Great essay, and a super-important corrective to the ways that many white people have subtly changed the narrative by connecting with Black "family members"--who are indeed members of their family, but importantly--because their ancestors were enslavers, a fact that is often minimized as part of the reunion narrative.
Oh, Martha! What fun. My eyes popped open, just a little wider, with the mention of Calvert County. My father was born there in 1920. Though I live in Washington, DC, I am a third gen Calvert County property owner. I don't know if we're related to the Gantts. Calvert County was relatively sparsely populated 100 years ago, so anything's possible. This is fun. Keep digging. Yay!
Great essay, and a super-important corrective to the ways that many white people have subtly changed the narrative by connecting with Black "family members"--who are indeed members of their family, but importantly--because their ancestors were enslavers, a fact that is often minimized as part of the reunion narrative.
Oh, Martha! What fun. My eyes popped open, just a little wider, with the mention of Calvert County. My father was born there in 1920. Though I live in Washington, DC, I am a third gen Calvert County property owner. I don't know if we're related to the Gantts. Calvert County was relatively sparsely populated 100 years ago, so anything's possible. This is fun. Keep digging. Yay!