Being a member of more than one board, (sorry) I often encounter the tired and worn arguments, (most often from the liberals) of slavery and who is at fault!
Because of my postings .. Most board members are surprised when they learn that I am mulatto! 
That being said, I pride myself in knowing my own history but .. tonight I was thrown for quite a surprise myself!
We all want to put the 'blame' on whitey but as the following will reveal .. There is plenty of guilt to go around 'except' .. it's rarely spoken of!
(btw: I also live in Virginia)
See! Everyone's guilty!
(Don't tell Sharpton or Jackson please .. It'll end their lucrative business! )
Much, Much More HERE: The Black Slave Owners - SlaveRebellion.org
WOW-------They forgot to mention that George Washington and wife owned slaves separately. George in his will freed his slaves, Martha however gave them as inheritance and gifts to her children.
Sad but for the life of me I cannot remember the name of the book this came from but it was in the free bin at the library for early teen reading. labeled local history. History in N.H. history of Portsmouth N.H. ?????
Seems Martha had a favorite slave little girl who's parents had come over and sold when she was an infant.
The parents were sold to George and the baby to Martha. Unfortunately the father was sold and the mother and she lived together on the plantation. The mother turned out to be mentally ill and dangerous so the girl at 6-7 was taken from the slave quarters into the house and put to work in the kitchen.
As most slaves were forbidden to be educated, the child learned to read and write and do sums as a cookers helper as the cooks had to read Martha's family cook books. Martha found out some how that the child was a whiz at sewing and soon had her helping to make her clothing. At about 16 Martha's daughter was getting married and the young girl began to get [the willie wazz] from the looks the bride groom gave to her.
To her horror she was told that Martha was giving her to her daughter as a wedding present. She thought she had belonged to George and freed one day.
Some how she managed to get passage on a boat headed north and for a couple weeks slept below the water line on a sailing " Slave Stealing vessel." She ended up in Portsmouth N.H. smuggled in ,in the dark of night and was taken to a safe house.
Martha had a conniption fit, her private property had run away, Martha's daughter had a fit as did the soon to be groom.
George put out a bounty and sent up north a reward of a small fortune. News of this went up and down the East coast past Boston, all the way past Portland Maine and into New York and Philadelphia Find that woman and be set for life. Every kid was on the look out for her as kids do see things adults miss.
Meanwhile safe in Portsmouth she found a way to make a living as a seamstress, those who knew who she was kept their mouths shut and after a couple of years everyone stopped looking.
She went on to marry , no one says the race of the husband, live in a nice home and have 8-10 children.
The Study of race relations up here is very interesting, It is not spoken of too often but after the Civil War with so many widows I bet according to the census that with men in short supply the freed black men married the widows, the Ploy first family's have more then they believe is black blood in them.
Could be the reason that occasionally a child back in the 1870 was born tan. Mother says it is the Indian that somehow could out run our female ancestress.