My Irish-English-African Ancestry - Part 2

Grace and I had many, many phone calls trying to figure out just how many kids her Great-grandfather had. It appears "poppa was a rolling stone". What's sad, is in that era...it was no surprise. It appears by Grace's count (and with the help of census records in Ancestry.com), Old Tom Warner had from 6-10 half Black children. Grace was surprised at the newly found brood. I was surprised Grace wrote them right into the family tree. LOL

I had the privilege of meeting Grace while down south in July 2007. I think she was as excited as I was about meeting each other and the day finally came. With my Mother, Aunt and 2 cousins in tow, we drove an hour to meet her. Prior to going, I asked Grace if I could bring anyone. Her response was, "Bring everybody!" So that we didn't get lost, I met Grace's daughter at a gas station, so we could trail her to the house. To my surprise, her daughter (Debbie) met me with a huge smile and hug. She too was excited.

We followed Debbie to the house and was met at the door by Grace. Here stood this little old lady in a house dress and house shoes with a BIG LOUD southern drawl that was all too familiar to me by now. Again, I was greeted with warmth, however, Grace immediately wanted to get down to the business of this ancestry thing. To my surprise, Grace had two, two inch binders filled with pictures, the family crest and LOADS of information about the Irish ancestry. Grace had been working on the family tree for 20 years! Before I could even get into the binders, Grace sped me away to her garage, which looked more like a library because it had all the books and references she used prior to the "Internet era". Wow! I could have been happy just to sit in her garage and read for a month, but she wouldn't let me. We suddenly sped off to her bedroom where there were MORE books. I could hardly take it all in when she suddenly said, "Yeah...I've researched my Momma's side of the family all the way to Jesus." I immediately laughed because I thought she was joking. She wasn't joking. She showed me (very quickly) the ancestral links. I could hardly believe my eyes! After that, I was hooked. We literally forgot all the other people who were sitting in the livingroom and Grace got down to the business of showing me the different paths of our ancestry.

One of my cousins wandered in and that's when I realized it had been a little over an hour. I finally was able to move Grace back out to the livingroom to explain to me all that she had given me. This had to be a gift from God. This was an answer to me feeling so lost and not really knowing what my heritage was.

Grace continued sharing with us the stories behind the pictures, her trip to Ireland and about her family. Unfortunately, the Warner homestead had just been pummeled to the ground by a tornado earlier that year. Not a single thing was salvageable. Thankfully, years ago, a relative had given Grace copies of letters, certificates and papers found in an old trunk.

It was finally time to say goodbye. Grace didn't want me to leave. She had more to share but we had to drive an hour back to my parents old hometown. As we hugged to say goodbye, I noticed something that almost startled me. My eyes were the exact same color of Grace's eyes. Let me just say, my eyes are green but it's a weird cross between an army and olive green. (An optometrist once told me the color of my eyes weren't even on her color chart. lol) I looked at Grace and said, "Are our eyes the same color?", she said, "I do believe they are." and we both laughed. That did it! That sealed our bloodline for sure! LOL I have never in my life seen anyone with the exact same eye color as me.

As we traveled back, I was satisfied to know (part of) where I came from. I'm so glad we took pictures and video taped the experience. I'll never forget it...and neither will Grace. Since then, we still call each other from time to time...and talk about the family line. I don't think Grace will rest until she tracks our family line all the way to Jesus. (That just cracks me up!)

My Irish-English-African Ancestry - Part 1

When I was younger, I can remember other children speaking of their Irish, German, English, Italian or Welsh ancestry with pride. It seems like their ancestry was audible in their name or tangible in their food or even visible in certain articles of clothing. It was present in their everyday lives even though it may have been a great-great-great grandparent who migrated to the United States. I often recall being jealous of the pride they had in their ancestry...and lost because I didn't know my own.

I remember when "Roots" came on television. I, like most Black people watched with great angst and anticipation. Man! That movie moved me from horror to happiness. I remember not wanting to believe an ancestor of mine survived a horrific voyage across the sea, with such ridicule, degradation and dehumanization forced upon them. None the less, what African American didn't want to find their roots when Alex Haley found his?

So, my inquiry began. I remember asking my Mother about her family tree. The most she knew at the time was that her Great-grandfather was a white man (Tom Warner), who also had a half black son named Tom Warner and there were rumors that one of her Grandmother's was Seminole (Native American). I remember thinking, "What? No slaves?". After seeing "Roots", my white Great-great grandfather didn't impress me much.



Fast forward about 20 years to 1997. We're now in the Internet age and information flows on and off the World Wide Web faster than you can blink. A commercial about Ancestry.com is running a lot and I thought, "What can I lose?". I search on "Tom Warner" and find a couple of possible matches. I run and tell my mother, "I think we're Irish!" although I wasn't sure. Off and on over the past 10 years, I have searched and searched attempting to put the pieces of my own heritage together. I ran into dead ends, false leads (one false lead was that someone in our family was Mexican) and a road block of sites that wanted $$ for information. Finally, I bit the bullet and paid for my Great-grandmother's social security application. When I received it, sure enough...it had her Mother's (Recta Jones) and Father's (Tom Warner)name on it. Finally! Some proof that validated what my Mother remembered.

