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The Ledger and the Legend: What the Fall of Uncle Nearest Teaches Us About Owner
"Who'll pay reparations on my soul?" — Gil Scott-Heron asked that in 1970.
1854: a man was property on a ledger, owned by a firm that leased him out for profit. 2026: the whiskey company built to finally honor him is property of a federal court.
Same ledger, different ink. The line that once counted a man as collateral now decides who gets to keep his name.
New essay on the fall of Uncle Nearest — what happens when repair is debt-financed instead of built to survive its founders.
