Wow! This has been some month, huh?! Did we EVER think that #FreedomTweet 2010 would come to mean so much, to so many, OUTSIDE of our genea-family?

Did the Ancestors EVER think that we — their children — would be living as FREE as we do today? I often wonder if my Ancestors dreamed or imagined a better day. God, in my heart, I hope so.

Today marks the 145th Anniversary of Juneteenth — the nationally observed day commemorating the end of Slavery in the United States. On this day, starting in 1865 Galveston, Texas, Emancipated Slaves celebrated their new-found, but still greatly challenged — freedom.

So today, we speak and stand-up for FREEDOM. What it meant for our Ancestors of yesterday, and what it means to us today, their living legacies…

*******************

Luckie Daniels, Our Georgia Roots | CoAAG 4th Edition: FreedomTweet 2010 ~ What Does FREEDOM Mean To Me? ~ Freedom means far more to me today, than it did a month ago when I first thought of #FreedomTweet.

Jacky Gamble, Vermont Genealogy | Juneteenth Events ~ Thank you Jacky for sharing with us the Juneteenth event of Portsmouth, NH & supporting FreedomTweet 2010!

Vicky Daviss-Mitchell, Mariah’s Zepher | Texas Tradition Arizona Style: Honoring Juneteenth ~ Thank you Ms. V for showing us how to celebrate Juneteenth, Arizona style!:-)

Angela Walton-Raji, My Ancestor’s Name | In the Spirit of Juneteenth: They Fought for Freedom ~ Thank you Angela for educating us on the important role the Colored Troops played in the Civil War, fighting for our freedom.

Sandra Taliaferro, I Never Knew My Father | Carnival of African American Genealogy ~ Freedom Tweet 2010 ~ What does FREEDOM Mean To Me? ~ Thank you Sandra for summing freedom up quite nicely — Freedom for me is a life without barriers.

Joann, J-Macs Journey | A Legacy of Freedom – Life Lesson’s for Grand’s Girls ~ Thank you Joann for sharing the freedom legacy you’ve both inherited and pass on through your descendants.

Toni Carrier, LowCountry Africana | We’re Celebrating 7 Days of Juneteenth! ~ Thank you Toni & LCA for this PHENOMENAL contribution to the 4th Edition of CoAAG — 7 days of new FREEDOM historical records! Preservation of history offers freedom to many!

Toney Holley, For All My Relations | What Freedom Means to Me ~ Thank you Toney for sharing your reflections on freedom & how its meaning changed when you journeyed to Washington, DC.

Kristin Williams, Finding Eliza | To Be Where You Can Breathe… ~ Thank you Kristin for sharing the  beautiful 1917 letter to your Grandfather Mershell Graham. It’s a bittersweet reminder that though “free” our Ancestors did not truly experience “freedom”.

Susan, Nolichucky Roots | What Does Freedom Mean To Me? ~ Thank you Susan for reflecting on your Ancestors freedom journey from Europe and committing to heal slavery’s legacy so that we all can live free. So glad we could encourage you to *tweet*!:-)

********************

Thanks to all the Genea-Contributors and supporters of FreedomTweet 2010! You have indeed made this 145th Juneteenth a day of true celebration and thanksgiving!:-)

Hugs to you,

Luckie.

What a day, huh?! If you follow me on Twitter (@OurGeorgiaRoots) you know today I received an AWESOME surprise — an email from the Great, Great Granddaughter of Madison Derrelle CODY, the 1st owner of my Catie and other members of my CODY family from Warren Co.

So for the newbies, any search on OGR for the surname CODY produces a TON of genea-history, but here are the milestones:

• 1998. I knew this about my Warren Co. lineage  — Catie left a Sister Allie in 1859-60 when she was sold and she spoke of being on the plantation with Master CODY. Really — that’s it! See my Top 10 Mysteries list from 2008.
• Sept 2009. Discovered Catie’s owner was Madison Derrelle CODY
• Sept 2009. Discovered the Claude Cody Collection (Madison’s Son) at Southwestern University, only to learn later that the extensive collection contains no references to the family’s earlier slave holdings, which were considerable.
• Feb 2010. Identified our Allie! She’d been hidden by a blemish on the 1870 census AND a surname change to DORSEY by 1880.
• March 2010. Confirmed Allie and family! I gained their parents Elbert (uncovering the mystery behind the long standing family name) and Allie – my 5th Grands, Rachael CODY – my 6th Grand AND a 1/2 Brother to Catie, Pierce CODY from the WPA Slave Narratives!

So literally the email from Alexis blew me away and speaks to the many reasons why it’s important to be online with your genealogy research and the necessity of PATIENCE. You did see my time line right?!:-)

It also reflects how descendants on both sides of slavery’s history can and do heal the present.

With permission, I am posting the communication from Alexis. I pray it serves as motivation to take the leap of faith and connect when a connection is possible. It can be life changing!

******************

05 June 2010

Dear Luckie,

First, I congratulate you on your discovery of your many greats-aunt Allie’s eventual whereabouts.  I can imagine how very exciting that must be to know, at last. Also, I am sending a copy of this letter to William B. Jones as he so kindly prompted me to communicate with you after I first made contact with him a few days ago.  I wouldn’t have known about him if it had not been for your blog.  I have meant to communicate with both of you for a very long time.  I was so excited to read about you.  I hope that I have something to offer you.

I am the great-granddaughter of Claude Carr Cody,  son of the Madison Derrell Cody who “owned” your four-greats-grandmother, Catie.  First, I wish to apologize to you for taking so very long to correspond when I knew of your quest as of 10/15/09.  My 20 year old daughter, Anna Cody Dell, happened upon your blog while idly researching the Cody’s.  My excuse is that I’m a full-time physician, mother and medical director of my group.  Finding the free time to do anything personal has been and is very challenging.

