Our Family Tree

A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots. Marcus Garvey

About a year ago we started a project as a family on Ancestry to explore our roots and understand where we came from. Similar to most black families in America, it’s pretty difficult for us to trace our roots back pre-Civil War. But, I wanted our daughters to know as much about us as they could about how we came to be.

That’s the goal of this project, to create a space where my daughters can learn our family history and as a result, take pride in where they’ve been and where they’re going.

When I first embarked on this project, I had just finished reading the book, How the Word is Passed, and it was a revelation let me tell you.

I loved so much of it because it spoke to what I’m feeling right now in this season of my life, as a leader and as a parent. In a time in our nation’s history where where we’re debating about what history even means, it was a good reminder of the necessity of remembering. The good and the bad. There’s no separating the two. They inform one another. Now I feel as if it’s up to me to ensure that for my children, as much of our history as possible isn’t lost to ambivalence, indifference, or calculated erasure.

It also made me think a lot about my own family, how we fail to remember both and as a result, I worry that we’re losing history. I was fortunate enough to grow up with a maternal great grandfather and a paternal great grandmother until I was in middle school and well into adult. Unfortunately I didn’t spend nearly enough time listening and learning from their wisdom and the stories of their past.

This is a space where I can capture some of those stories now.

This is also a space where my wife and I hope to pass on the stories of our life experiences, in hopes of creating an ongoing legacy that builds over time.

Looking forward to the journey with my girls.

SDW3