22
Feb
Blog Contest: How Does Your Family Celebrate Black History Month? How Does Knowing Your Roots Enrich Your Celebration? (Week 4)
Post your response in the comments section of our blog and you’ll have the chance to win a free African Ancestry Test Kit!
Each year, February is a big month for African Ancestry. We are fortunate to have opportunities to share the African Ancestry Experience, meet new people, and engage in conversations across the country. This year, we thought a contest would be a good way to reach even more people and hear your perspective on finding your roots. We will pose a question each week and reward the most thoughtful and insightful response with a free MatriClan or PatriClan Test Kit.
We celebrate Black History every month at African Ancestry. For obvious reasons, we pump it up during the month of February. This year we’ve been celebrating by giving away free kits and other prizes. There’s one more chance for you to win a test kit this week by answering our FINAL contest question. Good luck!
This week we’d like to know: HOW DOES YOUR FAMILY CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY MONTH? HOW DOES KNOWING YOUR ROOTS ENRICH YOUR CELEBRATION?
Post your response in the comments section of our blog between February 22nd through 28th and you’ll have the chance to win a free African Ancestry Test Kit!
The winner will be announced on March 5th and will be chosen by President, Gina Paige and Scientific Director, Dr. Rick Kittles! See full contest rules here.
UPDATE 03/01/10: This contest is currently closed.
Black History Month might be officially over but we celebrate African Heritage all year long! Thank you to everyone who participated in this month’s contests!!! Your responses were very inspirational! We’ll announce the winner of the last blog contest and the mailing list later this week. Trace your DNA. Find your roots. Today.
UPDATE 02/26/10:
It is very inspiring to know that there are families upholding the observance of Black History Month. Thank you for sharing the traditions that your families follow. This week’s winner is Nikki. She and her family have had a full month of remembrance, recognition, and celebration! Congratulations Nikki on winning an African Ancestry Test Kit for your family.
Read Nikki’s response:
On February 1st, we always begin by referencing The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: “If you teach this nigger to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave.” Thus, we celebrate by participating in the National African American Read-In [Chain], stressing the importance of literacy and of black literature.
We visit the National Civil Rights Museum to view the permanent and temporary exhibits. Soul Soldiers, the first national exhibit to commemorate the Black Experience in the Vietnam War, is currently displayed. We discuss our people: What can they tell me about Gil Scott-Heron or Van Jones? (both having lived in our hometown)
We celebrate our creative spirit: This year, we attended Hattiloo’s performance (a black repertory theatre) of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson. We also attended a staging of Alice Childress’s Trouble in Mind in our neighborhood theatre.
Around Valentine’s Day, we pause to remember our sister-survivors of the Democratic Republic of Congo–survivors of rape used as a weapon of war.
We attend community lectures; we invite all our non-black friends to celebrate with us all month long; in short, we celebrate like “this may be our last time.” Seriously. It’s a celebration not limited to February, but surely amplified during this time.
Most importantly, we remember our ancestors, both cultural and biological. This year, we focused on Ida B. Wells-Barnett, editor and proprietor of the Memphis Free Speech, who wrote of the 1886 lynching of a black woman in the courthouse square of our hometown, Jackson, TN. (Something we were never taught in grade school.) We remember my maternal ancestors, the first black landowners within that same county who donated land to build the Friendship School for African Americans, and who left a legacy that still stands proud and firm today.
[...] Week 4 Question now posted! Answer it here for your chance to win! [...]
I’m going to be honest….and say that we don’t. The churches we attend have something going on for the month of February. This upcoming Sunday, everyone who has African outfits were asked to wear them and they have set aside this day for the African American program.
We rent movies to watch with our children about black history and we make our children participate in all the events going on at their school. We also talk with our parents and grand parents to learn more about who we are as a family and where we come from. We do alot of oral history, which is important to black people over all. We do this through out the year though not just black history month.
We mainly visit museum and exhibits. One of the main ones we would visit was the Harriet Tubman museum in Macon, Ga. My family would get the children together and take all of them. Its important that people of all ages know our races contributions to society is just as large as those of the founding fathers of the country itself. Many of the luxuries that we enjoy today would not have been possible had some of our people not came up with the inventions, surgeries and many other aspects of life that are a staple in the USA. Another way we celebrate our culture is through oral histories.
