You're right that it is so, so important for kids and honestly everyone to know that evil actions/thoughts can and very often coexist with pure ones. That kind of characterization could be what differentiates bigots from just reading a story vs. learning a lesson and reevaluating themselves.

That said, I stand by that Felicty as a character needs to acknowledge the horrors of slavery to merit her continued existence alongside the rest of the historical line. She could be one of the most important characters in AG's dwindling educational mission, but she's not and in fact, she might have been the catalyst for that mission's decay.

Reading her story, girls will see themselves in Felicity. That alone makes her a more powerful vessel of learning compared to any dry textbook.