It has truly been a SUPER-busy but blessed week for me! Seems like my formal name change on Tuesday switched on a light & I’ve been in motion ever since — putting my promises of progress/change in 2010 to action.
At the top of my list – honoring my commitment to the LowCountry Africana team to provide coordination support for the collection of Georgia [Low-Country] records.
Well I’m happy to report, early this morning in the wee-hours, the LowCountry Africana – Georgia Records Collection went live! Yep, that’s right — we’re gearing up to kick some Georgia genealogy *brick wall* booty!:-)
In the upcoming months I’ll take on several genealogy projects that will have a deep impact and benefit to the African-American researcher tracing slave ancestry in Georgia — trust me. And as part of my genealogy commitment for 2010, I’ll continue to assist descendants of slave holding families with sharing their Ancestors slave data.
This work is essential to connecting our collective “genea-dots” and bringing historical peace to our Ancestors.
For my Friends and Family who have supported me here at Our Georgia Roots for almost 2 yrs now (wow – that long?!) – THANK YOU. One day you will know, in full transparency, just how much I depended on this community to pull me through one of the toughest periods of my life.
But let me also challenge you to keep up the work of supporting genealogy blogs as a whole, and Slave/African-American Ancestry-based dialogues specifically.
As a community, we have a lot of “catch-up” work to do and a very unique task that differs from the average researcher — that of researching the slave AND the respective slave holder.
We must TALK, we must SHARE, we must CONNECT and while I love OGR @ Twitter, it is your support on the blog(s) that has posterity. Tweets are what they are meant to be — brief, fleeting connection points.
Support of a blog and/or community, not only encourages the author, it binds him/her to the community and many times is instrumental in beating down a long-standing brick wall.
So please, if you are not blogging – head to Blogger.com now, you’ll be live in MINUTES. If you are not sharing — jump in to the conversation now. If you are not documenting — pick up the pen, paper or mouse now and get busy!
Our Ancestors have waited long enough to have their memories revived and stories shared. Don’t allow you, the chosen Griot of your family to be the barrier in their way.
Now, enough lectures — go read LCA Georgia Collections Launches! Time To Work! cause we’re gonna shake the tree at the root Baby and gather a bounty of Genea-fruit!:-)
Luckie.
@LCAfricanaGA
Today when I arrived at my Mom’s house I had the most wonderful gift waiting for me – a box from my BARWICK Cousin “Glenza” in Dothan, Alabama filled with albums of family images & historical docs!
Here’s the GeneaTrail: Glenza BARWICK GARY > Jake BARWICK > Cleveland BARWICK {my Great Grandfather Raymond BARWICK’s brother} > James BARWICK > Cary BARWICK.
I knew that Glenza was sending “some” family information but in no way was I expecting this!
Albums of unknown cousins, with familiar features… how amazing is it that blood relations who have barely met each other can look so much alike? Funeral programs that I am ashamed to say, I do not have in my genealogy collection. Family Reunion programs that are a shining example of what a PHENOMENAL job Glenza has done organizing these events. Even a few random images of my Grandfather, Willie C. BARWICK, Great Grandmother Lena McKENZIE BARWICK, & Great Aunts Lena and Ella {dec’d}!
Simply amazing!
It blows me away how Daniel BARWICK {Son of Cleveland} is the spitting image of my Grandfather – Willie C! Also a shocker, I have always been told how striking my Grandfather’s baby-Brother, James Henry BARWICK was but until tonight I’d never seen him as a young man. Boy he was handsome!:-)
Needless to say, I was so taken with my family images that I could barely pull myself away to eat dinner – I just wanted to read & grab the family tree!
Thank you Glenza – these valuables are in trustworthy hands & as soon as I complete all my cataloging & scanning, I will return them for safe keeping.
The perfect gift for the perfect day…
My Family!:-)
Luckie.
P.S. Stay tuned for the updates to the BARWICK Image Gallery! Woo-hoo!:-)
I may know the Internet but I know very little about planning the PERFECT Family Reunion!
My BARWICK Cousins & I have decided that in 2010 we should head to Cincinnati {watch-out LaRosa’s Pizza & Skyline Chili} for a gathering of living descendants.
How beautiful will it be to gather with 90 year old Aunt Hannah & Aunt Lena?!
Ok, so HELP – Allum? Thomas? Anyone – aside from getting a reunion blog up & runnin’, where do I start?!:-)
Luckie.
Tonight Allum {aka SpenceLowry} & I were engaged in a “Twittersation” about the arrest earlier today of Harvard Professor & Scholar, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Allum’s observation – it’s been an “interesting” week in race relations.
A desecrated historic black cemetery. Innocent children turned away from a Philly pool. A Mayoral email in EXTREMELY poor taste. Now the arrest of one of our most noted Scholars on race relations?
Whew! My take – definitely a more public facing week of race issues, but not out of the ordinary at all.
It’s a sad testimony, but true one nonetheless.
While we {black folks} may have been surprised by WHO was arrested {my God, did Cambridge police mess-up or what?!}, I’d be shocked if any one of us could not identify with the circumstances surrounding Dr. Gates arrest.
Instructing our young black males on how to respond when “driving while black”, or entering “the wrong neighborhood” is darn near a 16 yr. old Right of Passage!
Sometimes the slight is subtle – “Oh my, your child is so articulate!”. Sometimes not so much… like today I was mistaken for a maid. Was I in a uniform? NOPE! Was I carrying a mop or broom? NOPE! I was just walking down a hall, when a man stopped me to ask – “Are you the cleaning person?”.
What the heck?! {Luckie exhaling…}
Now, for the disclaimer – do I believe every white person is a racist? Nope. Do I have a deep dislike for white people? Some of them. But for the record – there are also some red, brown & black folks I don’t dig too much either!:-)
All this is to say, that sometimes we [all of us - black & white alike] need to be reminded that there is much, MUCH work remaining to heal the blemishes of the past.
Just 45 years outside of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, even with an adorable brown family resting at the White House, we still have a long road of change to travel…
Tombstone Tuesday – Emmett Till, Burr Oak Cemetery.
Lest we forget…
Luckie.
Our Alabama Roots ~ Barwick & Related