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Feb
Blog Contest: How Would Knowing Your Roots Change Your Perception Of The Past, Your Interpretation Of The Present, And Your Aspirations For The Future? (Week 3)
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.
One of the comments I hear regularly is “Everyone wants to know where they’re from.” Is this really true? Our third question of the month is designed to understand whether or not knowing your roots would affect/has affected you and why.
This week we’d like to know: HOW WOULD KNOWING YOUR ROOTS CHANGE YOUR PERCEPTION OF THE PAST, YOUR INTERPRETATION OF THE PRESENT, AND YOUR ASPIRATIONS FOR THE FUTURE?
Post your response in the comments section of our blog between February 15th through 21st and you’ll have the chance to win a free African Ancestry Test Kit!
The winner will be announced on February 26th and will be chosen by President, Gina Paige and Scientific Director, Dr. Rick Kittles! See full contest rules here.
UPDATE 02/22/10: This contest is currently closed. But enter our Week 4 contest to try and win a free test kit.
UPDATE 02/26/10:
Thanks to all of you who entered our third contest. We were excited by the intensity of the perspectives on how knowledge of ancestry would affect you. This week’s winner is T. L. Hill who added a unique dose of creativity to the contest. Congratulations T.L. Hill on winning an African Ancestry Test Kit!
Read T. L. Hill’s Response:
Africa
A student without a teacher
A soldier without a general
A child without a mother
Africa
But who
How
When
Africa
Calling me faintly
Then loud
My ancestors
But who
How
When
Africa
Come to me that I may taste your wine
Partake of your essence and
Hush the voices
My forebearers calling calling
Africa
But who
How
When
Discovery
I know you
I’ve loved you
I embrace you
Africa
Sharing your beauty
Incomparable joy
A student has found her teacher
A soldier has found her general
A child has finally found her mother
Africa
Africa
Africa
I do not know if my poem can clearly convey my intent to answer your above question, but I truly hope that it does. There is a yearning inside of me that goes beyond my ability to express in simple words what the discovery of my ancestry would mean to me.
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Peace,
It is said by older black folk in Southwest Louisiana, where I am from, “Ain’t nothing like good understanding.” It is also said in many religions, that “with all thine getting, get understanding.” Understanding is a clear mental picture; it is seeing something for what it is and not for something or someone possesses itself or their self to be. Indeed understanding is the best part, for one is able to comprehend, where am I going with this, one may ask? You see, the perception of my past is obscure, as it is for most black people displaced and scattered throughout the global Diaspora. Without the knowledge of myself (past), where I come from, my customs, language, people, my mother country, I will never truly understand my present condition in this world. And will only continue down a fragmented and uncertain future. In knowing where my ancestors originated, I may find out why we—sons and daughters of African slaves—do many of the things we do. Having the knowledge of where my family came from, may explain to me how we relate to each other; in language, movement, and customs.
The word root represents a base, a foundation. The word knowledge also represents a foundation. Knowledge is to look, listen, observe, respect, it is the experience.
So, you ask, how would knowing our roots change our perception? Imagine!
Willfully, I will be able to experience this first hand. Thank you in advance,
Ron
[...] Week 3 Question now posted! Answer it here for your chance to win! [...]
I think that knowing our past is the key to how we view ourselves. There are some cultures who have no point of reference for what its like to be a minority so they have always been in control. That experience, breeds a sense of confidence and an expectation of receiving what it is they want. For those of us in the African Diaspora, we’ve had to gain that sense of expectation on our own. Generally speaking of course, our only reference to relatable history is that of the Black Experience in America that began with slavery and a nonexistent or second class citizenship. I believe that experience breeds a lack of hope for the future that we would one day be completely accepted by society. I think recent evidence of that was the election of Pres. Barack Obama. Many of us, even from different cultures and races cried that day because we never believed that we would see the day when a person that’s even one part black would be considered “good enough” to hold the office of the Presidency by this country in a majority vote. That doesn’t mean that we didn’t believe that ourselves, we just never thought that the rest of the country would believe it.
