By Ann Brown

Daniel Smith, 88 , is the living son of a slave — a historical rarity. Growing up, Smith heard stories of the whipping post, lynching trees and the wagon wheel passed down from his father.

His father, Abram Smith, spoke of life in Virginia, where he had been born into slavery on a plantation during the Civil War. He was a child laborer after the war, The Washington Post reported.

According to the 1870 census, Abram Smith was “a boy laborer.” With nowhere to go, many newly freed slaves remained where they were and continued to be mistreated.

Earlier this month, a sweeping survey of more than 50,000 people’s DNA was unveiled. The research uses the enduring genetic legacy of the transatlantic slave trade to illuminate its atrocities, The Smithsonian reported.

The study was published in the American Journal of Human Genetics. It layers genetic data with historical records detailing enslaved Africans’ place Click here to read entire article

Source:: AFKINSIDER