Beginnings - The Foundation

My family migrated north from their southern roots in the winter of 1925 as part of the Great Migration. This was a time when thousands of Black families left the segregated south and went to northern cities seeking a better life. Many of these Black/African families had Indigenous and White ancestors from generations of voluntary and involuntary mixing. I have ancestry with roots deep in many races, ethnicities and cultures. My great grandparents hail from Africa, America, Australia, and England, so my roots are multicultural and my story is spread across at least 4 continents. Yet, I define my race as Black, and my ethnicity as African because my "soul" resonates with Africa, and my spirit remains connected to the "motherland" across time and space.

In this blog I will explore the construct of race as viewed by people of diverse racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. We will hear different viewpoints, beliefs and thoughts as I interview people in my daily travels about their thoughts and insights on the concept of race.  A guiding question driving this project is: What comes to mind when you hear the word race?

This blog will delve into the insights of a wide variety of individuals across lines of race, culture, language, national origin, gender, age, and religion - and their thoughts about race and what it all means to them in the 21st Century.

Southern Roots

Family

In honor of the Lipscomb Family Reunion 2011

2011© Helen Tinsley

united by blood & connected by purpose

we come together

to break bread & tell stories of folks gone on.

to meet & greet the new & the old

& build connections that link back to that first garden

where adam & eve witnessed the dawn.

we hail from north & south, east & west

seeds scattered on the earth

with roots still deep in the Virginia soil.

raised up on fried fish and grits

Sunday finest & church

yes ma’am's & no sir's

we - these descendants of willie, mary & maude are family.

fruit from the same tree

cut from the same cloth

we are kin-folk.

family was once all we knew & all we had

the one who always got your back

the person you went to in need

the shoulder to cry on

the back-up when there was no back-up

the one who could make it right

like milk in your coffee & butter on your bread

your people

we - these descendants of willie, mary & maude are family.

we stand on their shoulders

& come from a long line of strong people −

those old Africans & Indians that chose to survive

& never gave up.

believers in hard work & perseverance

who put enslavement, sharecropping, jim crow

& legal segregation to bed

& never looked back.

today in your journey – connect with your family

the new & old

enjoy the smooth ride together

but try to avoid the bumps in the road

& build up the bridges that have broken down

over time, space & circumstances

connect the dots that make family - family

and pave the way for our babies

to continue the legacy on the path we walk.