I think the important thing to remember here - especially for gentrified 21st century software engineers - is that to fully own your guilt for slavery in the Americas, you must first ignore the history of slavery in Africa itself.
Agreed.
We need more funding, research, and articles that remind us about the middle passage and how it relates to the drug war and the current state of the U.S. prison system.
I for one, completely fail to see a relevant relationship.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Africa