In Jamestown, a reckoning over American slavery's beginnings

JAMESTOWN, Va. (AP) — On a recent afternoon, tour guide Justin Bates pointed to the spot where historic Jamestown's legislature first convened in July 1619. He then gestured toward another nearby spot where some of the first slaves in English North America arrived a few weeks later.

"Freedom over there," Bates told visitors near the banks of Virginia's sprawling James River. "Slavery over here."

Jamestown has long been associated with the legend of Pocahontas and more recently as a place where a harsh winter turned some colonists into cannibals. But the historic site is now offering a regular tour that encourages visitors to consider the beginnings of American slavery.