He was born a scant few years before slavery was abolished and only managed to survive because his family, genetic or not historians aren't sure, managed to fight off kidnappers trying to swipe away as many unprotected slaves as possible in the twilight years of the war. If anything, this teaches an even more important lesson: quit allowing your kind to fall for low standards and never, ever fall for the false divide of individualism vs collectivism. You're nothing without both working together.