For me personally, knowing my roots helps me put the notion of how we’ve been victimized into perspective. It changes the status of my ancestors from victims to survivors because it took strength for them to challenge the status quo. It changes the status of those who helped them from passive racists to brave citizens because it took courage for them to act on our behalf even in secret because their lives were also at stake. Many of us have stories of slave ancestors who escaped captivity, or as freedmen, built towns or founded churches and schools. Knowing the character of our people from the past teaches us that historically, we are a resilient people and we are strong. Knowing that our past isn’t only steeped in servitude but in purposefully and carefully orchestrated protest and the persistent pursuit of change for the betterment of our race teaches us that we have the power to collectively control our destiny. Knowing that we are and always have been empowered to change gives me so much hope for the future. It gives me enough hope to do all that I can to teach our youth to be the best people they can be and invest all I can into them because they are our future.
Knowing your history teaches you that the cultural experience you are part of is so much bigger than you and it is a terribly beautiful legacy that we can and must pass on to our children.
From the time I was a little girl I have been fascinated and driven to know about our history. I would read everything I could about it. I always wanted to see myself in the history books. College made that desire even stronger as I had my first African American history class. But that was 20 years ago.
At 45 I have advanced to having a collection of books, videos, music and art that reflects our history and culture. But my greatest passion for the past 4-5 years has been doing the actual research on my family tree with GREAT results. My mother’s side is from the Sea Islands of South Carolina also home of the Gullah people. My father’s side is from North Carolina and Virginia. While I have found information for both sides, my mother’s side has excited me more. There has been research that the Gullah people are directly related to the people of Sierre Leone in West Africa.
As I have learned about the Gullah culture it reinforced things about me. When I was a little girl I spent summers in the Low Country of South Carolina. I loved to take walks and talk to God. I am a city girl and only felt compelled to do this when I was there. There was this spiritual connection that I felt there. Years later I would learn that my relatives used to go in the woods and worship, just as the West Africans did. I learned that the Sea Islands were exactly as the West Coast of Africa.
In my research, I have been able to trace back 3 generations on my mother’s side of the family, all the way back to the Civil War era. I found them in the documents of the Freedman’s Bureau Records, connected the freedom from slavery to one side to the Combahee River Raid, which was led by Harriet Tubman and the Union Army. I always knew we were a strong people just by the things I had read, however making those connections made me appreciate who we are even more. I have been so HUMBLED by being able to put names to the stories that I read in books. People whose genetic DNA are inside me lived and survived so that I could be here to tell their stories.
Being able to go back even farther to AFRICA would warrant me …..SPEECHLESS…. but only for a moment because I would probably fall to my knees and thank God and the ancestors. Then I would be sharing my story as I have already been doing to encourage others to seek their family heritage. I truly believe that if We knew more about whose shoulders we stand on we would be propelled to do better as a people and be able to believe we could accomplish so much more. Especially for my young family members, I would want to reshape their thinking and and open their minds to all the possibilities of their future. Because if my great great great grandfather Adam Allston and his family could be support for the Union Army prior to the ending of slavery (1862), and then within 20 years post slavery could read, write and own his own land…. there is NOTHING that they couldn’t do.
Knowing our connection to AFRICA…. would just make my family even more complete because I truly believe that knowing where we come from would just strengthen the self esteem of the whole family. And I say we because I would not keep that information to myself…. I simply couldn’t…..
Wanetta Williams
How Would Knowing Your Roots Change Your Perception Of The Past, Your Interpretation Of The Present, And Your Aspirations For The Future? (Week 3)”
Knowing my roots would be a blessing to not only myself but my family as a whole. I always thought it’d be beautiful to be able to sit down with my family; (Grandfather, uncles, aunts, my dad and cousins) and share this news. I’m sure we’d each take something precious and enduring from that experience.
My perception of the past would change greatly. I say this because, for many years I was part of what I now feel to be an uneducated and harmful ideology; that coupled religious faith with actual bloodline descent. Placing the intangible with the unprovable.
