My Black History
By Quinita Ennis
If you want to learn about history, you could read a book, but what I learned about Black history, our Black history, my Black history I learned sitting in the kitchen with my grandmother, riding around town with my grandfather, and listening to my mother, my aunts, and uncles telling me about their childhood growing up in Prince Frederick, Maryland in the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
The matriarch of our family, my grandmother, turns ninety this year and the wealth of knowledge that she holds has been gifted to me. I, in turn, will gift it to my children so they will know our Black History. The history that she holds is not a story, it’s her life, her lived experience growing up during the great depression in Wilmington, Delaware in the 1930s. She will tell you that when she was a young girl racism was everywhere. It wasn’t hidden. It was in plain sight embedded in her community in the signs telling her to drink from the “colored” water fountains or that when she entered a building she had to walk through the “For Colored Only” entrance. It’s not a movie she watched or an article she read; this was her reality. But through all of the hate she held onto Black Joy which turned into Black Love when she met and married my grandfather.
Now, my grandfather (PopPop) was a kind, amazing, funny, smart no-nonsense kind of guy. Who loved his family. Provided and protected them fiercely. He believed that education was important. He didn’t shield them from the truth but showed how to stand up to hate! My mom told me that she remembers one time he took her, my uncle, and my aunt to the movies, but because they were Black they were instructed to sit in the back of the movie theater. My PopPop was not having it, he rounded up his children and walked out! As an Air Force Veteran who continued to serve his community by being a Math Teacher and Coach, this was unacceptable. So, on a hot summer day in August 1963, he gassed up his car accompanied by his eldest daughter and drove from Prince Frederick, Maryland to Washington, DC to stand in solidarity with his people! With his daughter by his side, they listened to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s demand for justice, freedom, and equality for all.
I Have a Dream. My PopPop died believing in that dream. The dream that his granddaughter is still fighting to become a true reality. The only difference between racism then and now is that it is hidden. Hidden behind laws and policies that have been created to continue racism. Instead of Jim Crow laws, we have bills like the Secure DC crime bill which are designed to scare folks into thinking that the only way to keep our city safe is to put Black and brown people inside cages. I can’t imagine that my grandfather would think that in 2024 his granddaughter is out here still advocating for the same rights! Although he wouldn’t be surprised, the advocacy blood runs throughout our family’s veins.
As I learn about my family and our role in this movement, I discovered that my Great Great Uncle Joe’s restaurant and barbershop, Joe Randolph’s, was in The Negros Motorist Green Book. Often referred to as “The Green Book”, this book was created by Victor H. Green for Black travelers during the era of racial segregation and Jim Crow laws. It provided locations that welcomed Black travelers, including hotels, restaurants, barber shops, and more. To know that my Great Great Uncle Joe provided safe passage for our people traveling through Delaware gives me a sense of pride. He didn’t know these people and that didn’t matter but what he did know is that they had a right to travel and be safe and he provided that.
I want to think that I am channeling my ancestors as I show up in my work, my community, as a constituent battling to break down systemic racism. Standing side by side with others as we scream from the top of our lungs…Enough is Enough! And just as my ancestors did before me, I will continue to demand justice and for the end of the inhumane caging of our people.
This is my Black History.
Quinita Ennis is the Operations Manager at Civil Rights Corps. She provides essential support to all CRC departments, contributing to the smooth functioning of the organization. As a directly impacted person, her personal experience has fueled her strong commitment to ending the criminalization of poverty, making her a passionate advocate for change.
