That's my point. It does not diminish his achievements. Yes... prevailing beliefs back then were different. Society as a whole was a bit more racist, and it was viewed as the norm. As we've evolved, we look back and consider a lot of those things as racist. You meet a lot of older people from previous generation who still hold racist views. It was the way they were brought up... they can't be any different. So when you look back at a historical figure, you do have to consider the context of the time in which he/she was living.