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Should we "get over" slavery when its legacy is still negatively affecting Black people today and lining the pockets of companies that supported it? Hint: No. Here's how the history of a well-known clothier is inseparable from slavery.
Brooks Brothers, a popular luxury clothing company, once made clothing for enslaved people. According to historian Jonathan Michael Square, they provided garments for coachmen, footmen, and chauffeurs in wealthy Southern households. Coats often sported custom-made buttons featuring the family crest.
While the bodies of the enslaved doubled as tokens of wealth, enslavers also used fine Northeastern clothing to reward their favorite or most productive enslaved people. Since its founding in 1818, Brooks Brothers has outfitted all but four U.S. presidents. Of the first 18 presidents, 12 were enslavers, and 8 of them owned enslaved people while in office.
It's not enough to say that nobody living today "owned slaves" or was enslaved.
Ownership doesn't matter when white wealth was built on Black backs, funding and fueling the institution of slavery, which has undeniably caused generations of harm for our people.
Without the labor of our enslaved ancestors, the U.S. would not be what it is today. White supremacists continue to try to erase our history. Still, we must divest from all things anti-Black, know and share our history, and focus on building a liberated Black future.