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I removed the bit on his role as a child rights leader in the civil rights era as copyvio of [1]. If someone would mind rephrasing it I'd appreciate it, otherwise I'll do so later. TallNapoleon (talk) 04:51, 17 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I have taken the explicit view of Hrabowski's third great grandfather as expressed on the 60 Minutes segment, which serves as the only reference for Hrabowski's Polish ancestry. The current edit makes it appear simply that "Hrabowski's great-great-grandfather was Polish, the origin of his surname." In fact:
"Byron Pitts (Sixty Minutes' interviewer): I'm not sure how to phrase this in a delicate way, but how does a black man get a name like Hrabowski?
Freeman Hrabowski: Well, you're asking the question that most people just look at me and think and they don't know how to ask it. My grandfather's grandfather was the Polish slave master in rural Alabama.
Pitts: And Freeman?
Hrabowski: And Freeman, I am the third, Freeman Hrabowski the third. And my grandfather was the first one born a free man as opposed to having to be freed."[2]
This is but a replay of "Jefferson and Sally Hemings", a template that reflects the general history of African Americans whose ancestors were enslaved. Hrabowski's third great grandfather was not simply a (hardworking) immigrant of Polish ancestry, he was a slave master who fathered--by one of his female slaves--Hrabowski's second great grandfather. To gloss over this fact or to white wash it (as the current edit does) constitutes a subversion of Hrabowski's actual family history, the historical struggle of certain of his ancestors, and the stark realities of the horror known as American slavery. The current edit ignores the factual heart of the reference and replaces it with a false and bland impression.
If Hrabowski's knowledge of his family history is insufficient evidence of his third great grandfather's status as a slave master or as the father of Hrabowski's second great grandfather or as the father of Hrabowski's second great grandfather by a female slave, then the statement "Hrabowski's great-great-grandfather was Polish, the origin of his surname" must also be deleted given that there is insufficient evidence for any statement about Hrabowski's ancestry or the factual origin of his surname. In that case, all that can be said is "Hrabowski's surname is Polish." (It can be argued correctly that neither can the latter assertion be made in that Hrabowski himself is the only source for this conclusion.) 69.120.203.168 (talk) 01:45, 19 June 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Hello, and welcome to Wikipedia. Although everyone is welcome to contribute to Wikipedia, at least one of your recent edits, such as the one you made to Freeman A. Hrabowski III with this edit, did not appear to be constructive, and has been reverted or removed. Please use the sandbox for any test edits you would like to make, and read the welcome page to learn more about contributing constructively to this encyclopedia. Thank you. ♥ Solarra ♥ ♪ Talk ♪ ߷ ♀ Contribs ♀ 09:19, 18 June 2012 (UTC)