If I had found any thing that would have assisted you in your search, you can be guaranteed that I would have gotten in touch , long ago.  Also, be assured that if, in the future, anything emerges that would be of interest to you, I will share it, immediately.

I did diligently search for all I could find about your family.  Claude Carr Cody  created a family journal for his 3 sons in 1916, long after he moved to Texas.  He described many of his childhood experiences growing up in Covington and in Warren county.  He listed only a few slave names.  The ones I have are Reddick and Aunt Alice. He recalls several slaves fondly but they do not have the same prominence in how he writes as others do.  However, there is some glimmer in his expressed thoughts that ” the Negroes” have importance, outside of financial commodities.  His thoughts were probably no different from most white people in his position.  I’d like to believe that had he developed in a different era, his attention and perception to the issue of believing that one can own other humans would be quite different.  Of course, after he was 10 years old, the Emancipation Proclamation was enacted. He was not a slave-holder.  He describes his father informing all the slaves on the plantation of the Emancipation – Juneteenth.  You must remember that his memories are the memories of a child ,  recalled in adulthood.  He was 4 years younger than your many greats-grandmother.  They must have known each other.

If you would like me to make a copy of what he wrote and send it to you, I will.  Frankly, my instinct is to hide parts of it and to expurgate everything that could vaguely be hurtful to you or to anyone else.  Yet I know that honesty is more important than anything, no matter what the consequences.  I understand him in the context of the times in which he lived. I hope that you do.  I believe that he was a man of huge character.  Like all of us, he was limited by the times that he lived in.  His parents were even more limited.  Yet I like to believe that they were wonderful people.  I have his parents’ portraits, painted in the 1850’s.  My mother has his portrait, painted as a 4 year old at the same time.  What a possession!  I know that you would like to have portraits of your own ancestors.  Who wouldn’t?

By reading your blog, so long ago, you led me to even more information about my ancestors.  I am the same as you.  They call me and direct me, serendipitously.  I have my own epiphanies.  Maybe one day, I can share them with you, if you’re interested.  I thank you for the role that you’ve played in my own search.  I wish that I had more to give you.

I feel for your struggles to know your origins more fully.  Oddly enough, I have been interested in the search of the descendants of slaves for their ancestors for at least 10 years.  I went to an exhibition in Drayton Hall in Charleston around that time.  On the floor was an attempt at tracing the lineage of the slaves that had lived on that plantation.  It really touched me for reasons that I did not fully understand.  I then discovered a book by Edward Ball, Slaves in The Family.  You must be aware of the myth that is alive in all southern families descended of plantation owners.  That myth is that “we were good to our slaves.”  Edward Ball was from an old Charleston family.  He set out to determine whether there was any truth to that family creed of “goodness”.  He got quite the education.  He also wrote a book, The Sweet Hell Inside:The Rise of an Elite Black Family in the Segregated South.  I love it.  If you have not read these books, I would enjoy sending them to you,as gifts, from across the centuries.

I’ve been a little wary of contacting you.  I understand some of your anger and frustrations.  I’m cowardly enough to not want them applied to me.  I suspect that you’re growing deeper than that.

I’m very interested in your developing Buddhism and where it’s leading you.

I would love to hear from you.  I know that you’re retiring from your blog as of Juneteeth.  I hope that you might feel like writing me back.

If you would like to receive those books, please send me an address that I could use and I’ll send them right away.

Sincerely,

Alexis Dell

*******************

As I said to Alexis earlier, when the Ancestors have something to say, they will open the path. This tells me, the CODYS are not finished talking. They have more of their story I need to tell and I am listening.

Thanks for sharing the joy with me today family!:-)

Luckie.

Many years ago, I coined myself the Accidental Buddhist because at the time, I considered my finding the spiritual path to Buddhism an “accident”, a “fluke”.

Of course once I began to follow the Path, I realized that my spiritual journey was no fluke at all — it was my destiny. Today, I see it as my rock.

Buddhism did for me what all spiritual paths are intended to do — it saved me from myself. Does it make me perfect? No. Does it make life trouble-free? No. However it does make me forever conscious of my impact to those [and things] around me and aware of my accountability to mankind in both large and small ways.

I am thankful. The Path is the only source capable of calming the fire of rage I’ve often felt in respect oppression, racism and suffering. The Path is the only comfort allowing me to rise each day as my heart is challenged with watching more and more of Mom transition away due to Alzheimer’s Disease.

After all these years, I am still working on accepting that I am, right now FREE. I am happy. There is much good in this season because Mom is still here, right now and there are lessons for me to learn in the present. I am working on accepting reality (or the illusion that looks like it) with grace, peace and ease.

So you should know, following the June 19th FreedomTweet event, I will be taking an indefinite hiatus from the genea-space to just… well, be.

There are other needs calling my name. I need to connect with a Sangha so that I continue learning the Teachings I’ve vowed to. I am committed to investing more time in helping to alleviate suffering and hardship wherever I find it. I want to read books again — I haven’t read Walker’s Temple of My Familiar in ages, it’s time. I want to roller skate with my children again and just be in the moment.

What this means for the genealogy community is that the Carnival of African-American Genealogy definitely and possibly, A Friend of Friends will *pause* with me. Likewise, my presence among the Twitter GeneaBloggers will also be vacationing. Our Georgia Roots and Our Alabama Roots will both remain up as a resource to fellow researchers and a connector to me. I vowed NEVER to pull my sites offline again, I’m keeping my word.

