RICHARDS: Do you think finding that your direct descendant has impacted your feelings towards America’s foundation?

THOMAS: No just because I already . . . I mean. It’s my feelings like this: Every . . . I feel like almost every African American that’s in this country has some sort of an idea that “I came from slavery.” Most likely. I already had basically a knowledge that I was a descendant from slavery. And I mean me finding this out doesn’t necessarily change how I feel about America, it just gives me more of a sense of where I come from and my past and actually being face-to-face with, like, the horrible things my family went through. You know. It’s like finally getting the answer to a question you already knew. But once you had the answer, it’s still, like, mind-blowing.

RICHARDS: What would you like to see come out of this discovery?

THOMAS: Just finding . . . just . . . ya know, more family and interconnectedness and, you know, when you just think about how mentally and physically strong these 272 people had to be to not just to make it to the country, but to stay alive while they were owned. Then to be sold and travel all the way across the country to a literally completely different part. Culturally, economically, the weather— the whole scene is different. And how mentally and physically strong they had to be and the bond they had to have together to stay alive with each other. The human connection part of it.