It always happens spontaneously but it always happens. Someone from the younger generation will ask our older relatives about their grandmother or great granparents and slowly but surely a crowd will gather in the den or kitchen, awaiting stories and insights from the people that knew them before any of us were born. We love to hear about how great granpa was a built the house that some of our relatives live in today, even though they were dirt poor, and what they went through as a product of that time. Also its interesting to learn about physical features and see any pictures that may have lasted through the generations of our ancestors. For us it brings an aspect of reality to them, since we never met them especially the younger ones. To see where they get there eyes from or certain traits may have come from there distant grandparents. I think the young and old benefit from the oral history because the young ones are learning about a side of their history that they can’t get in school.
Usually, some of us pass around lesser known black history facts. I remember growing up and our church which is mostly comprised of family members would have a black history program,consisting of old Negro spirituals, black history facts, and of course the I Have a Dream speech. I’m not sure if they still do so or not because I moved away years ago. As for our roots, I’ve taken it upon myself to be the family ancestry tracer because it is very essential to know where we came from not only geographically but as a people. This way when we do meet up for family reunions and pass around facts (during BHM and throughout the year), we can add in our own history to further enrich our next generation’s minds. This is so important to me since all of my grandparents are gone and on my mom’s side, she has one maternal aunt and one paternal uncle living. On my dad’s side, his mom was an only child and I’m not sure if his paternal aunt is still living or not. We have to be able to celebrate our own family history just as we celebrate others who have made great contributions to the world.
We dream. That’s how we celebrate black history month. We dream, because we don’t know the real facts as to our own hertiage. What are we, Indian, African, European all the above. But who are we??? Maybe you can help?
We celebrate in God !
We appreciate eachother now. We appreciate our ancestors. We celebrate our future in our children. We remember that God lets his shekinah rest on those that know themselves.
We march on in humble gratitude.
My family and I celebrate black history month by reading books about the great Africans and African Americans who contributed to the world. Finding out what part of Africa I come from will enrich my life and children’s life. Also, by knowing my African roots will help me identify with the mother land.
I’ve been teaching my children the Niabingi drumming and playing them “Black August” by Killah Priest. I love this song because it reminds me of the honorable Marcus Garvey’s “Black is beautiful”. Thank you for providing your pivotal service.
My husband and I have two school aged children (one in elementary school and one in high school). Each year, we always help them with research projects during Black History month and we always try to find individuals who have made significant contributions (such as Maggie Lean Walker), but very little is ever said about them. These discoveries ignited something in me. I often wondered about my own history. With the passing of my paternal grandfather (who was 91 at the time of his death), I reflected on the stories he would tell me about his family. I found it fascinating how his grandfather (a white man) and his grandmother (a black woman) were the parents of twin boys. One of the twins had white features and one had black features. When the twins would go and visit their grandfather, the one with white features could enter the house through the front door, but the twin who had black features had to enter the house through the back door. My maternal grandmother would also tell me stories about her father as well. I often wondered if we inherited our characteristics from our ancestors since many of us are excellent in math, science and are savvy businessmen. A recent trip to Dallas lead me back to my birthplace, Marshall, TX. Ironically, it was a couple of weeks ago and my daughter had to complete a family tree for her black history month assignment. I thought this was the perfect opportunity for my children to see where I was born and where my maternal great grand-parents started their lives together. I never had the pleasure of knowing my maternal great-grand parents and always wondered how my life would be if they were physically apart of it. Although I was born in the place my great-grandfather built, I knew nothing about him or had any part of him of my own that I could carry with me in life. So while visiting Dallas, my family and I drove about 2 1.2 hours to Marshall, TX where part of my family roots began. Unfortunately, the house my great-grandfather built is no longer there but ironically, the front and back steps remained. My sister and I and my children were able to stand on land that was owned by our great-grandfather – where he raised his four children. My mother had always talked about how beautifully my great-grandfather landscaped his land. She often referred to yellow roses my great-grandfather had grown on the side of the house. This started us on a scavenger hunt and to my surprise we found the yellow rose bushes planted by my great-grandfather over eighty years ago. I was able to pull up some of the rose bulbs and bring them back home to Chicago with me. This spring, I plan to plant them in my yard, on the side of my house so they are the first things I see when I look out my window. I finally have a piece of my maternal great-grand parents that I can carry with me forever. Finding these roses and planting their roots where I am today is just a starting point for me. Discovering my family roots beyond my great-grand parents is my next journey.