There will be some of you relieved to see me absent (smile) but take no comfort because you don’t physically see my presence.  Like my Great Grandmother Annie used to say “every shut eye ain’t sleep, and every goodbye ain’t gone“!

The Genea-community is my Family too and I always protect Family.

While researching and planning for FREEDOMTweet 2010, I discovered the Road To Freedom Exhibit currently at the Bronx Museum. I plan to visit this too and take my kids with me. I don’t know they REALLY grasp what’s been sacrificed so that they today could continue the Liberation Fight.

I encourage you to support FreedomTweet 2010. Not for Luckie Daniels and not just for CoAAG.

Be you black, brown, red, yellow or white — there is a Liberation Fight for you too.  We are all in this together and there are MORE than enough social, civil and environmental causes to go around.

Lastly, I leave you with this. Just because you have the right to make a choice,  doesn’t remove your obligation to choose what’s right; what’s just. There has been sacrifice lent to afford us a choice. It was not and is not FREE.

We are put on this planet to evolve and to make life better — both for ourselves and others.

Dare to stand-up and accept the gift [and challenge] of loving and being accountable for each other. It is the only hope we have.

I truly love you,

Luckie.

Sometime before 1865 in Washington-Wilkes, my 4th Grandfather Philip CARTER, a slave, returned at the end of the day from working the fields to find his Wife and Children sold away.

Oral history says that when Grandpa Phil thought to question his owner’s actions, he received a stern warning to “let things be”, being told he could choose another wife and make more babies.

Grandpa Phil did just that — “let things be” and in 1869 married my 4th Grandmother Annie FAVER CARTER and yes, they had many babies.

Fast-forward 20 years.  In 1885 in Washington-Wilkes, my other 4th Grandfather, James WINGFIELD, an emancipated slave, returns from harvesting his land and heads to town to cash in his crops. Family history says that he purchased a pair of “brogans” and pick-up needed supplies for his pregnant Wife, Grandma Catie DICKEY WINGFIELD and their children, before heading to church to pray.

At some point between Downtown Washington-Wilkes, church and home something happened.

The details are unclear but it has been said my Grandpa James was accused of “talking back” to a white man. As a penalty, he was removed from his home on Whitehall Street, never to be seen again.

Grandma Catie was 7 months pregnant, with 4 small children at home at the time James disappeared. A year or so later, relatives found my Grandfather’s brogans and boots in the woods, at the bottom of a hanging tree.

Two Grandfathers and two instances that totally shifted my Family’s destiny. Both men defenseless; one a slave who dare not speak-up;  one a free man, murdered because he dared to speak-up.

What Does FREEDOM Mean To Me?

Freedom means that not only do I have the RIGHT to advocate for fairness and justice ~ I have a RESPONSIBILITY to do so!

When I speak-up, my Grandfathers and all the other Ancestors who sacrificed that I might know FREEDOM, are assured their sacrifice was not in vein.

My community advocacy says, that I REFUSE to shame their memory and FREEDOM gift with complacency and idleness.

There are MANY days I am startled, saddened and angered by the reality of just how fragile our civil liberties are in this Democracy we live in.

When Congressman John Lewis can be spat upon and called nigger in 2010 Washington, DC  — something is WRONG. When discrimination can be passed into law in 2010 Arizona — something is WRONG. When “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is still being debated on Capital Hill in 2010 – something is WRONG.

I’m honest in saying I’ve lost patience with prejudice and resent having to burden my children with the skill of navigating around its constant presence.

And for the record, I am completely comfortable with my ability to make folks [begrudgingly] shed their blinders — if even temporarily — to see that there is more to living up to the premise of equality than just speaking it.

No you will not find silence here. No, you will not be able to take comfort in my complacency. No, I will not allow you to make me invisible or my considerations unimportant.

I have the right — the FREEDOM — to demand as much from society as it demands of me.

To answer the blogger’s question ~ What does diversity matter?

EVERYTHING when you live in a culture that doesn’t offer it freely. EVERYTHING when to abide by it laws must be passed, sanctions invoked. EVERYTHING when as a consequence of silence and diminished action, one witnesses the very liberties her Ancestors have fought and died for, fade away.

Diversity, as does FREEDOM matters because there are those who believe it doesn’t matter. There are those that don’t face the challenge of its lack — DAILY, as I do.

So long as these people have a voice (or blog), God willing, so will I.

~ Luckie.
FreedomTweet2010 Blog | Twitter.com/Juneteenth2010

As I *tweeted* this morning, the folks at MyHeritage.com asked if I would consider publishing their responses to the emails I posted yesterday. My reply was an immediate ABSOLUTELY!

In truth, I’ve enjoyed our dialogue. I tend to be fine with folks expressing various opinions and found the relatively transparent exchange with MH, somewhat refreshing.

We’re all grown folk (and friends) here, so there is no need to publish the Luckie Disclaimer. If I have one thing to add, before we dive into the email exchange, it would be this.

Yesterday, over 200 genealogists read the Open Letter To My Heritage post, yet only 4 of you responded — 1 with a correction; 3 with thank yous for including them on my genea-blogger list. If you clicked on that link, you had interest and if you read the post, you certainly had an opinion.

Please agree or disagree — just don’t opt to be silent and/or invisible.  Many black, white, red and brown people have died to offer us the precious right to voice our opinion.

There is no controversy to be found here folks — just conversations.

Luckie.

*******************

[Note: the FIRST email from me on 05.13.10 that  initiated the MH dialogue, was published yesterday -- Open Letter To My Heritage]

o5.14.10

Hi Luckie,

Thanks for taking the time to write.

We do appreciate your comments.

We know inherently that by creating list there is some great material we will miss. This is an unfortunate part about any compilation made, there is always something that slips through the cracks.

