Responses
His family literally owned slaves brother
Female. Information is scarce; it is possible that part of the family had them while he didn't—he didn't live there. That’s why flashbacks were needed.
If he's family owns them...he owns them too it's not a random ass uncle it's his immediate family
1. The author can be criticized for using a phrase that doesn't fit the historical period. It would have been fine if it had been in another era, but she realized it was wrong;
2. It's NOT a master for a slave, but a former rich white guy for a cowboy -> she clearly states in the introduction that he's a cowboy and in the chapter it says "my ranch." Which slave back then owned anything?
3. The white savior cliché -> not everyone was racist or slaveholders, it's appropriate to make the character that way. If they had both been non-white, how many would have complained? So it's fair to use him as a savior and make it clear that he's not like everyone else.