I am grateful that I now have a deeper security in my faith without that ideology. I would however love to finally grasp what I thought I understood for so long. To be able to say, ” this is my people, and I am proud”; which is something that I would carry with me in my present each day, as I walk in confidence knowing who I am, and where I have come from.
In regards to aspirations for the future there is only one. I am currently single, 25, working full time and studying as well. It is my hope to one day have a family, and with the knowledge of where I come from I would impart this to my family; to my wife and our children. And I would encourage my greater family that I mentioned above to do small things here and there to teach and to reflect in their homes where we have come from, with the hopes of generational continuity in knowing who we are.
Thanks for your time. Take Care.
“How Would Knowing Your Roots Change Your Perception Of The Past, Your Interpretation Of The Present, And Your Aspirations For The Future?”
As a Family Historian and Genealogist, I would hope that knowledge of one’s Roots would occur in youth. Let me explain from personal experience.
When I was in the third grade, we read aloud, in the class, ‘Little Black Sambo’. My mother had that book removed from the classroom and curriculum.
In junior high school, my history teacher informed me, in front of the class, that I was a negro and since there’s no country called ‘Negro’, negro is not a proper name and should not be capitalized.
I suffered other indignities, as well, when I went to high school in this predominately white community in upstate New York – during the 60′s.
I say suffered because I didn’t know my Roots. My parents didn’t teach me about my personal family history. I had no information about our past.
One of my great great grandfathers was a soldier in the Civil War! John Stevenson volunteered with the 29th Connecticut Colored volunteer regiment. I didn’t know this and other positive information until way into my adulthood; in fact, not until I was in my 50s!
My point. Had I known any of this during my youth and at the time of formal education, I would have been a different student and I would have been able to counter some of the negative stereotypes placed upon my peoples. My classmates could also have new information that may have changed their perceptions of Black Folks! This would come from Family History & Genealogy; not from the history books.
As I approach 60 years old, my wish is for the youth to be able to interpret the present with knowledge of the past so they can have a balanced viewpoint of who they are and what they are supposed to do in this world.
I’m an ‘Evangelist for African Ancestored Genealogy’ and as such I hope we make Black History Month a year-round endeavor.
George Geder
Peace,
“Guided by the Ancestors”
It would not make a great difference as I am not scared to associate myself with African americans. I would really love to prove it as I also have First Nation ancestry as well.
Peace
Venita
I just watched Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. on PBS in “Faces of America: Our American
Stories.” I noted how the family members of deceased persons expressed awe and
affirmation as they learned new things about their ancestors.
Using census, birth, marriage and death records, I have traced my family history as far
back as the 1820s. Granted, I’ve experienced awe and affirmation with the vital statistics
that such records offer. However, none of the elders are left in my family to pass on our
oral stories. I watched that PBS segment with envy because I want to do for my family
what Dr. Gates did for his guests. I want to play a significant role in ensuring that my family’s present and future generations experience awe and inspiration from our family
story. Learning my genetic story will help make such a gift to my family a reality.
I am the manifestation of the hopes and dreams of my ancestors; I stand on the
shoulders of those who came before me. These words, repeated by numerous speakers
and writers, resonate with me as a descendant of African people. In honor of my ancestors, I want to be the vehicle through which they become known to my present and
future family. I am the only child of my parents who does not have children, and the one
made family history in academia. This is one way for me to give back to those who made it possible for me to be where and who I am today. My hope is to document our family
tree with the genetic story with the purpose of inspiring future generations. Most
importantly, I embarked on this genealogical quest to inspire my family to use our story to love ourselves, as descendants of a long line of people who have contributed to our very existence.
The great loss of my family’s oral tradition can be recouped with the new and ancient
story that genetics has to offer. My aspiration for the future is that my immediate and extended family will learn our story and in so doing, honor themselves as they honor our ancestors. Knowing my genetic story will change my perception of our family story as a
fragment, rather than a story. Knowing what was prior to my ancestors’ sojourn in small rural, Midwestern towns will transform our fragment. Rather than just believing that we
originated in Africa, we will know it with certainty. That knowledge, I believe, will give us the sense of continuity that we currently do not have, and nurture our continuity in the
future.
