One of the themes here at Armas is engaging history in empathy, with a rejection of the ideological presentism that has so badly afflicted the discipline in the modern era. 

In that spirit, this video is worth sharing for more than a few reasons. It’s a self-produced series from a New Yorker named Danielle Romero — a young woman delving into her family history, and learning a great many things she didn’t expect. Among them, she — a self-described white woman — has found that she is descended from African-Americans in Louisiana, many of whom lived as free men in the antebellum South. This has had the effect of causing her no small amount of distress. The cause of that distress is not immediately obvious. She is not distressed because she has black ancestry. 

She is distressed because her black ancestors volunteered for Confederate wartime service. They were soldiers in gray.

Before we go further, watch the video.