It’s Okay to Look Back
This past November, I travelled to Asia with a group of “new” friends, to visit China. I’d always wanted to visit China but I only wanted to go with someone from that country. So, I knew that would limit my chances of making the visit. Who in my circle had roots in China and was still connected enough that they could take me home with them? Well, believe it or not, I knew someone — Paula Madison.
Last August, Paula joined us for the Summit on The Vineyard. I purchased a copy of her book, Finding Samuel Lowe: From Harlem to China and gave all summit attendees an accompanying DVD of the book. As I read the book about her journey to connect with her family of origin, I also thought about Toni Morrison’s novel, Song of Solomon which at the core, is about the rootlessness of African Americans trying to find their way home. Paula’s story is, in some ways, a modern day version that tells us how she was drawn to know more about where she had come from. I love when she says, in a simple yet profound way, that her grandfather whom she never knew, told her to look for him. I believe our ancestors are asking us to look for them, today.
I guess that’s what Paula and I have in common. All of my life, knowing my roots has been very important to me. Understanding where I came from has been my greatest tool of resistance to being defined by a narrative that doesn’t celebrate the contributions of people of African ancestry. To that end, assimilation has never been a priority but rather the perpetuation of my own legacy. It’s not until we truly understand our history (origin), that we can fully comprehend our present. So much about Paula’s success and love for family now makes sense.
She first began the search for her paternal ancestors of the African diaspora and got no farther than her dad. Paula hired a genealogist and now have records of her Williams’ ancestors going back to her great-great grandfather and not stopping there! She says, “it’s ironic that I had an easier time looking for details to connect me to my family in China than to my family in Jamaica. Slavery was a despicable and inhuman institution.”
As I thought more about a theme for the 2017 Summit on The Vineyard, legacy and its importance, stuck in my mind. As people of African ancestry, we must understand the legacy of our people in order to face the days ahead while building for the next generation. Yes, we can’t stop building! None of what we currently face is beyond what those who came before us had to face and conquer. Paula’s ancestors learned to persevere in the face of defeat and disappointment because they knew she would be coming and it’s that same hope and faith that must fill our days ahead.