This year, I had the pleasure to resume my volunteer duties with the George Washington Carver Museum for their Juneteenth celebration. Although I didn’t reprise my historical character interpretation as Freewoman Mattie Gilmore, I was so happy to be in the mix for the morning shift. Afterwards, I attended one of the genealogical workshops.
A poster-sized pedigree chart was prominently displayed as soon as I walked into the Genealogical Center.
I didn’t fill out my A4-sized genealogy chart, not for my mother’s side of the family at least because so many of my relatives have researched that side of the family. As a matter of fact, I’d like to interview one of my cousins, an ancestor hunter, to learn how she uncovered so much family history and apply that knowledge to my father’s side of the family.
Up until recently, 1865 seemed like such a long time ago.
Two years ago I realized that I was merely the third generation of freeborn Black. The dominant narrative had convinced me that slavery was so long time ago that it had no relevance to what’s going on today. Yet, the struggle for freedom continues as recent political events have proven that one’s rights can be stripped at any time.
Since neither side of my family is from Texas, I was more interested in a general search.
Simultaneously, there appeared to be a lot of information available and very little instruction about how to access it. The journey to uncover one’s ancestors seemed very daunting to begin.
Plus there’s the emotional work of viewing records like these.
Back when Black people were considered property, enslavers kept an inventory of their human assets. As a matter of fact, due to political negotiations, Blacks were only considered three-fifths of a person, not as an acknowledgement of our inherent humanity, but so enslavers could have more representation in Congress based on population. The legacy of Black people only being valued when we serve another’s purpose continues today.
There was a delay telling Texas slaves they were free and a longer delay in federal recognition of Juneteenth.
Whether an event “has been a long time coming,” or “has happened too fast” is a matter of perspective. For former slaves, many generations had suffered the egregious institution while former enslavers thought emancipation “all at once” didn’t adequately prepare free people to learn how to be citizens–as if a continuation of slavery machinations would ever prepare an individual for full autonomy.
A mere three months after the preliminary emancipation, it was business as usual in the Texas slave trade.
This advertisement is a reminder that slaves weren’t just valued for the forced, uncompensated labor they performed, but their bodies as well. Although this advertisement talked about Blacks who were living at the time, deceased Blacks were often sold as cadavers for medical schools.
I love the optimistic phrase “Forever Free.”
One thing I’ve learned is that freedom is only “forever” as long as you’re willing to actively remain free. Those with far more resources always want to subjugate the masses for their own power and profit.
Our genealogy presenter stated that to understand slavery, one must understand The Middle Passage.
The Middle Passage consisted of ships that brought Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to be sold to enslavers who wouldn’t dare pick their own cotton and other harvests. The Amendments shown were ratified to abolish slavery, grant citizenship and equal protection under the law, and give the right to vote–to all men. Depending on one’s demographic, your freedom may not be expanded with the addition of a new amendment.
Finding Black ancestors in 1870 poses special challenges.
The same person may have multiple spellings of their name for a variety of reasons. Primarily, enslaved people weren’t legally allowed to be literate, so they couldn’t double check the spelling of their own name. They may have changed their surname to distance themselves from slavery. Marital conventions may have changed a woman’s surname.
Our presenter recommended this Juneteenth summary video.
I sent the link to several family members and friends to help spread the knowledge. After all, this was one of the newest federal holidays. Many people claimed that they hadn’t heard of it before then.
Before these books are banned from the library, I plan to read them.
How ironic that slaves were unable to attend school and now there’s a movement to do away with books.
No presentation is complete without a resource section.
At some point, I’m going to do a deep dive about the traditional way to celebrate Juneteenth since I didn’t grow up observing it.
Real support goes beyond performative actions.
One of the ways to support the Black community, is by supporting Black-owned businesses. Conversely, Black-owned businesses need to help be a solution within Black communities. They don’t have to solve everything, but at least something.
J. Mill was still on stage when I finished the genealogy workshop.
No matter how good this group was, they performed on an outside stage during triple-digit temperatures. One of the few times I broke out in a sweat at a concert where I remained seated.
Next up were African drummers.
By some African drum magic, the woman who led this group enticed many of us in the audience to get up in that heat and do some simple steps. No one tried to hurt themselves. The symbolic dance signified looking for a partner, then planting the seeds, providing water/nurture, then harvesting the crop/reaping the benefits.
I arrived at my second volunteer gig pre-sweaty.
I felt dressed down compared to some of the other members, especially members of the board. Fortunately, other volunteers were similarly dressed as me. We were all sweaty regardless.
Anatomically inspired jewelry meets snark.
One of our raffle prizes was a piece of jewelry from this artist. I never learned which piece, but the raffle was a success. I was amazed the ease at which I upsold the $20 for 30 raffle tickets offer. Granted this was a fundraising event, but the downside was I had to count out 30 frigging raffle tickets!
I discovered another use for the decorative film ribbon.
All I can say is too bad I hadn’t thought of this sooner. Despite the late addition to my updo, I inspired two other women to add film ribbon to their hair.
I’d spent the longest day out in about, volunteering for two worthy causes. Since both events provided food, all I needed to do once I came home was take a long overdue shower and relax.