I'm not sure how to talk about this. All the ancestors I have been able to trace on my family tree, and they are a multitude, were Northerners, Union Army soldiers and early New England settlers. I also have a branch of Ojibwe who were and are from the North: Canada, Wisconsin, Minnesota. I was sure that none of them ever owned slaves. I thought I could take a deep breath and be an ally without that added frisson of personal guilt. I was wrong. A few years ago I was contacted by a young woman who was trying to discover more about her family. She was also a DNA match for me. At first I was shocked and deeply saddened but I had to accept it and come to terms with a whole new evaluation of who I actually was. Obviously, someone on my tree who contributed DNA to my making also contributed DNA to hers. One of my ancestors had owned slaves and had made use of at least one of those enslaved women in the most heinous way, raping her and leaving her pregnant with this young woman's ancestor. I am not rich, or I'd make some kind of restitution though just doing that seems almost a sort of cop-out. This woman is a relative of mine, never mind how far back. She is family. Her family are family. When I replied I told her that I didn't have the concrete evidence she so craved. I know that craving. I have been an amateur genealogist for many years. But hers was particularly poignant for all the reasons you so clearly describe. She'd come to a dead-end and hoped I knew the way past it. I didn't but I was willing to work at it and see if there was anything I could find. I wrote to her and told her so and assured her that to help her all I could would be a joy to me. It's been a long time now and she hasn't written back to me. I so wish she would. I'd like to send her a copy of your article here if it would be alright and tell her again that I stand ready to work with her any time she decides that's what she wants to do. It's the least I can do.