I have always wanted to know who what when and where of my family and ancestors. After seeing African American Lives 2 I became hopefull. I ordered my Matriclan kit today. It is exciting and scary at the same time. What will the tests reveal?
I have attempted to trace my roots and have gotten as far back as the birth of my great great grandfather. I have bits and pieces but mostly gaps. Learning that my grandfather had a draft card made me feel instantly more patriotic. Unfolding the mysteries and stories of my family would make me proud. To have a sense of knowing is powerful. To know where you come gives you an identity a mark. To know that it is not just a abyss, but a place you can point a finger on a map, a place you can visit is simply awesome. It is a brand.
Knowing my roots would change the perception of my past by allowing me to gain the knowledge of my ancestors lives, their achievements as a people, their way of life and realize that what happened to them had a lot to do with jealousy. When your ignorant and you lack something you often go for the person who has what it is that you lack. So, having that understanding of my roots and where my ancestors come from I can begin to learn and put my puzzle together from my own understandings. Then I would understand why we are in this current position now as a people. It would change my interpretation of the present by allowing me to over stand that their is a reason we are hated by these people then I would begin to research and unlock all of the greatness from our past and realize that this is why. We are the original people of the world for starters, our ancestors are the mothers and father of civilization, mathematics, sciences, literature, cosmology, and spirituality. Knowing this changed MY ENTIRE WORLD! I no longer interpret this world how they would like us to interpret this world. That alone gives me power because most of the things we get is impossible for them to even understand. All of this is my aspiration for my future, putting all these peaces together and unlocking what hundreds of years of slavery has locked up. AND I WILL!
Knowing my roots would really change how I feel about myself as a whole. On my mother’s side of the family, I know a large number of family members, and feel proud of most but, on my father’s side, it eludes my knowledge of who and where they arrived from. A need to connect both parts of me, would feed this internal drive that’s somehow stagnated at this present time. How can I pass along history to my kids if my history is incomplete.
Blog Contest: How Would Knowing Your Roots Change Your Perception Of The Past, Your Interpretation Of The Present, And Your Aspirations For The Future? (Week 3)
I always wanted to know, for as far back as I can remember. What are my roots, who are my people and where did we come from? I remember in third grade rummaging through my great aunt’s family photo album where I saw pictures that, to me, looked ancient. I asked her, “Who are these people, are they family relatives?” She replied, “Baby I don’t know who those people are, that photo album is so old.” I asked her if I could keep some of the photos and I told her… “I’ll find out, I’m gonna find out exactly who they are!” I was around the age of nine or ten years old back then and that was over 30 years ago. I still have those photos and I am slowly finding out who those people are pictured in them and where they may have come from.
It has been a long journey, my fascination with learning about my past. Over the years my interest has peeked and plunged but for some reason it always returns. I joined my family’s Family Tree Committee and it was during that time that I was introduced to the Family Tree Maker software. I don’t know if it was luck, chance or fate that caused me to stumble upon a family tree that closely resembled that of my own family’s family tree and the information the committee had gathered already. I recall getting goose bumps when I called the gentleman listed as a contact for that particular family tree to verify a family connection. I told him I would surely be the next Alex Haley once he verified that my family was actually connected to his family tree as slaves and provided me with the information that I needed to move forward with my research. I wanted access to his family’s old family bible so that I could possibly trace my family roots using it due to the fact that it’s widely known that slaves were not counted in census records during the time frame which our trees converged. Thus the only records of the births of slaves that often existed were those kept within the family bible. I developed the theory that our trees were connected because all of the names in my family tree seemed to resemble the same names in his family tree and this was around the same time of the emancipation proclamation when slaves could choose their own name and often took that of the slave owner. The only thing in the trees that seemed different were the dates of birth, the same names were simply repeated and used over and over again. With conviction I told him I knew that this connection would take my family’s roots back to Africa. To my surprise he replied, you are not going to Africa your roots through this branch of the family tree are going back to Scotland. I was then amazed by the oral history he then provided for me on my families connection to his tree. He explained that my great great great grandfather was actually a blood sibling within his tree. It was an indescribable feeling, like finding someone who had been long lost. Even though those roots did not go back to Africa there was still yet a connection and a sense of a found belonging. It felt good.
