Slave Ancestors Require Atonement
False Assumption: Descendants of slave traders and owners must feel deep shame and seek atonement for their ancestors' involvement in slavery.
Written by FARAgent on February 10, 2026
In the early 2000s, Alexander Lobrano, a writer raised in a Connecticut suburb, learns from his great-great-grandfather Jacinto Lobrano's obituary that the family pirate profited from the slave trade. Shocked, he confronts his grandmother, who downplays it, but he buries the knowledge in denial, a common response among white Americans discovering such history.
Eight years ago, a black high school student cousin contacts him via Instagram, prompting a six-day Gulf Coast road trip to New Orleans. Lobrano grapples with family stories of racial mixing, feels exhaustion, happiness, relief, and profound shame, realizing his journey seeks atonement for ancestral enslavement. Yet he concludes no atonement is possible.
Critics like Steve Sailer highlight the irony: pride in the pirate fades only for the slave-trading part, with genetics showing white Americans average 0.19% sub-Saharan ancestry versus 73.2% for black Americans. Growing questions challenge inherited guilt narratives pushed in elite media, though mainstream outlets continue promoting personal reckonings.
People Involved
- Alexander Lobrano, a writer for the New York Times, grew up admiring his ancestor Jacinto Lobrano as a pirate.
- He learned later that Jacinto had traded slaves. This news hit him hard. He denied it at first. Then a black cousin reached out.
- Lobrano took a road trip to atone. [1]
- Jacinto Lobrano served as the right-hand man to pirate Jean Laffite. His obituary noted profits from the slave trade. [1]
- Steve Sailer, a commentator, pointed out the oddity. People glamorize piracy but shame slaveholding. He highlighted genetic facts that cut against the guilt. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (3)
“As I learned the first time I read Jacinto’s obituary when I was a freshman in college, he also profited from enslaving people. This shocked me, so I called my grandmother to learn more. ... I dropped this knowledge like a stone into a well of denial.”— The Pirate and the Pope
“the pirate Jean Laffite’s right-hand man ... he also profited from enslaving people.”— The Pirate and the Pope
“I too am shocked, shocked to that find that a sexy, non-conformist Pirate-American could also be an enslaver of black bodies! ... The author isn’t despairing that there can be no atonement for his ancestry’s pirate part — being a pirate is cool! — but for the slave-owning part.”— The Pirate and the Pope
Organizations Involved
The New York Times ran Lobrano's account in its travel section. The piece framed a road trip as a way to confront ancestral sins. It pushed the idea that descendants should reckon with slavery. The paper promoted such personal stories. They tied them to broader racial themes. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“From the New York Times’ travel section: Confronting History, Family and Race on a Road Trip to New Orleans”— The Pirate and the Pope
The Foundation
Family tales painted Jacinto Lobrano as a pirate who traded slaves. An obituary backed this up. The stories fed notions of widespread forced relations between white men and enslaved women. They suggested inherited guilt. Genetics tell a different story. Little white admixture shows in black ancestry. [1] The Anglo-Saxon one-drop rule shaped views on race. It seemed solid. But in Louisiana's Latin culture, mixing happened differently. Genetic lines stayed sharp. Critics argue this undercuts the assumption's base. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (2)
“Jacinto, who was born on the island of Procida ... he also profited from enslaving people. ... sexual relations between the races were common, often initiated by white men who forced themselves on enslaved women.”— The Pirate and the Pope
“Louisiana is the main place where this genetic racial divide is less stark due to its Latin cultural roots, which rejected the Anglo-Saxon One Drop Rule for determining racial identity.”— The Pirate and the Pope
How It Spread
Elite outlets like the New York Times spread the idea. They used essays like Lobrano's. These framed old slave ties as calls for shame today. The narratives urged atonement. They gained traction in media circles. Social pressures amplified them. Dissent got sidelined. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“I did what millions of other white Americans have done when they discovered this evil in their family’s past. I dropped this knowledge like a stone into a well of denial.”— The Pirate and the Pope
Harm Caused
The belief hit individuals hard. Lobrano felt deep shame. His road trip left him exhausted. Relief mixed with unresolved guilt. He gushed emotionally. No real closure came. Critics argue such quests prove futile. They waste energy on impossible fixes. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“Unexpectedly, I welled up while unwrapping a turkey sandwich. My sudden gushing was fed by exhaustion, happiness, relief and shame, a very deep shame. I’d finally realized that the real reason for my trip was that I was seeking atonement. I’d failed, too, because there could be no atonement.”— The Pirate and the Pope
Downfall
Lobrano himself saw atonement as out of reach. This admission raised doubts. Genetic studies added fuel. David Reich's work with 23andMe showed tiny sub-Saharan ancestry in whites, at 0.19 percent. Blacks averaged 73.2 percent European. Mounting evidence challenges the guilt's foundation. Critics argue it overstates shared bloodlines. The debate continues. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“Harvard geneticist David Reich led an analysis of the 23andMe database in 2014. It turned out that customers who self-identified as black before getting their results back averaged 73.2% black, while customers who initially self-identified as white averaged 0.19% black.”— The Pirate and the Pope
Sources
-
[1]
The Pirate and the Popeopinion