OHMYGOSSIP — Charlene White has learned her five times great-grandfather was a slave owner.
The ‘Loose Women’ anchor was filming documentary ‘Charlene White: Empire’s Child’, which is part of ITV’s programming for Black History Month, when she made the shock discovery about her ancestor John Stanbury, a plantation owner in Jamaica.
According to the Daily Mirror newspaper, she says on the documentary: “He was a slave owner, he owned people who looked like me.
“And that is within my bloodline, which is a weird thing to get my head around and he is responsible for my families’ lighter skin.”
The 41-year-old TV presenter got emotional when she found out about Stanbury, and while it was tough to take, she admitted it was something she “needed to know”.
She says: “Is it a nice history? No, but I feel it is something I needed to know.
“You know the red in my hair when it’s not dyed? Gosh, it’s because of this man. This man could have been responsible for a lot of pain.
“And chose to put his children in a stock take of the slaves he owned.”
Charlene headed to Jamaica to shoot the documentary, and she discovered her four-times great grandparents Andrew and Elsey Pusey were among some of the first Jamaicans freed from slavery.
It was abolished in the country in August 1834 following the passing of The Slavery Abolition Act of 1833.
She explains: “At my age they were freed and wanted more.
“To know I came from here and generations kept on wanting more for their children and they did it.
“The dream Andrew and Elsey had, they did it. I am so proud.”
Source: VacationHunter.Online
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