That information made it all clear to me, how my family came to exist in a place named after the family…Monroetown. My interpretation of the present had new meaning as I now knew exactly why my mother would say… “You know you can’t date anyone from around here because we are all related”. I now know that this town called Monroetown was settled by the blood descendants of the family tree that I found and the descendants of his 15 children are the family who make up the community present day. I now have more fun at family reunions and gatherings as I now know exactly how I and the 200 plus relatives that usually attend these functions are related and connected to each other.
I want more though! And I still desire to make that connection back to Africa. While on my mother’s side of the family the patriarchal branch of my family tree has been found to go back to Scotland, I am sure that the maternal lineage of my family will take me back to Africa. As I mentioned earlier, as a child I was inquisitive about my family’s past. I have a first hand account of a story told by my great grandmother about her mother’s mother being the first freed slave in the family. She actually pointed out to me the dirt road and path she ran down when she first heard the news. By winning an African Ancestry test kit my aspirations for the future will be renewed. I would then desire to not only journey back to Scotland, but Africa as well. Who knows, possibly I will become the next Alex Haley or write a true autobiography of my own that resembles that of the Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, 1971 novel by Ernest J. Gaines . But first, I simply hope to win!
Sincerely,
Dottie L. Washington
Please contact me if you would like to see the photos, I tried to post them here.
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Just knowing where you came from can be very comforting to know. It would help me to better understand what tribe I belong to in Africa. What were my people good at were they good at weaving,building wooden constructions,or did they belong to a lineage of kings and queens? I could put the good use of knowing this to probably help someone else out in life. My future career will be in nursing I would want to know was this one of their talents in life,to help nurse people back to good health. Were they good at writing things down. Knowing this would change my way of living life.
I would be able to look back on the past,and look towards the present. Maybe the future to help people out in life. I would probably feel happy,nervous, and anxious. Just knowing my roots would make a difference on my past,present, and future.
Just knowing would change so much because it will give the African-America a sense of identity more than we could ever imagine. Just knowing where you have come from over 500 years worth of history could answer questions and give you a different guide toward the future. Without knowing nothing about our past have gotten us quite far, but knowing just that much more is worth more than 40 acres and a mule, it is worth a Kingdom. It will be that Kingdom of Heaven in our minds that most of Black people have been searching for. For decades I have wondered where were my people coming from before my Grand-mother and have found nothing. My mother passed and my maternal grandmother. All of her close siblings have passed and I have a hard time trying to trace it. Just knowing that there is a way to do it, will give me that confidence that I can pass on to my children and will allow me to actually visit the homeland of MY forefathers.
~Lord M. Shaheed Aadam
It would make me veiw things different knowing my roots. Would change my perception just to learn an understand that our forefather saw a vision an faught for thier offsprings too have a purpose in this world is a blessing. Just to understand the stories grandma use to tell by memorie an knowing really who I am an which i came. Is anuff to make you change, Iwont have to my kid you cant date him because thats you family knowlege is power.
How would it change my perception of the past? Well, I would feel more in tune with my ancestors and the trials and struggles they went through to get me and so many others to the place that we are now. My perception of the present would be that I would feel less like I am out of place with who I am and where I should be headed in the future. Sometimes I feel like I am letting so many people down and as long as I feel thios way I do not believe I can go into the future to Honor them. My mother did not talk much about her side of the family and did not seem to be interested infinding out about them. As for my father, he talked and had wished he knew more about those that came from Africa. Being disconnected from those ancestors leaves a great void that I cannot discribe, perhaps with the knowledge of them I can find some peace and strength to move forward to better thing that will honor them.
