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Medium AlternateDHughes2016-12-10T00:40:36-05:00

2509, 2016

Picking a winner in the first Presidential debate will be easy – try this

By DHughes|2016-12-10T00:40:52-05:00September 25th, 2016|Categories: trumpwatch, trumpwatchhome|Tags: Daniel Goleman, Donald Trump, Dr. Elliott Jaques, Emotional Intelligence, Hillary Clinton, Presidential Debate|0 Comments

The only three things you need to observe in comparing candidates Mental capability (as defined by Jaques & Cason) Emotional intelligence (as defined by Daniel Goleman) Knowledge (as defined by Read more...

2209, 2016

Does Trump’s birther lie confirm a more frightening truth?

By DHughes|2017-02-14T18:12:01-05:00September 22nd, 2016|Categories: trumpwatch, trumpwatchhome|Tags: adolescence, Alexander Hamilton, Donald Trump, Electoral College, Founding Fathers, Kay Hymowitz|0 Comments

A truth Alexander Hamilton feared greatly Two things you probably do know – and two you might not Either Donald Trump lied for more than four years or Donald Read more...

1209, 2016

Is the gender gap an evolutionary problem?

By DHughes|2017-02-14T18:54:28-05:00September 12th, 2016|Categories: business, politics, social|Tags: Bruce Fritch, Davos, Global Gender Gap, Jennifer Openshaw, Muhtar Kent, Peninah Thomson, Raj Sisodia, Sheryl Sandberg, Women Thrive, World Economic Forum|0 Comments

Three things you might not know: Women are still a staggering 118 years away from closing the gender gap. Women hold only 20% of executive positions When women are Read more...

909, 2016

Isn’t one lunatic with nuclear weapons enough?

By DHughes|2016-09-15T08:31:28-04:00September 9th, 2016|Categories: trumpwatch, trumpwatchhome|Tags: Commnader In Chief Forum, Kim Jong-un, North Korea, Trump|0 Comments

Three things you might not know: In 5-10 years America, your children and your grandchildren could be in the nuclear cross-hairs of North Korea. Egypt and other countries could be Read more...

809, 2016

Does mental capability trump cultural coding?

By DHughes|2016-12-10T00:40:53-05:00September 8th, 2016|Categories: politics, trumpwatch, trumpwatchhome|Tags: Clotaire Rapaille, Culture Code, Donald Trump, Dr. Elliott Jaques, Hillary Clinton|0 Comments

Two things you might not know: “We found that the pattern of peoples’ mental processing could be observed in the manner in which they organized their information, or arguments, in Read more...

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My personal history is the stuff they write books about. And that's what I am doing. The working title, "Chains of My Father: Marry White."

"The ghostly image of the tragic mulatto trapped between two worlds." - Barack Obama

This perspicacious line from the Prologue of Barack Obama's "Dream from My Father" wrenched my aspiration into action. I started writing, furiously. Unlike Obama's perspective, my pain had been for the opposite reason: I was not seen by whites as a "tragic mulatto," rather I lived every day of my childhood hoping whites were not "searching my eyes for some telltale sign" that I WAS mulatto. This is my story.

It's historical fiction because I cannot find enough records to substantiate all facets of the story. I've combed the genealogy, traveled to my father and grandmothers' birthplace, walked the graveyards, searched the churches and ... well, all the facts aren't there. I have written three books based on the genealogy of other families but my ancestors emerged from a journey that left too few records – slavery.

My paternal, great grandmother was a "freed slave." My grandmother, Amelia, was born to a mixed race slave named Mary (we do not know her last name) and a white, French plantation owner, the Count de Poullain, in Grenada, West Indies. Amelia was raised in the "Big House" and in adulthood, in an attempt to escape her black heritage disowned her mother, telling her, "Get out and never come back." Amelia, as a mother of twelve children, enshrined into the family commandments, "Marry white." Many did, including my father. My mother was a lovely, white, Anglo-Saxon protestant born in England. They met in Canada where my dad studied and became a doctor.

It has taken five generations for the descendants of Mary to free themselves from the stigma of their black heritage but today my children embrace it. Unfortunately, the past 250 years have been a wasteland of bigotry, racism and bullying. But, on closer look, we see not only the brutality, fear, violence, and murder but also the self-respect, dignity, love, kindness, perseverance and indomitable spirit.

As of the spring of 2025, the depth of historic perspective and the sweeping inspiration of oppressed people has created a two-volume duology of which I have only arrived at the middle of the 19th century. 1840 is the year my great grandfather was born, the beginning of Volume II, and he's pushing me to make sure our story is published by the summer of 2026.