Our goal was to include ethnically neutral sites in our search, as you can see from the list , it runs the gambit of social backgrounds, nationalities, and even sites of mixed heritage. We have also developed top lists for multiple different countries, covering a myriad of different blogs in each.

We agree there is a mountain of quality material in the African-American community and we would like to respond to any shortcoming in this area with  an exclusive Blog about African-American Genealogy Blogs. I would love if we could speak further to perhaps collect some of your thoughts to put it in the article.

If you would like to be involved with this, either myself or my colleague ___________, will be in touch with you early next week.

Thanks __________ for getting back with me.

I think an article highlighting the genea-community’s African-American contributors is an excellent idea. These researchers more than deserve this! Researching Slave Ancestry is a science unto itself, given the manner in which African-American Ancestors were recorded and/or not recorded, prior to the Civil War period.

However I would like to make some points clear in respect to your comments below:

1. An “ethnically neutral” genealogy blog does not exist. Ethnicity plays a KEY factor in how, what and where a descendant researches. European descendants have a broader range of data to draw from — both in terms of the resources and time periods available. It’s not uncommon for European researchers to identify Ancestry as far back as the 1500s. On the other hand, African-American descendants may be able to successfully trace an Ancestor back to 1865. Any time prior to that — unless the Ancestor was a Free Person of Color — information will have to be sought by identifying the respective slave owner to determine if slave data was recorded and/or preserved. My point? Research paths vary greatly depending upon your specific genetic-ethnic-cultural variables.

2. In your list of the Top 100 Genealogy Blogs, I did not see the mix of “social backgrounds, nationalities, and even sites of mixed heritage” you reference. How can you have both an “ethnically neutral” list and also one that is representative of the diversity your description summarizes?

3. It appears with your reference to the multinational lists you’ve developed, consideration was given to [most] every ethnicity/culture except African-Americans. Why is that?

4. While I do feel an article highlighting African-American blogs is a kind gesture, the truth is the blogs I referenced are not separate from the community of bloggers you listed in your Top 100 — they are a VITAL part of that community and deserve recognition as such.

5. A title of the Top 100 Genealogy Sites implies that you are actually identifying sites based on genealogy/research criteria that would allow them to be deemed as superior in their craft. Being “ethnically neutral” does not factor into being an excellent researcher, nor a viable community contributor. That distinction is and should always be — colorless.

I am more than happy to assist with the effort of the article — just let me know what’s needed.

I do hope in the future My Heritage will invest more effort in presenting a full-view of the online genealogy community. African-American contributors in the genea-space, participate and invest much (myself included). There should be no excuse for their omission when recognition is given.

Best,

Luckie.

Hi Luckie,

Just to follow up on a few of these points (___________ may well have some thoughts too)

We were already interested in doing some posts to highlight specific genealogy sub-groups, and I think doing something on African-American genealogy would be a great way to begin this. One of our ideas was to feature a set of sites dealing with area of African-American genealogy, so we might well be able to showcase a number of the sites you flagged up.

To me, sub-groups in the community are simultaneously part of the community as a whole and part of their own sub-communities (if that makes sense). So African-American genealogy, Jewish genealogy, Latin American genealogy, Americo-Irish genealogy etc all comprise part of the community as a whole, but at the same time face their own specific challenges and feature a particular approach to research and study. This would be the approach our series is taking, rather than to say that these sub-groups are in some way separate to the community as a whole.

We could definitely do with a hand when it comes to covering the African-American article(s) on this, so we’ll no doubt be in touch about that. Thanks for your offer of assistance here.

To respond to a few of your points very quickly (it’s Friday night in the UK and I’m about to go out!)

- I think there’s been some misunderstanding on our part in the terminology we’ve used here, and it probably wasn’t explained adequately by us. When we say ‘ethnicity-neutral’, we mean that was the approach we took in our research, and not that we were looking for blogs that took a non-ethnicity standpoint. So I think we’re actually on the same page here in saying that any selection should be ‘colourless’ – it shouldn’t be a modifying factor. And in my view almost every blog will be (consciously or unconsciously) approaching their work from a particular ethnicity/nationality standpoint – it’s hard to avoid it, the only difference is some are aware of it, and others aren’t!

- The comment on multinational lists refers to the sites we awarded in other countries. Some of these are not yet live, although we have compiled lists of winners for (among other languages) French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and Polish. So when we say ‘multinational’ in this sense we mean we were covering a number of different genealogy countries, although our language capabilities only took us so far here!

Personally, I do agree that there are great sites out there from many perspectives and viewpoints, and that’s what we aimed to encompass in these lists. We did include some African-American blogs in the list, and we also tried to represent diversity more broadly. We had competing concerns such as nationality (we wanted to feature not only American sites, but Canadian, English, Scottish, Irish, Australian), as well as sites dealing with different subject matter (not only blogs but family sites, one-name studies, tools/resources, and so on). In the end there were only a limited number of sites we could include, but we tried to make the list representative all the same. Perhaps we could have done better, but this isn’t something we neglected, and I want to reassure you that we do always try to be as inclusive as possible in our work. It’s an important part of what we do, since our site encompasses so many different cultures, as does our company as a whole.

There are definitely other great African-American sites out there, however, and I agree it would be a shame not to showcase the talent and effort that’s gone into them. So hopefully you’ll appreciate our offer to write up some new pieces showcasing African-American genealogy, and to showcase some of the sites you’ve mentioned. Our new blog is now one of the most subscribed in the geneasphere, so we should be able to get these sites some great coverage, and it’d be a nice way to give some depth to the area – to look at the detail rather than just to name them as sites.

