That’s what we all believe now. For those of us who have lived in the 20th and 21st centuries, that is as obvious as the sky being blue. But that was a very radical position in the 18th and 19th centuries, and only someone who was really willing to think outside the box would’ve seen that. (It was of course easiest for people to see it in places like New England, where their livelihood did not require them to disbelieve it.) Consequently it was possible in those times for people to think slavery was more or less OK and still do other things that were noble and heroic. We can still believe that those people deserved statues for the good things they did, Even though they should be condemned for other things they did. The celebrated deeds of most of the worlds greatest heroes took only a few hours and minutes, and the rest of their lives often varied from the common place to the despicable. that’s true even for people who were not living up to the standards of their time. Charlie Parker was a thief, a heroin addict, and a bigamist. Miles Davis was a domestic abuser. They still made great music, and should be honored for that.