White Des Moines man discovers his great grandfather was a Black Olympic athlete

White Des Moines man discovers his great grandfather was a Black Olympic athlete

[Brakdayton]

Maybe if they started teaching the whole history of America and all Americans this wouldn’t be so surprising or ‘unbelievable.’

[whiskeywoman]

While I find these stories interesting, the way the "white" people frame these discoveries is just disturbing. To describe having black ancestry as "shocking" and "surprising" is just kind of ridiculous given the history of the US.

[theo]

How is being partially African American in the U.S. unbelievable given our history??? I think a lot of ‘white’ people with 100+ year roots in America will have the same story.

[silla.]

He's more surprised of his great grandfather's black ancestry than of his taking part in the Olimpic Games! 😄

[ajax]

This is more common than MANY ever want to admit!

[richardlindseybaritone]

His family needs to be given that silver medal his great grandfather rightfully earned at the Olympics

[davidawilliams]

They should be PROUD! They had an Olympic athlete in their family. That's really cool. Anything else is...normal.

[jhopesstrawberry]

So why is no one mentioning how handsome his great grandfather was?
Edit: I’m getting some negative comments. This wasn’t a serious question.

[MichaelEBeard]

HE PASSED LIKE MANY OTHERS TO HAVE A BETTER LIFE

[elleret]

I disagree. Not unbelievable. Instead, very believable.

[twhitney]

A friend of mine from Montreal told me she couldn't invite me to her graduation ceremony because her father is a virulent racist. The following year, she got him a family genealogy/DNA test type gift for Christmas. Turns out he was descended from two black slaves who fled America on the underground railroad. He was stunned and in denial, yelled at her. I laughed so hard, my ribs hurt.

[leogolive]

His great grandfather probably spent his whole life trying to “pass”.

[UniversalMokenTroll]

The news anchor said "Unbelievable." It really isn't.

[emzywillrich]

My great great great grandfather was a German Judge that immigrated to Texas. Only one of his children married a non-German, it was one of his sons that came with him. He was a Confederate soldier who after the war brought a black wife back to Texas. My father descended from one of their seven sons. My last name is German of course! I have an Anglo German cousin and we were born in the same month and are both the same ages. We both have German last names but his is different because he descended from a daughter who also married a German immigrant. We've attended many events together because we live in the same area and I have attended two of the family reunions in La Grange, Texas and they didn't treat me any different that anyone else. I know all the names of my grandfathers going all the way back to 1595. Not many people can say that. My father always said we were German Chocolate. We all still get a big laugh out of that. My DNA test indicates that I am 22% German.

[damemarthafalker]

It is absurd to think this is an isolated incident. I've had my DNA tested multiple times. In building my family tree, one take-away that has been made abundantly clear is there is no such thing as 'us and them.' We are ALL interconnected, regardless of race. My ancestry can be traced to Africa and Europe as can scores of the world's population. Yes, there are some who will go to great lengths to conceal or refuse to acknowledge certain facets of their ancestry. Live in denial if you will but wishing a thing away, does not make it so. Embrace your truth. Evolve already!

[rae]

The fact that so many states are actively trying to prevent history like this from being taught in schools is truly tragic. There is more that connects us in this country that divides us.

[Igor_ogi]

I don’t understand why this is such a big deal given the history of the US.

[LynRuiz]

Literally not a single shocking thing said. I did a TN/KY genealogy project for Anthropology in 2003 and found thousands of white-identified people descended from slaves and free people of color. Some popular groups are the Goins, Mullins, Locklear, Basil/Bazel, Hanks, Weaver, etc.

[aalphapink]

“Everybody knew it, they just didn’t talk about it.” Great way to start this video out

[maudlyn]

Luke 8:17 says, "For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open." This scripture came to mind while reading the comments.