Please let us know your thoughts on this. This is an important area to us, otherwise I wouldn’t be getting back to you at 9.30pm on a Friday (UK time)!

Anyhow, have a great weekend and hopefully we can work together on this future African-American genealogy project!

Take care,

__________

Luckie,

I think __________ touched on most of your points but wanted to touch base to let you know i’ll be available this weekend if you have any further questions!

Please excuse my poor phrasing of ‘ethically-neutral’, ___________ correctly addressed this as our decision to allow all micro genealogical elements to exist as body constituent of genealogy, the focus was on genealogy as whole, not particular to any sub groups.

Again, we appreciate your feedback as it helps us learn as we go forward.
Have a wonderful weekend and we look forward to working with you and help give some much deserved attention to these blogs by drilling down in depth on some of the great sites we missed in the community .

Be well,

05.15.10

Good Morning! I am forwarding a communication that I received from ________________ at My Heritage. My apologies, I intended to get it to you yesterday but got pulled away with CoAAG events and such.

The dialogue is healthy and necessary. I do think some aspects of the discussion could be attributed to a difference in culture — US vs. UK. However that said, I do believe if you are doing business in the US Market, you must also be sensitive to its cultural nuances.

_________ — Being considered a “sub-group” is EXACTLY our historical issue in the United States. African-Americans have fought not to be a “sub-group” of US Culture but to be acknowledged as the valuable contributors we are — and have always been — to the whole.

As you can gauge from the feedback — and there is more — we are in agreement that the aspect of identifying “ethnically neutral” blogs has negative connotations that don’t rest well with any of us.

What’s the solution? I don’t know. While no one is against the crafting of an article featuring African-American genealogy contributors we all share the same sentiment — inclusion should have been made in the initial blog list.

I would ask that you go a step further in addressing this private dialogue in the public forum, because the message that our exclusion sends — for whatever reason — is not one that I am comfortable leaving as is. It should be addressed — either by My Heritage and/or one of the contributors expressing concern via this communication.

As I said, the dialogue is good and you have my support for the dedicated feature, but let’s find a means of putting this discussion to rest first before we proceed in that direction.

Best,

Luckie.

Hi Luckie (and others!),

Hope you’re all having a great weekend!

I agree that this dialogue is healthy and important. I just wanted to clarify a couple of points, which perhaps I should have made clearer in my initial email. I’ll be able to offer a fuller response to anybody on Monday, but this should take us forward for now. I don’t normally work on Saturdays, but I wanted to get back to you all on this since it’s an important matter to me.

First of all, I certainly do not see African-American genealogy simply as a ’sub-group’, but rather as part of the whole genealogy community. I should have perhaps made this clearer in my email, but I tried to emphasize that while there are many ways to make subdivisions which we can use for descriptive purposes (e.g. Jewish genealogy, Anglo-Irish genealogy), these are all ultimately part of the same community. These categorizations are useful in the sense that they highlight shared experience, but they should not divide us. This is the point I was trying to make in the second paragraph of my email (see below for those not initial recipients). Basically, I think we’re on the same page here.

I can understand your more general concerns, but I want to re-emphasize that our list was created with the idea of wide representation in mind. That’s why we included African-American authors in our list, as well as blogs and sites from many nationalities and many backgrounds, and sites of different types (not only blogs but family sites, one-name studies, informational sites, and more). That’s also why we extended the search beyond the English-speaking community, and towards those in German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Swedish, Czech, Dutch, and more! This was not some one-size-fits-all competition, and our search was intended to be as inclusive as possible. We absolutely do not approach these things from an exclusive mindset, and as a company we place a strong emphasis on inclusivity, and try to make genealogy available and enjoyable for people of all backgrounds. Was it a perfect process? Perhaps not. But we certainly did try.

Having said that, I’m definitely in favor of giving the African-American genealogy community the exposure it deserves, and that’s why I’m pushing to run this series of articles on it. I hope this will offer a great showcase for some of the fantastic sites that are out there, and will also give substantial depth in its coverage – allowing others to see the work you’re doing in a detailed way, and actually in a way that a mere listing might not provide. I’m more than happy to collaborate with any and all of you on this.

Basically, I think we’re on the same side in this. I’ve taken your points on board, and I’d like to offer these articles as a way to showcase some of the great work you’re doing. At the same time, I do want to make it clear that as a company we always have diversity and representation close to heart, and that even if some would argue the list is imperfect in this regard, it is not a concern we neglected. We’ve had emails in from many corners querying aspects of the selection, and when all is said and done we could not showcase all of the great sites that were out there in the list – there are simply too many sites and not enough space. What we can do is try and offer the best exposure to sites where it matters going forward, and I hope our articles on the African-American genealogy community will help to do this.

It’s certainly an interesting topic and discussion for me, since as an Englishman I’m learning more and more about many of the complexities of the American genealogy community every day.

Have a great rest of the weekend folks. The weather’s actually good in England right now (not a common occurrence!), so I’m going to go and enjoy it.

Best wishes,

____________

[Note: the LAST email from me on 05.17.10 was published yesterday -- Open Letter To My Heritage]

Here’s the skinny — I was not happy with the My Heritage Top 100 Genealogy Sites list and not for the reason you would think — because Our Georgia Roots wasn’t on it.

Truth is, I’m at the top of my own list — representing my Ancestors with pride. I have maintained a genealogy site for OGR since 1998 and will continue to do so, with and/or without recognition from the broader genealogy community.

While I do appreciate the support — it does make this labor of love so much more enjoyable — it is not the motivation for why I write or research. Family research is my responsibility and the Ancestors give me NO peace when I [selfishly] stop!:-)

I was unhappy with MH’s selections because for me, it lacked diversity in respect to African-American genealogy contributors. 2 African-American blogger mentions out of 100 blogs did not make it for me, so that said, I began a dialogue with the team at My Heritage.

