1/Drake is actually a redemption story. Yes, as a very young man on board his cousin's ship, he was along on a slave trading mission. But that changed in 1573, when he was only 25, and allied himself with escaped formerly enslaved Blacks in Panama.

2/After that, Drake went out of his way to free enslaved Blacks. They served as crewmen on his ship, and he paid them the same as English seamen. And the only time we know that he truly lost his temper was when the Spanish killed a Black boy who Drake had sent as a messenger.

3/Drake insisted that the Spanish execute the murderer, and when they refused he said he would hang a Catholic priest every hour until they did. The Spanish relented.

4/ Over his career, Drake freed well over a thousand enslaved Blacks and Indians. Yes, that hurt the Spanish enemy, but if Drake was a slaver he would have sold them for profit. After his redemption in 1573, he refused to return any Black to the Spanish unless they requested it.

5/ The "cancellation" of Drake is a great example of the problem with the whole idea -- how much better off would the students have been if they had learned the story of his redemption? Isn't the possibility and *reality* of personal change in the 16th C. inspiring for us all?