For
Lewis • Ivery • Miles • Daniel •
It All starts with a Name
Memorial Day. Monday. May 30th, 2016
9pm Eastern : Tonight
Reimagined Roots is being aired.
I watched the Original Roots in 1977 at age 9. That year I began to understand Who I was. That I had a History. As I cowered silently laying on the floor by my Mother's favorite chair and Daddy on the left end of the couch. I was in tears, hoping no one would see me.
I was fearful, angry and full of pride from one moment to the next in my heart and soul.
I'm glad my Parents were there to help protect me from all my feelings that were stirred up in my little 9 year old self. As I intently listened through scenes to their Oral History about what they knew about Slavery. They were the grandchildren of Slaves.
Roots has been the catalyst on why I started listening to the Elders talk since 1977. I self taught myself the techniques for Oral History Interviews. This is why I am where I am today, writing for you.
I remember having to go back to school the next day. I saw myself differently and the world around me from that point on.
My Ancestors from the Continent of Africa had prevailed with dignity. For our Heritage. Why I stand today. On the mighty shoulders of Elders.
The Lewis Surname.
That name is My Rock.
My Sword and my Shield.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
--Jeremiah 1:5
Why am I watching Roots?
I will Watch with a new pair of eyes. As a Woman. Not the 9 year old girl. Observe. Be Concerned. Learn. Pass the knowledge on. HONOR....and everything else my mind can't comprehend to speak and write. For all the atrocities perpetrated against a People.
I can go back and tell True at 9. All is well. Go unto the World with your head held high. Your Ancestors are with you every step of the way.
Why am I watching Roots?
For the years 1513-2016
IN HONOR OF JAMES LEWIS. He was drafted for WW2 to fight for this Country but had no rights. To prove he was worthy of fighting for this Country and he should be equal in all ways according to the Constitution. All Men are Created Equal. For his Sister, my Aunt Sarah who is 100 years old as of today. They were the Grandchildren of Slaves. IKE IVERY born 1853 a Slave . Died a Free man in 1937. QUEEN DANIEL. For my Great Grandmother, Eddie Lee Rosanna Savannah Louisiana Ivery LEWIS.
For The 11 Mother's of Ike Ivery.
WE DON'T KNOW. Who came through the Middle Passage to a unknown Country. Her bleeding picking cotton hands.
For the 1.8 Million who died on these Slave Ships.
For all the countless names we will never know that were denied their Heritage. For their UnSung Lives. That's why I am watching Roots.
I'M WATCHING FOR EVERY IMAGINABLE REASONS FOR MY ANCESTORS.
1619, Mathias De Sousa. Benjamin Banneker. Phyllis Wheatley. Nat Turner and the Slave Revolt. Denmark Vessey. The Amistad. Harriet Tubman. Stagecoach Mary Fields. Cathey Williams, Woman Buffalo Soldier. Fannie Lou Hamer. I'm sick and tired, of being sick and tired. Brown vs The Board of Education. Plessy vs Ferguson. The 14th Amendment. The Freedmen's Bureau. The 1867 Voters Registration List or known as the Loyalty Oath. Oliver Lewis the winning Jockey of the 1st Kentucky Derby. Henry O. Flipper.
Lynchings. The scene of a small girl watching with her Parents as a Black man is being lynched, smiling. Strange Fruit.
Citation: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library. (1923 - 1980). Rubin Stacey, lynched victim, hanging from a tree, surrounded by onlookers, including girls, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Rosa Parks. Dec 1, 1955.
She Sat down, so we could Stand up.
Emmett Till. Tuskegee Experiment. Mrs. Henrietta Lacks. The Sit In's. The Little Rock Nine. The Freedom Riders. The 4 Little Girls. Birmingham. Selma of 1965. Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner. Viola Liuzzo. Loving v. Virginia, 1967. The 1968 Olympics. Medgar Evers. Clinton Melton. The Poor Peoples Campaign. Dr. Martin Luther King, 3rd. Assassinated for the color of his skin and for doing what's right for all men. Trayvon Martin. Murdered by Stalking for walking home in his own subdivision. This is why I'm watching Roots.
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| 44th President of the United States. Barack H. Obama. 2009-2017. |
Why am I watching Roots?
All for the 44th President Barack Hussein Obama.
He knows his European Roots and his African roots. Pres. Obama has what every African American today wants. Their Village, language, and Tribe. Their Traditions and Heritage.
For the many African Americans that come to you in their quest on their DNA Journey. I ask that you help them piece together with kindness to help them with their lost heritage that was stolen from them.
I have a Responsibility to MY Family and my Descendants, the Truth about the Lineage from whom we descend. The Truth about their History. Our Legacy.
I'm watching so my Fellow Researchers, Genealogists, Family Historians can know what I have to go through on a daily basis when scouring through record after record just to find one more date to add to my Ancestors Life Line. What we call the Dash.
Why am I watching Roots?
To keep myself Inspired. To know who I AM! To teach my Family. Who What Why and Where we come from! So there is no doubt where our Greatness comes from.
Why am I watching Roots?
For the Sacrifices. For the Blood. For the Sweat. For the Tears that were shed for my LIFE in my DNA!
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| My True Roots at 23&Me |
Why am I watching Roots?
To give God the Glory! To be Thankful and Mindful of all that my Ancestors have gone through with the grace of God to keep living one more day in this LIFE, so that in 2016,
We ARE, who we BE!
Why am I watching Roots?
To Never Forget
How can you can help the Descendants of Slaves find their Family? Millions of Names have been Lost through time. It's time to help. What can you do to Contribute to History?
This Link will show you how Family Search is working with the History Channel for Roots.
Or
Slave Name Roll Project by My Blog Sister Schalene. Her project has been dear to my heart and all her Contributor's that put their family records online so Descendants of Slaves can find them one day.
These are two ways you can Contribute.
#ReadingForRoots
Let's keep the Conversation going.
Why are you watching Roots ?
Note To Myself: Why do we as Individuals keep asking others and ourselves, why we do have to WATCH one more Slave Movie? I am watching Roots because a whole Generation was taught by the last Generation we don't need another Slave movie. They left a stain on a whole Generation that this is too painful. It's not important. It doesn't matter. We don't need to be reminded. We need to move on.
It's our Responsibility to People of African Descent to not let them go unnoticed and push their lives to the side. Their Lives are Worth more than Gold. They built this Country, we so freely walk on every day.
I say to you, if you don't know where we come from? How can you navigate through life ignoring the past to go into the Future? This is all of Our History as a Country. We can't pick and choose. We have to make the right choice and honor those that came before us. We are all in this Together.
This is my Answer.
This is why I am watching Roots
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