Oh yea, a Proud Slave Ancestry
I am no longer ashamed of what they were (slaves)
but proud of
what they became.
There is a deeply-rooted saying, “Promises are made
to be broken.”
A promise is a verbal declaration. Such an oath, really is
enduring
when you make a vow to someone you dearly love. After breaking
a promise to a love one, is
there redemption? Can you resolve,
repair, or mend the broken pieces of a
dissolved promise?
The story of my third great grandmother
Mariah, born a slave,
witnessed a slave massacre, fought the KKK and owned
acre of
land, known as “The Lands of Mariah Johnson,” have been passed
down from generation to generation.
I was in an auspicious position of knowing the oral
history of my
family. My family’s history, at times, especially when I was a
child, seemed to be a fantastic story. Although, I knew that my
mother and aunt
spoke earnestly, I could not capture their moments
of reminisces. I could not
grasp the historical context of living
within a time where color, class and
gender were synonymous with
servitude, slavery and inequality. Therefore, I
lived in their moment
and listened. I listened to their thoughts and memories.
While, in
that precious moment of time, I learned that I am, all that I am,
because of their sacrifice.
Years before my dear mother passed away, she said to
me, “Please
research our family tree.” My mother knew that I had a genuine
appreciation for family history. “I will Mother, not now, I’ll do it
later,” I
answered. My mother spoke as though we were of royal blood. I had to admit, but
only to myself, that I was a little ashamed of being a descendant of slaves and
I was scared. I was afraid of confronting my fears and reservations about the indignation of slavery.
In 2005, after my mother’s death, I was immersed in
grief. For a
couple of months, I cried myself to sleep. Then late one night, I
remembered my mother’s words, “Follow the trail of the land, the
land speaks.”
The next day, I struggled through the pain of anguish,
wiped my tears, buried
my regrets and decided to research my
family tree.
A couple of years into the research, I gained a new
perspective, I became proud of my slave ancestry. Yes, Mariah, her mother Chloe was, and her grandmother,
Tisby were all born into slavery.
However, the most powerful testament to humanity
is the ability to love and share love and respect in the face of social
restrictions and racial barriers. Mariah’s master’s children and
grandchildren loved Mariah and her family, as she loved them too. The beauty of
this friendship is that it broke the traditions of the slave master
relationship as a human bond between master and slave was formed.
After the Civil War, the journey of Mariah’s
departure to transcend
from human property to a human being was met with
opposition as
she and her family channeled through the violent Reconstruction
Era. However, she succeeded despite the hardships of the Jim Crow
laws as she
gained the respect of an affluent White community.
Mariah was a servant in the house of Confederate
President
Jefferson Davis. After Mariah told Davis about the slave massacre
Davis regretted owning slaves and the ideology of slavery.
Mariah’s inspiration to bring about
social change extended long after her death. Mariah’s grandson, Professor
Elliott Von Joseph Beal and the Queen of Gospel music, Mahalia Jackson (his
cousin) and their friend the unforgettable slain Civil Rights leader, Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr., changed the course of history.
During the Civil Rights Movement, Mariah’s
descendants, after a
turbulent and long travel, historically landed as human
beings with
equal rights.
After 7 years of research, in 2012, I fulfilled my
promise to my mother. I wrote, “Human Property Hanging in the Family Tree
Yields a Harvest.” At times, I am still haunted by not fulfilling my promise. I
have learned that ‘time’ moves on, even when we stand still, time
waits for no one. If you make a promise, please keep it, a broken promise is
heartbreaking. I have learned not to be afraid of the unknown, because with
sound research, answers to questions can alleviate fear.
I plan on re-writing this book, presently it is genealogy, nonfiction book, however I have decided to re-write this book into a powerful American family saga.
Book Information
ebook/dp/B00727LLKC/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=digital-
text&ie=UTF8&qid=1329162632&sr=1-1-spell
In the above picture, the older man is Ben Williams (Mariah's brother in-law). During the Civil War, Ben Williams was the body servant (body-guard) for Confederate President Jefferson.