Africa
A student without a teacher
A soldier without a general
A child without a mother
Africa
But who
How
When
Africa
Calling me faintly
Then loud
My ancestors
But who
How
When
Africa
Come to me that I may taste your wine
Partake of your essence and
Hush the voices
My forebearers calling calling
Africa
But who
How
When
Discovery
I know you
I’ve loved you
I embrace you
Africa
Sharing your beauty
Incomparable joy
A student has found her teacher
A soldier has found her general
A child has finally found her mother
Africa
Africa
Africa
I do not know if my poem can clearly convey my intent to answer your above question, but I truly hope that it does. There is a yearning inside of me that goes beyond my ability to express in simple words what the discovery of my ancestry would mean to me.
Thank you.
It is said that a tree is only as strong as its roots. I have two children a son and a daughter. While I am not as concerned for my son, however I am concerned for my daughter. My son’s father is from Africa; therefore, he has some idea about his heritage. My daughter has an estranged relationship with her father. Her father’s family has a very rich heritage filled with civil rights activist and musicians. I know nothing about my heritage. I want my children to know were there roots come from. A sense of identity is important in order to stay focused on achieving your goals. You say to yourself if my great great……. ancestor who survived the middle passage can survive such a horrific experience then I can make my great greats’ living not in vain by reconnecting with my heritage and making my great greats’ voyage come full circle. Knowing my roots will solidify my purpose, Give me pride about my ancestry, and act as a compass for where home is when I return to my Africa before I die.
The term “Past, Present and Future” would not fascinate as much as it does if the three weren’t intertwined in a love story as powerful and as meaningful as that of “Man, Woman and Child.
Before delving into my family history, my perception of the past was mostly based on what I thought to be the truth, it influenced my present situation in confusion and uncertainty, therefore my future was unimportant and unimaginable.
Yet, there was always curiosity…
Curious to know why! Curious to know when and where! I come from a generation where grown folx business was grown folx business, it doesn’t make any sense to ask because they won’t tell. But I was always that nosey little girl that knew how to keep quiet, always how to listen and retain what I could possibly use later.
So as I grew into a young woman I started to take what I knew about my family and apply it to my life. However there were road blocks as a good portion of my parents had already passed on, so there was no way to “ask” them – so I began to “research” them. What I found in the past was strength unimaginable, which made my present more bearable and my future more obtainable.
So you reach back and you look at all of these elders from different times, their various walks and you realize, your walk is not that difficult, but because they survived their journey, your back has strength, your head is on straight and your stride has purpose. Without their past, you wouldn’t be in your present and therefore cannot plan your future. Past, Present and Future – the road map to life.
Thank you,
Felicia Addison
Knowing your past is vital to understanding your present, knowing who you are and how you came to be. watching “Roots” for the 1st time a few years ago, i became quite envious of Alex haley who was able to track his family history all the way back to Africa. Ever since i was a little girl, ive always wanted to know where MY family roots lie. The product of two west indian parents and being the only member of my family to be raised in the US, i’m not very close to either side of my family. I’ve always felt that if i at least knew where my ancestors came from, who they were, what they did, i could be just a little closer to understanding who i really am.
I feel that knowing your history is so important to who you are. Being able to look back into time and to see all the struggles and sacrifices thoses who came before you made helps you appreciate your position in life today. Knowing you wouldnt be where you are unless thoses people made thoses decisions should really make you appreciateyour life so much more. Now that im sitting here thinking about it, im realizing that every decision i make is an important one because it not only affects my life; its gonna affect the lives of my children and their children and so on. Not knowing your past leaves leaves a person with no sense of direction in life. You cant know where you are going until you know where you’ve been. Unfortunatly, too many people of color have no idea where they’ve been so they have no clue where they’re going. I want to find out where i’ve been, so i can finally start making plans to find my final destination.
