African American

Fantastic article I read in Smithsonian Magazine that I was pleased to see was on-line so I can share it. The author traces the footsteps of slaves forced to march from Virginia to Louisiana but also looks at it from a president perspective of the African Americans fighting for recognition of these events at the same time whites are trying to bury them. Its quite a long article. Set a side a good hour at least!

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/slavery-trail-of-tears-180956968/

When Delores McQuinn was growing up, her father told her a story about a search for the family’s roots. He said his father knew the name of the people who had enslaved their family in Virginia, knew where they lived—in the same house and on the same land—in Hanover County, among the rumpled hills north of Richmond.

“My grandfather went to the folks who had owned our family and asked, ‘Do you have any documentation about our history during the slave days? We would like to see it, if possible.’ The man at the door, who I have to assume was from the slaveholding side, said, ‘Sure, we’ll give it to you.’

“The man went into his house and came back out with some papers in his hands. Now, whether the papers were trivial or actual plantation records, who knows? But he stood in the door, in front of my grandfather, and lit a match to the papers. ‘You want your history?’ he said. ‘Here it is.’ Watching the things burn. ‘Take the ashes and get off my land.’

~snip~