Let me say that MH has been very responsive and open in the exchange. I appreciate that.

So below, is both my last (this morning) and first communication to My Heritage regarding the question of whether the 100 Best Genealogy site list was in fact, diverse and fair to all of the genealogy contributors in our RAWKING community.

As always, the *Luckie Disclaimer* is in effect — please respect the HOUSE and your fellow community members in your comments.

Luckie.

********************

05.17.10

Good Morning My Heritage,

Thanks for your reply and for carving time out of your weekend to respond to the discussion points. I dare say, we could debate the particulars for ages but truly believe ours will be a difficult (next to impossible actually) task to understand without personally living in a culture where you are impacted — DAILY — by the color of your skin. What’s the saying — until you walk in my shoes…?

Make no mistake, I love who I am. I love my community, heritage and Ancestors. I am merely being realistic — race/ethnicity are ALWAYS a part of our equation.

Each of the blogs I recommended stands on its own merit. Aside from being of African descent, the genealogists are each phenomenal researchers and valuable contributors to the online genealogy community. I learn from them daily.

I would also beg to differ that 2 out of 100 blogs is a fair representation of the African-American genea-community and a nod to diversity. It is what we consider a token, albeit great ones. Both Taneya and Craig would have been on my list had they not already been represented in yours.

Looking forward…

I am certainly on board with assisting in the effort to bring the Bloggers I recommended to light via My Heritage. I am not quite sure what you need from me — I’ve recommended who I believe to be deserving and as I said, their work stands for itself. Nevertheless, I am here.

Until this weekend, I did not realize that so many fellow community bloggers took issue with the My Heritage selection process in question. I had not read the comments to the MH blog nor looked at the assorted posts from both recipients and those not included.

In full transparency, I intend to publish on OGR my initial letter to My Heritage. I do believe the continued need for diversity is a conversation that should extend to the broader community and would not want it to appear that I have been lobbying for African-Americans “behind the scenes”.

Out of respect for you, I will not publish your communications to me however you are more than welcome to state your peace via OGR’s comments section. You have every right to.

Again, I do appreciate the dialogue. Progress cannot be accomplished without it.

All the best,

Luckie.

************************

05.14.10

Hi My Heritage,

Thanks for getting back to me regarding my query of the MyHeritage.com “100 Best Blogs” selection process.

Here’s my Luckie Disclaimer – I am not THE VOICE for the online African-American genea-community HOWEVER, I do tend to be the most vocal and opinionated.

That said, I arrived home yesterday to find several emails (5 in total) regarding the announcement of My Heritage’s 100 Best Blogs. The communications were from both white and black genea-bloggers, they all expressed frustration of the lack of African-American representation among the selected 100 genea-bloggers and each wanted to hear my opinion.

Here’s my opinion, I can appreciate your vantage point of wanting to offer visibility to the “less exposed” genealogy sites. However, I agree the absence of some of our most committed African-American genea-bloggers feels like at the least, an oversight that could read like a slight.

Because I am one of the most vocal online African-American genealogy contributors and active in the technology space — both professionally and personally — I do receive my fair-share of attention from the community. However, there are several other less vocal, yet equally dedicated genea-bloggers who continue to make significant contributions to the genea-blogging community as a whole, and whose research is to be commended.

While I am a friend and follower of both Taneya and Craig, can you really say that of 100 blogs selected, there are only two African-American genea-bloggers deserving recognition? Additionally, are not Taneya and Craig two of the most recognized African-American genea-bloggers online? I certainly don’t consider them among the less visible. Here are just a few of the contributors that continue to amaze me with their dedication:

www.INeverKnewMyFather.com
www.EchoesOfMyNolaPast.com
www.GeorgiaBlackCrackers.blogspot.com
www.BlackandRedJournal.blogspot.com
www.GederGenealogy.com
www.ReclaimingKin.com
www.MariahsZepher.blogspot.com
www.MyAncestorsName.blogspot.com
www.TheFamilyGriot.blogspot.com
www.MyColoredRoots.blogspot.com
www.DionneFord.wordpress.com (Finding Josephine)
www.j-macsjourney.blogspot.com
www.tgarnett.posterous.com (the youngest in the bunch — 19 years old!:-)
www.ReconnectedRoots.com

At the end of the day, My Heritage has every right to select who you want to receive the Best Blogger award — I cannot deny you that. However I would encourage you to broaden your vantage point to be inclusive (and supportive) of the genea-community as a whole.

I hope that with the online presence you currently maintain, representation of diversity is not an issue.

True, among the broader genealogy online community, African-American contributors are in the minority. Nonetheless, we are here and work hard to honor our Ancestors, and contribute to the community in many valuable ways.

That too is deserving of recognition — both individually and collectively.

Best,

Luckie.

Original Tuskegee Airman, Mr. LeRoy E. Eley Sr., is nothing short of amazing!

Born May 30, 1927 and the baby of the bunch at almost 83 years young, Mr. Eley is EVERYTHING you would expect a Tuskegee Airman to be — distinguished, proud and fast on his feet!:-) He is disarmingly charming and witty, and easily captivated the attention of some 60+ 4th grade students, teachers, parents and genea-guests.

For every 1 question answered — 10 more hands flew up! I was floored by Mr. Eley’s ability to recount even the most minute historical detail and surprised that right along with the students, I too received an [unexpected] history lesson! I’d never heard of the Red Tail Pilots!