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I am so pleased and blessed to say that Black History month is every month for my family and church family! We make sure we teach our children about Africa and the rich lavish history that isn’t found in history books. We wear African attire any Sunday of the year with pride and honor. We participate in moments of black history at church, where we share the story of Black revolutionist or a movement. I graduated from San Francisco State where the 1st Black Studies department was created, with a BA in African American History. I love my Black, I love to hear about Africans in the diaspora and what we have accomplished as a people. As a mother, I want to make sure my children know their history so they know how to represent themselves to the WORLD, if they know they come from Kings and Queens, they shall represent royalty and honor.. Your heritage is important whatever your race is, and as mixed up as we ( African Americans) are, I would love to trace my lineage beyond, Jamaica & Cuba.. Thank you for this opportunity, and Happy Black History Month!
Black history month is a big thing for our family. Although we know little about our roots past our great grandfather, we make it a habit to dress in African clothes throughout the month and especially on Sundays. Usually we attend the Saviour’s Day celebration for the Nation of Islam. As an instructor, I assign a writing assignment and bring the discussion of our heritage into the classroon.
My wife and I have found it very important to point out the significance of African American contributions to US and World History to our two sons. They attend an independent elementary school that places a high value on recognition of diversity in our society. To that end, every year we, as a family with other interested families (African American and non-African American) have designed programming to educate the entire school about the significant contributions of our people to history. We purposely try to highlight areas of contribution aside from athletics and entertainment which tend to be overly represented in celebrating our history. Last year we focused on inventors/scientists and this year we are highlighing pioneers, both social and geographic. The celebration is culminated with a day of activity booths, music, food and a visit from a local historical figure (this year we will have a Tuskegee Airman!) The children present historical vignettes each week in February before the entire student body and help with designing some of the activities.
Knowing where we come from give my sons a sense of connection, that they are never alone, and that they stand on the shoulders of giants as they reach fpr their stars of achievement!
My family has not, but beginning with my children I would like to begin some. I gave birth to my daughter at 14 and my son at 17, we have been through many ups and downs since then. I have been through drug addictions and have even spent time in prison, however I have been blessed to have one year clean time tommorow. I have recieved my GED and am currently a member of the national honor scociety at a two year college. We are growing. My family is learning how to live without the crime and drugs and I believe now is theperfect time to learn more, deeper information about who WE really are. With this information I would begin an annual study group with my family where we would spend time researching and cataloguing our families history. I would have a sense of being and of pride.
We started this year by having our own moments in black history from our family and quotes about our family, their accomplishments, their character, the things they overcame to arrive @ where they are today sent out on facebook. Did this though out the month of Feb. /Knowing our roots enriches our celebration causes it enlightens us to who we are! I went to a Caribbean Festival and saw the one from the different islands dancing, loving who they are. Waiving their flags in the air with a since of pride of who they are because of the good association of where they come from. In my heart I wish African American had their own flag one that said we are loved, we are valuable, we are wanted, we are cherished, we are good and we love who we are and desire to be no one else vs. the American flag that sadly does not have the same voice the island flags did. I know that is why I love the black historical colleges my Delta’s, A.K.A.’s, Q’s and Kappas. A fellow poet Talaam Acey said in one his poems it is interesting that on the TV show Roots that the Broadcast started with capturing the slaves when the 1st hundreds of pages of the book talked about our rich and beautiful history. I want our people to love who we are and erase the lies and replace them with truth. Which can be done now. How I start know with what I believe now that my true ancestry is from God and that represents who we are more than anything else. And no one can take that from me. But I want to know who my ancestors were and then study my rich history. And I am faithful with anything I get like Nettie did Celie to give back to my community.
Each year my family and my sisters’ family bring out old pictures of family members. My grandmother was born in 1892 and she told us that when she came to America from Barbados her youngest brother went to Nigeria to live with her uncle. My grandfather was born in 1894. We have been trying to find out if our roots are from Nigeria by writing family members, using websites and I visited Nigeria. My daughter went to Barbados to try to find family members who might know.
We also read the Book in Black America( a book my father gave us before he died)with our grandchildren and discussed how it was when my sister and I were growing up. On Saturdays we have Saturday Night at the movies and we watched so far Roots, Amistad, and Malcom X.