How would knowing my roots would change my perception of the past? It wouldn’t change my past, but it would brighten my present, right now I can’t say that I have complete knowledge of self because I know nothing about my origin, I know nothing about my ancestors. By knowing my roots I will go into another paradigm shift for the better of course. It’s hard not knowing. I’m a college student who’s surrounded by a lot of people who all know their original nationality, ethnicity, their origins in general. We have conversations and they share stories about their culture, their country, and their history. I would love to do this but it hurts to only be able to talk about slavery and everything that came along with it every time I want to share my history, this is the only thing I can go back to. I Parish Taylor want to represent SOMETHING, I want to represent something bigger than me, I want to represent my people, I want to feel a peace of that freedom that should have been my birth right. I want to feel and know what peace is. It’s “Black History Month” but what does that really mean when you don’t know who you are? What does that mean when you know that you are being cheated out of something that belongs to you. What does that really mean when your people can’t even come together with a plan to put an end to these evil tactics that are killing us off from genocide to starvation, if we allow this to continue we will be extinct and for those who had the knowledge and the wisdom to set some of our minds, spirits, and souls free but kept it to themselves because of fear, selfishness, money, more power or whatever they are doing nothing but washing their hands in the blood puddles of those black youth who die in the streets without a clue of the greatness they were robbed. What level of effect is Black history month suppose to have on a 19 year old who’s been learning about M.L.K. and Rosa Parks since birth. There has to be more to who I am and the people I come from. I can’t and will not just accept that my people are nothing, I won’t, I will NOT. There has to be more to who we are. Why is it so hard to find just a little peace of something that has something good to say about who we are, whether it’s television, music, books etc, etc. Who ever has the knowledge have to stand up now before it’s to late and get whatever knowledge there is about our people out into the minds for us who just don’t know what we have that we should be taking pride in. All of the negativity which is reality in our communities which is plaguing us would have no choice but to turn into positivity if we all knew our root and of our people’s greatness that’s known but suppressed our aspirations for our future would change not only individually but as a people.
-Parish Taylor
Most of what I have ever learned that was of any significance to my life’s journey was gleaned from long conversations with my maternal grandmother as we lay awake in bed at night. These late night talks about life and her memories of our ancestors connected our souls in such a way that nothing–not even her subsequent death in 1996–could sever the bond that we shared. When I began actively tracing my lineage two years ago, every positive search result instilled in me that same connection to each of my ancestors. They became real! From the “X” which constituted my maternal great grandfather’s signature on his World War I draft registration application to the 1880 United States Census report reflecting my maternal great-great-great grandmother’s age of 37 years old, I encountered the universal thread that unites all of humanity and which transformed my perception of the past from a distant abstract of people unknown to me to a very personal reality.
As I interpret the present, I recognize that I am a modern-day representation of my ancestors. I am the African’s vision for a future empire and I am the fulfillment of my enslaved ancestors elusive dreams of freedom. In my genealogical search, I have reached an impasse in identifying the parentage of my great-great-great grandmother. In the event that that I do not make the connections between her and the ancestors of the continent of African, then I will celebrate the connections made available through modern genetics that will connect me to a place that I can go and know that this is “home”.
. . .When your children ask their parents in time to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ then you shall let your children know, Israel crossed over the Jordan here on dry ground. (Joshua 4:21-22)
Among my immediate future aspirations is the advocacy for genealogy and DNA testing in the African-American community. When I consider that (as of this writing) African Ancestry has 2,739 Facebook followers and AfriGeneas has 2,268 compared to the tens of thousands of people of color who support hip hop icons and reality television pages for their connections to the community, their remains a great deal of education to facilitate.
In addition, realizing the painstaking process involved in the current genealogical search process, I so wish that my grandmother was still alive to answer more of my questions. As I now reflect on the meaning of my life and evaluate the legacy that I will leave behind, I yearn for the elusive privilege of knowing my ancestors’ thoughts, feelings, perceptions of their places in this world. Seeing now how this lack of available information has brought to light my own crisis of identity, I am determined to provide as much documented information as possible to the generations in my family that follow. The babies will ask, “What do these stones mean?” As my grandmother provided as much as she could for me, I am intent on having the answers for them.