Those blessed to be in the room were provided an insiders view of history, complete with stories and memories that only he and his elite Fraternity of Tuskegee Airmen Brothers can truly recount.

To Justis’ question of which was more challenging — fighting in the war or enduring racism in the military, he responded honestly — BOTH. Mr. Eley shared how when the servicemen traveled abroad to fight, they remained segregated — unable to fight together even in the face of a common enemy!

When asked by a young lady to describe the feeling of flying a plane, Mr. Eley just smiled, responding there was nothing in the world like it!

Indeed, aviation is Mr. Eley’s passion. Since volunteering for the USAAF at the age of 17 (assigned to Class 46-D at Tuskegee AAF) until his retirement in 1990 from the Federal Aviation Administration, Mr. Eley vested his entire professional career doing what he loved most — flying airplanes. He even shared with me that at age 79 years, he earned his Seaplane Rating from the FAA!

When asked to explain how the Tuskegee Airmen were trained, Mr. Eley provided detail after detail — proving that earning the right to be Tuskegee Airmen was no easy task! They were the BEST of the BEST!

I loved looking at the image of the Tuskegee Flight Instructors (a picture I’ve admired many times) and hearing Mr. Eley say pointing, “Archie Smith taught me everything I know about flying” and “Charlie Smallwood taught me how to fly in weather”.

The kids got a kick knowing that Mr. Eley had been friends with Charles “Chief” Anderson, the Airman who flew First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt when she visited the Tuskegee Army Air Field in 1941. They did not want to let go of the Congressional Medal of Honor the Tuskegee Airmen were awarded in 2007 by President Bush and Congress!

Mr. Eley’s instruction to the young people landed like words of wisdom from a caring Grandfather. He continued to encourage the students to see life for what it is — an open field of opportunity. He challenged them to become tomorrow’s community leaders, charged with protecting the civil liberties so many of our Ancestors have fought and died for.

In a word, the young people felt EMPOWERED and I nothing but pride. My shoulders were a bit higher, knowing that I share ancestry with African-American men of this caliber. I was puffed-up, learning firsthand about the men who represented us both then and now. I was grateful Justis had the opportunity to be in his presence to benefit from this personal sharing of World War II history.

The plan is to rise early Saturday morning — Justis has been invited by the Atlanta Chapter President, Master Sgt. Floyd Stanfield, to attend the monthly gathering of Tuskegee Airmen! He tells us, “they all will be there!”. Who could pass up such an invitation?

As a single Mother of a black male child, I need him to see these great men. I need him dreaming of one day becoming a part of such a distinguished Fraternity of Life Brothers. He must always understand his accountability to community, family and the Ancestors who came before him.

The Tuskegee Airmen served — and continue to serve — with honor.  Their presence and legacy remind us of the stock we descend from and inspire us to continue to reach higher.

Mr. Eley did this Mother’s heart a TON of good! He joked with me that I was “lucky” to get the Airmen rallied in less than 2 weeks time, given their demanding public schedules.

Nope Mr. Eley, today was no luck ~ it was all just pure blessing.

Luckie.

Most of you don’t know, but probably could easily guess, that at one time in my life (or past lives!:-), I was a Community Advocate.

For 13 years, on both a professional and volunteer basis, I worked with most every “at risk” population there is, advocating on their behalf. From the teen mother, to the homeless, to the abused, to those challenged by HIV/AIDS — I worked, fighting for those who could not fight for themselves.

Although I traded my community savior hat in some 10+ years ago, the inability to ignore injustice and/or wrongdoing still holds me. Never in my life have I been able to turn away when I’ve seen wrong being done. Never.

As you read yesterday, over the past 2 months I have personally been challenged by a situation occurring within this community. A situation that I did everything I knew to manage; a situation that I did everything I knew — as challenging as it was — to be respectful of the other person involved.

There were those who knew what was happening, that said nothing and opted not to get involved for fear that the person would turn attention on him and/or her.

In lieu of swift, zero tolerance type actions, that could have put this issue to rest a lot sooner, there was quiet, behind the scenes support offered to me. No one — other than me — addressed the inappropriate and personally violating behavior that was happening.

That is wrong. Dead wrong.

Hugo Alfredo Tale-Yax, a homeless man in Queens, NY recently died on the street after coming to the aid of a woman being attacked. As he laid on the street bleeding to death from stab wounds, some 25 people walked by — one even stopping to lift his body — and kept going. By the time medics arrived, some hour or more later, it was too late.

Explain to me how anybody could see a person suffering to this extent and not at the very least feel the responsibility to call the EMS or police?

Dorothy Height President of the NCNW, leader in the Civil Rights Movement and a LIFETIME  community activist for the rights of ALL people, passed away last week at 98 years old.

Who will take Dorothy Height’s baton now? Who can fill the void her transition has left in not only the NCNW, but the black community as a whole?

Are we willing to do it or will we continue to look for the “somebody” who’s responsible for addressing wrong, fighting for the less fortunate and challenging the status quo?

Yes, I am a community advocate — always have been and always will be. I can accept that this is just who I am.

But do not think you bear no responsibility for standing with me. Do not think that you have no accountability for addressing injustice when you witness it. Don’t be upset when I am deemed “the leader” by default because no one else chooses to speak out other than me.

And make no mistake, this is NOT a black or white issue — it’s a community issue.

Big or small, virtual or real-world, black or white — where is our accountability to one another? Where is our accountability to community?

I think you know you can count on me to stand up for what’s right. You have my word that I will stand with you in the face of wrongdoing.

But will you do the same for me and others when the time comes and the situation warrants it?

That’s the question.

Luckie.

Well Friends, this is not a post I’ve been looking forward to writing. As a matter of fact, I’ve put the task off the entire day — wishing that the issues prompting it, would somehow magically disappear.

