any formal journalistic training or ever having anchored so much as a local market news segment is a testament to that fact.

I just ran across this site. I've been a bit interested in this topic…it was probably my family who owned Friendfield at this time. I believe, had I been born in 1849 instead of 1949, as complex as the issue of slavery is, I would have been friends with Jim Robinson; we would have grown up together, both products of the "time", but friends….