I have had an interest in genealogy for more than 30 years. During that time I have found several of my lines that led to membership in the Sons of the Revolution and other linage groups. One of my ancestors is on the founding stone at Hartford Ct. I have Native American relatives, though I have no Native American blood.
Like many of you I had my DNA analyzed and found that most of mine comes from northern Europe though I do have a small fraction of Neanderthal DNA. It has bothered me for some time when I am given a survey asking if I am white, Mexican, etc. Haven’t they realized yet that the mixing of our DNA has been going on for thousands of years?
I have one line that goes back to the Acadians (Cajuns) and that is where I found something that was a big surprise. My fifth great grandmother listed in the Mixed Marriages Index in Louisiana authored by Christophe Landry is described as a mulata libre (free woman of color, part white part black.) Her mother was born a slave, also later described as a mulata libre who bought her freedom, later in an estate fight with her son-in-law. So somewhere back there, I have black great grandparents.
So now the next surprise. They obtained land and purchased slaves of their own! How can this be? They had been slaves and when they gained freedom then became slave owners themselves. So in Louisiana in the 18th and 19th centuries there were many free people of color. The society at the time included the indigenous Native American people. Following them, the French and Spanish who settled the area. Then came the influx of both free and enslaved people of color. Stir this a bit and you have the Creole people of that time and today.
I remember in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s being kicked out of restaurants in Jim Crow Saint Louis. I was refused because my medical school friend was black. I asked my friend about that a few years ago. He told me that at the time there were safe states, iffy states, and those that would not serve you anywhere. Oklahoma was an iffy state at the time. He recalled passing through Tulsa and stopping to get gas. He asked the attendant where he could get a bite to eat. He was directed to a restaurant which promptly refused him service. I still remember seeing water fountains for white only in the south.
Which brings me to my last point during Black History month. We were all made by the same Creator. When can we do away with the hate and bigotry in our current society. When can we learn to love our neighbors, black, white, red, yellow, Muslim, Jew, Christian, Hindu, gay, straight, Republican, Democrat, Independent. When can we start loving one another.