But alas, they have not and being the kind of gal to face matters head-on, here goes it…

For the past two months, I have attempted to privately manage an issue, with a fellow genea-community member (who at this time will remain unnamed), that has escalated from a difference of opinion to ongoing harassment and violation of my privacy on the part of the respective community member.

My initial request was simple — following a series of events, having realized this is not a person I desired to associate with, I requested that the community member discontinue any future contact with me.

For me, this issue could have — should have — ended there. Within a community, people with differing opinions can coexist and as adults, respecting another person’s boundaries should not be a challenge.

Sadly, this has not been the case. This person has continued to seek various ways to not only be in contact with me, but to impact my life directly. From contacting people in my personal circle requesting they relay messages, to shadowing my movements and/or interactions within the genealogy space, to attempting discussions pertaining to me with members in the broader community. The actions have been non-stop and deliberately invasive.

When random methods to prompt a verbal response from me fail, the community member contacts me directly, completely ignoring my repeated requests to not do so.

The community member’s actions have escalated, most times appearing very manic, unpredictable and desperate. I have no idea why this person has attached to me, a virtual stranger, or what he/she hopes to accomplish, as I have done nothing to prevent interaction with the GeneaBlogger community as a whole. I’ve simply prevented this person from having direct contact with me.

That said, today I contacted local Atlanta authorities to make them aware of this person’s actions, and provided a very extensive paper/digital trail to support my concerns.

Here’s what the person in question should be CRYSTAL CLEAR on:

1. My tolerance/patience with you has run-out. I do not wish you any harm, but likewise, I will not allow you to inflict any on me and/or the people I care about.
2. I will no longer protect your privacy. This is the last time you will be addressed anonymously by me.
3. Any continued actions on your part to harm me — in any manner — will result in immediate legal action and full disclosure to the GeneaBlogger community of the extent of your harassment leading up to today.

To the GeneaBlogger community, I will confess that in the 12+ years I’ve worked and played in the online space, this is a first. It is a reminder that not everyone has the same motive as you when engaging online and that caution should always be a part of our interactions with strangers.

Be careful and follow your instincts. Pay attention and when something just doesn’t feel right — trust it.

Know that I am well, safe and happy. I am too stubborn to ALLOW anyone to dump their misery on me and will spare no effort to protect the life I’ve worked so hard to have.

In other words (to the community member in question), this is the time to let go and move on.

May life flow with ease for us all.

Luckie.

As most of you know {by way of Tweetville}, Sandra, Bernard and I took to the road early yesterday morning heading I-20 East — destination Greensboro (Greene Co.) and Washington (Wilkes Co.), the small, historic country towns many of our Ancestors called home.

Greene and Washington-Wilkes are neighboring counties, and typically my journey home entails a stroll through Greensboro’s historic Main Street.

This was San’s first visit to Greene County and I was happy to be with she and Bernard, riding around finding our way.

I had told San the night before that it’s customary in small towns to chat with folks when seeking information. After establishing YOUR connection to the land –addressed by telling them who your people are/were– you can usually feel free to ask questions. Needless to say, San was less than enthusiastic about this approach but being the opinionated, vocal Sister-Cousin-Friend I am, I commented that it would be a shame to travel all that way and miss an opportunity to connect because it wasn’t “her way” and left it at that.

Downtown Greensboro was as beautiful as always! Weather-wise the day could not have been any more perfect! After we spotted a group of older gentlemen talking and made their acquaintance, our afternoon took an interesting turn!

It’s really San’s story to tell {I Never Knew My Father} so I’ll let her pick-up from here! I was just blessed to be there!:-)

So, after our Greene County adventure, we were off to Washington-Wilkes, my TRUE Georgia roots!

Funny thing about home is that it’s HOME –you don’t feel like a visitor– so your camera really doesn’t come out and you don’t necessarily pay attention to the historic landmarks that many travel there to see.

We enjoyed a tasty lunch (and a homemade rice crispy treat!:-) at the cozy Talk of the Town Cafe, a cool blend of coffee house, cafe and specialty boutique, located in the heart of Washington’s Public Square. I picked up the DVD – A Narrative of Wilkes County, Georgia that features interviews with several of Washington’s 70+ year old natives.

I spent time at the Washington Historical Museum with Curator Stephanie Macchia, chatting about her FAVER/FAVOR lineage and WINGFIELD home. There I found a book I’ve wanted a LONG time — The African American Experience: Education in Wilkes County, Georgia from 1922 to 1970 by Kay FINNELL.

As always, I could have spent hours in the Museum, just walking and taking in all the history!

I was fascinated by the 20 or so authentic Slave Deeds on display and two Ku Klux Klan robes from the late 1800s in a display not too far away.

Equally as intriguing, scanned images of slave inventories listing some 400+ slave names from the North Carolina plantations of Stephanie’s Ancestors! These should be on their way to me today and will be transcribed for posting on A Friend of Friends!:-)

On the top of my list will be a visit where I can stay a few days to spend time researching and visiting the Wingfield properties with Stephanie!

My visit ended with a quick stop to hug my best Wilkes buddy, Vernon Anthony (Tight). Tight is homegrown and one of the smartest business men I know! After he extended a fishing invite to Bernard and I teased him about his favorite past-time of hunting poor innocent deer, we headed back to Atlanta.

I napped all the way home, feeling exhausted and at peace.

It was a perfect day in every way and a trip that this girl needed. To touch the land that my Ancestors lived, loved, loss and survived on did me a world of good!

I’ll be making the trip more often for sure.

As promised, enjoy the slide-show!:-) ~ Luckie.