Major Owens
Major Owens (June 28, 1936 – October 21, 2013) was an African American Democratic socialist from New York City. He was representing New York's 11th Congressional district as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2007.
Owens stated in a 1995 speech on the House floor that during the African slave trade more than 200,000,000 people were thrown over the sides of the slave ships which carried them across the Atlantic, permanently disrupting the ecology and causing sharks to follow any and all ships since the trade was stopped in the 1850s. This figure worked out to be 152 slaves taken aboard nine ships per day for 200 years to get the total amount of slaves thrown overboard. After reworking his absurd figure down to 100,000,000 slaves, Owens' claim was picked up by ABC News, which reported the claim as "fact".[1][2][3]
See also
References
External links
- Education Mobilization by Rep. Major Owens
- Interview with Major Owens
- Voting record, Washington Post
