Ancestral
By Norman Cain, January 23, 2020 — When I was born my forbearers presented me with the key to the avenue of the straight and narrow, where opportunity laid waiting. I cast it to the wind. It landed on Bacchanals … Continued
By Delores Wilson, September 13, 2018 — What me and my three girl cousins thought was part of the boardwalk to the beach, my grandmother, who was native American, set the record straight. She said, “No children, it was part of a … Continued
By Frances Bryce, March 5, 2020 — The subject that was suggested was “feeling lucky,” and I had never thought about feeling lucky until I thought about maybe, I had something to be lucky about if I thought about the … Continued
By Natalie H., April 12, 2019 — I was born in New York City but when I was seven, my parents moved our family to a farm in New Jersey. In the first farm they owned, a black family also … Continued
By Gail, April 2, 2019 — Growing up, my father would drive my sisters and I to Alabama to visit his family in the summer. Growing up in Harlem, NY, it was a very long drive but we would make … Continued
By Rev. Tom White, March 8, 2019 — It was the final night of Mardi Gras. The final night! I was stationed in Fort Polk in the lower part of Louisiana, about 100 miles from New Orleans. Three of my … Continued
By Frances Bryce, July 24, 2014 — In 1965, I was living in Phila, Pa and went to visit my father who lived in a small town in South Carolina. I accompanied my father for his annual checkup to his doctor’s … Continued
By Robert D. Bailey, October 14, 2016 — I do not remember my grandfather’s face. He was tall, but all adults are tall to a 5-year-old. He did not talk much, but when he did speak his voice was a … Continued
By Norman Cain, December 5, 2016 — Generally speaking, Saturday afternoon was the only time that black folk had time to relax. The week found them toiling in the field from sun-up to sun-down each day. Some would be migrant … Continued
By Norman Cain, March 21, 2017 — During the summers of my adolescent years, my sister and I would be sent from Philadelphia to South Carolina. We would live on my maternal grandparent’s farm. We would take the late evening … Continued