Saturday, November 23, 2013

African American Blogosphere

From the coasts of Africa, down in the Bayou, to the city that never sleeps, and everywhere else in between.

Over the past few months the AASGAR facebook group, with the guidance of Luckie Daniels and others, there has emerged a collection of ancestral stories.

Some that will melt your heart, awaken your spirits and enlighten your mind. Others that will challenge your beliefs, tickle your tummy, or put a smile on your face.

A glimpse into the past reflecting on what it was like to walk in their shoes. I hope that you take time to bless the Blogosphere:

Our Georgia Roots
Echoes of My Nola Past
Back Porch Reminiscing
Claiming Kin
Where Art Thou?
My Elusive Kin
A Journey To The Past
Finding Eliza
Interlocked & Interwoven
Mississippi Ancestors
Cecelia's Dig
Walking in Irene's Shoes
The Middlebrooks of Meriweather County
A Home In Missouri
The Book of Bannarn
Mysteries of My Ancestors
My True Roots
Arterberry-King-Pinkney-Richardson Genealogy
Moon-Jackson Army
Pieces of Me
J-Mac's Journey
Daniels is My Name
THE TALIAFFERO PROJECT
Lukasa
Panola County Roots
Their Child
Pressing My Way
Our Family As A Whole
Ruby's Granddaughter
Ancestral Callings
Honoring My Great Uncle
How Did I Get Here?
Tracey's Trees
Honoring Our History
Caddo Trees
Voices Inside My Head
Between the Gate Posts
Conversations With My Ancestors
Spence-Lowry Family History
Taneya's Genealogy Blog
All Roads Lead To California
The Southern Root
Tracing Their Footsteps
Ike Ivery Family
Terrence Garnett's Family Research
They Came from Virginia
Connected by Blood

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Peola- Imitation of Life

I really never knew that society had such an issue with color behind closed doors. In my household everyone looked the same and outside our doors we where all the same. As i grew older i realized that even though God created everyone equal, everyone wasn't raised the same. People are the way they are due to the circumstances around them and examples of what is right and wrong.

I can recall when i was about 8 years old give or take a few years was when i started to view people differently. I had a very close friend who i played with, had sleepovers with, and spent most of my time with. One day we where playing and her neighbor, another friend, told us her parents said she could no longer play with us. Later the reason being was because of me, what had i done i thought. It was explained going forward that it was just because i looked different. That memory stays in my head.

It brings me back to first time i saw the movie Imitation of Life with my mother. How everything seemed black and white. My heart was overwhelmed at listening to Mahalia Jackson sing. And how Peola thought that her world would be better if she could live like a white woman.

I can relate in some ways by looking at history and how it was perceived that you where better if you could pass. But at same time Miss Annie had to carry on with a broken heart. A love of a child so strong that she finally broke and it was too late for her daughter to mend her wrong.

I wonder if any of my ancestors came upon this and how they dealt with it. I know from my grandparents that there where some family members who where mixed/ mulatto. At this day and age i still think its like a generational curse.

The videos with lighter colored girls, with the longer hair, use of perms and relaxers, bleaching of the skin etc etc. Some do, some don't. But i can always recall some young African American girl talking about not liking those very features that make them who they are. I always tell my girls no matter what you are BEAUTIFUL! !!!

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Sweet Dreams ....:-(

Sleep tight don't let the bed bugs bite, or the Sandman will bring you good dreams.....

But have you ever heard of the Silver Finger Lady? She, or it was referred to when having to go to bed @ night. If you did not go to bed like a good girl or boy the Silver Finger Lady would come for you.

Now i really don't know how this story came about but i know it was passed down throughout our family. My father said my grandma also told him and  my uncle the same. Perhaps an Urban Legend , a monster of some sort.

Of course story changed in time. Supposedly she would ride your back, waking you from your sleep. You could not move or scream. Or maybe that was the nightmare she would bring if you stayed up too late!!!

Needless to say i always went to bed on time with my nightlight. Crazy story but worked for most of us. No one ever said they actually met that fate....:-)

School Daze

For the past few weeks i have been pondering many thoughts about what to write. Their have been so many thoughts racing in my head but one that really stood out.  What was life like where my ancestors where raised? What was going on in Lowndes, Birmingham, or surrounding areas in certain time?

This is what i was taught during school in regards to history...
Harriet Tubman-Slavery and Underground Railroad.
Eli Whitney-invented cottin gin.
Rosa Parks- refused to give up seat for white person.
Frederick Douglass-abolitionist.
WEB DuBois-Souls of Black Folk
Phyllis Wheatley-poet
Martin Luther King-Already Know :-)
Emancipation Proclamation-Freed confederate slaves.
13th Amendment-abolished slavery.
14th Amendment-Defined who where "so called" citizens.
15th Amendment- Gave blacks right to vote.

This is what i learned by reading, family or watching media...

Dred Scott case-Slaves are not citizens.
Scotsboro Boys-9 black boys charged for raping 2 white women.
Emmett Till-killed for allegedly whistling @ white girl.
Tuskegee Syphillis Experiment-used black men to determine how long it would take for disease to kill a person.
Amistad-slave ship where slaves revolted
Clothilde-last known slave ship
16th Street Church bombing-death of Four little black girls in Alabama. Including two boys after community upset. Johnny Robinson n Virgil Ware while riding their bicycles
Freedom Riders-Civil rights activists traveled throughout the South to try and put end to segregation in interstate traveling.

Bloody Sunday/Lowndes:
March in 1965 from Selma to Montgomery in support of voter registration and killing of Jimmy Jackson. Occurence on Edmund Pettus Bridge where they where met by violent beating with batons, guns, spray, and tear gas.

This highly televised event led the to two more marches and President Johnson to the Voting Act of 1965........

I can truly say that im very appreciative of what my ancestors fought for beyond what i thought i knew......Equal Housing rights and the right to vote. End of segregation in airports, restaurants, courthouses, sports activities,recreational areas, the workplace. Wheew, long list....need i add more?

Conclusion:

We have come a very long way and i never thought i would see the day that a black man became President!!! God has been so good and i can accept the good with the bad in moving forward. There is strength in numbers, AAGSAR facebook bloggers i look forward to hearing your stories.  Nothing is impossible!!