race problem | Straightspeak

O’Reilly is superficially right on America’s race problem

By DHughes|2016-12-10T00:40:54-05:00July 31st, 2016|Categories: politics, social|Tags: black, O'Reilly, race, race problem, white|

Synopsis O'Reilly's premise is based on a belief in free will, which has been embedded in white, American culture since before 1776. It holds that everyone has the free will to pull up their bootstraps and let their indomitable human spirit overcome all odds. It’s very Horatio Alger-like. According to this creed, O’Reilly believes that all young black boys and Read more...

My personal history is the stuff they write books about. And that's what I am doing. The working title "Five Generations to Freedom."

It's historical fiction because, unfortunately, I can not 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, the facts just aren't there. I have written three books based on other families and their genealogy but my ancestors emerged from a journey that left few records – slavery.

My great grandmother, on my father's side, was a "freed slave." My grandmother, Amelia, was born to a white, French plantation owner in Grenada and a black slave named Mary, who worked on the Count de Poulain's plantation. Amelia was raised in her father's home and in adulthood, in an attempt to escape her black heritage, she "disowned" her mother Mary. Once, when Mary visited her daughter, Amelia told her, "Get out and never come back." And Amelia, as a mother herself (twelve children), told all of them, "Marry white." And many did, including my father. My mother was white Anglo-Saxon protestant born in England. They met in Canada where dad became a doctor.

It has taken five generations for the descendants of Mary (we do not know her last name) to free themselves from the bondage and stigma of their black heritage. But today, my children embrace it and are damn proud of it. Unfortunately, the 150 years in between has been a wasteland of bigotry, racism and bullying, Filled with anger, rejection, shame, fear, violence, murder and ... love, romance, kindness, perseverance and pride.