We visited the Schomburg Museum in Harlem, NY. We also watch several shows on television including Rosa Parks. I am the Project Arts Coordinator at my school and my students performed a Black History Musical including poetry, African dance, inspirational songs that told the story of slavery. I invited an African Dance Troupe to perform and a Puppet Show on” What if there were no Black People.” The students will be competing in a contest of naming Black Inventors. I am taking several students to see “Footsteps” in honor of Black History Month and I took several students to see the “Urban Bush Women” a dance troupe.
Each week my church presented a moment in time in Honor of Black History and we dress up in African Attire. My office is decorated with a timeline of pictures from Slavery until the present. I also have several African instruments. Students come to my office during their lunchtime and watched the first week “The Black West”, the second week they watched the “African Burial Ground” and the third week ‘The History of Gospel”.
My grandmother would discuss blacks in the bible when I was a child and it helped me build my self-esteem coming up in a time when there was some much racial tension. I have always tried to do the same with my children and the children that I teach. This has always been a month that I was very proud of because it gives me the opportunity to share my experience and to listen to others as they tell of theirs. I told my children I will forgive but I will never forget and that we still have ways to go. Also we didn’t get this far at without the help of other races. I am proud of being an African American and the more I research and study the more proud I am.
Happy Black History Month
We really don’t have a yearly tradition that we observe during Black History Month. That is only because my children are use to me working on our family history and sharing how important it is with them. I have found that by taking the time showing them what I have undercovered gives them great pride. It also show them that even if your ancestors weren’t famous, They still are an very important part of history. Our family history, U.S.A history and the entire world’s history.
My family has always talked about black history in our house. We do not wait until February. I have always let my children know their history. I have always felt that the schools do not do enough and some how make school age children feel it is not important.
Every chance that I got to teach in my house, i did it. I refused to let my children be lost and not know. I would be the blame; not anyone else.
We really don’t have any ironclad traditions. We always look for any programs and shows on t.v. relating to black history but we watch those anyway, any month. My mom and I really like watching African American Lives program Henry Louis Gates Jr. does on PBS. We do like to go to the library and see what books they have out for this month and my mom and I will bring my young niece and read her some of the african-american history books. We(especially me) love reading black poetry and music, we love reading about African American firsts. We talk with my niece about back-in-the-day stuff, all black history, and our own family history. Thankfully, it’s something we all love to talk about. Unfortunately, we can only go so far back as my maternal great-great grandmother & very little about her. Somehow, the only grandfather we know of is my maternal one, but again very little. His family and he were kept away for reasons unknown. I, for the past five years have been trying to look up anything on our family’s history or distant relatives, which is difficult to do while I’m in school. However, I decided after my first year to change my minor from just History to an African-American history minor cause I love it. It’s always kind of fun when we find someone with our somewhat unique last name, but we never know if they are our real relatives or not. By knowing our roots, not only could we reconnect with our homeland, but maybe we could find some other relatives and create a familial bond that will hopefully result in some reunions, and the start of some new traditions especially after finding out our original roots. I really do think it will bring my family closer together ( my grandmother & her children,etc.)
On February 1st, we always begin by referencing The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: “If you teach this nigger to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave.” Thus, we celebrate by participating in the National African American Read-In [Chain], stressing the importance of literacy and of black literature.
We visit the National Civil Rights Museum to view the permanent and temporary exhibits. Soul Soldiers, the first national exhibit to commemorate the Black Experience in the Vietnam War, is currently displayed. We discuss our people: What can they tell me about Gil Scott-Heron or Van Jones? (both having lived in our hometown)
We celebrate our creative spirit: This year, we attended Hattiloo’s performance (a black repertory theatre) of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson. We also attended a staging of Alice Childress’s Trouble in Mind in our neighborhood theatre.
Around Valentine’s Day, we pause to remember our sister-survivors of the Democratic Republic of Congo–survivors of rape used as a weapon of war.
We attend community lectures; we invite all our non-black friends to celebrate with us all month long; in short, we celebrate like “this may be our last time.” Seriously. It’s a celebration not limited to February, but surely amplified during this time.
Most importantly, we remember our ancestors, both cultural and biological. This year, we focused on Ida B. Wells-Barnett, editor and proprietor of the Memphis Free Speech, who wrote of the 1886 lynching of a black woman in the courthouse square of our hometown, Jackson, TN. (Something we were never taught in grade school.) We remember my maternal ancestors, the first black landowners within that same county who donated land to build the Friendship School for African Americans, and who left a legacy that still stands proud and firm today.