Jefferson was NOT a racist. Yes, he owned slaves. He inherited them from his wife's father, and he struggled to change the law so that he could set them free. The law did not permit it, and he fought a very unpopular fight to change that law. He was one of America's first abolitionists at a time when it was exceedingly unpopular, even dangerous. And for his effort, he is rewarded by modern day, ill-informed idiots calling him racist.