That really got me excited! My excitement turned into frustration when I realized the Ancestry.com database was filled with misspellings and customer-added family trees filled with errors. Never the less, I trudged on...then off...then on..then off for a period of years.

In February 2007, one early morning (about 1am), we were in the midst of a horrible snow storm and I knew no one would be going to work. I jumped on Ancestry.com (AGAIN), found this button that said something like, "Click here to see if anyone else is looking for Tom Warner". I clicked on the button and lo and behold, there were 2 family trees out there with the same name. I immediately emailed both people and went to bed. The next morning, I checked my email and couldn't believe my eyes. BOTH people had emailed me back. One was actually referring me to the other person I emailed. The referred email said, "My name is Grace...I think I can help you...here's my number...what's your number so I can call you?" I was shocked! The fact that I said I was African-American, looking for a half black Tom Warner and a white Great-great Grandfather named Tom Warner, didn't seem to scare her away. Wow! I emailed "Grace" my number and went about my day.

Later that day, I was on the phone talking to one of my sisters when my caller ID showed someone named "Grace" calling me. What? Could this be her? So soon? I hung up from my sister and answered the phone. I was greeted with a heavy southern drawl that would rival "Elly Mae" on "The Beverly Hillbillies". This lady knew about the half Black Tom Warner and knew his Father was her Great-grandfather Thomas Warner. Ahhhh...but the mood shifted a bit when I told her I was indirectly related to the half Black Tom Warner but I was directly related to Big Tom Warner's (her Great-grandfather) daughter. "Daughter?" she said. I then began to explain that my Great-great grandmother was her Great-grandfather's daughter. "Do you have any proof?" she said. "I sure do." I said. "Mail it to me." she said. Next thing I know we're exchanging addresses. I sent Grace a copy of the SS application as well as some pictures. Grace, in turn, sent me LOTS of the Irish family history and family trees. This began a great new relationship between me and a long distant "cousin".

African Pride - Show Yourself!

In the many discussions I've had with other African Americans regarding the Presidential race, one of the greatest fears we all had in the back of our minds for Barak Obama, is that he would be assassinated. Upon the heels of an (already?!?) attempted assassination plot by some supposedly rogue skinheads, I shudder at the complete ignorance of people and therefore feel the need to educate (a little). Here are some little known facts (to most people) about an ancient African people:

"There [were] a people now forgotten [who] while others were yet barbarians, discovered the elements of the arts and sciences, a race of men now rejected for their black skin and wooly hair founded, on the study of the laws of nature, those civil and religious system which still govern the universe - C.F Volney, Ruins of Empire written in 1789.

"This race of blacks is the very one to which we owe our arts, our sciences and even the use of the spoken word" - C. F. Volney, Voyages in Syria and Egypt written in 1787.

"The ancient Egyptians were [black] Africans and they spoke an African language, and the modern people of Eastern Sudan are Africans and they speak an African language, and there is in consequence much in modern native Sudani literature which helps the student of ancient Egypt in his work" -Wallis Budge, the distinguished British Egyptologist, in his book, An Ancient Egyptian Dictionary Vol. 1.

So, if African's were so brilliant...what happened to them? Slavery. Not only of the body, more importantly it was slavery of the mind.



"When you control a man's thinking you do not have to worry about his actions. You do not have to tell him not to stand here or go yonder. He will find his "proper place" and will stay in it. You do not need to send him to the back door. He will go without being told. In fact, if there is no back door, he will cut one for his own benefit." "Mis-education of the Negro" by Carter G. Woodson (1933)

"One of the greatest roles ever created by the western man has been the role of negro. One of the greatest actors to play the role has been the nigger." Henry Dumas

"Greatest weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the minds of the oppressed." Steve Biko

It appears that one of the greatest challenges of African-Americans today, is to re-educate ourselves about who we "were", transfer that education to the youth of today, so they can morph into even greater contributors to the education of tomorrow's world. We contributed to a growing world then, we do now and we will forever more.

The Abortion Crossroads

Looking at the presidential candidates, the issues and where they stand has given me a headache. I'm excited about this election because it is a historical one (whether Obama wins or not), I'm more anxious about what our new President will do in the next 4 years. People tend to forget (every 4 years) the political promises that are made during election time, only for the new President to realize (unbeknown st to him/her of course) the pre-existing red tape, ethnic upheaval or strained relations surrounding that particular promise.

For example, McCain promises to put a US Embassy in Jerusalem KNOWING Bush promised the same thing in 2000. After Bush got into office he realized the complexity of the promised made and instead of appearing to renege on a promise, he simply chose to sign waivers every six months that stated he would "begin the process". And so, Bush has been "beginning the process" of placing a US Embassy in Jerusalem for the past 8 years. If every campaign promise turns into waivers, we are doomed!

It appears the significant issue for Christians concerning Obama, is his support of women having the right to decided if they want an abortion or not. NEWS FLASH: It doesn't matter if Roe v. Wade is in place or not, women will still make that decision. It's either going to be made in a legitimate clinic or a back alley operation. What? Did I, a Christian just say that? Yes...I did. Allow me to clarify. Do I think abortion is murder? I feel like anything with a heart beat, is alive...so yes, it's murder. Can a government stop it? They try.

Call it the sin of "mankind" if you'd like. Murder has been in existence since the beginning of "man" and infanticide has been a part of various cultures since antiquity. (It doesn't make it right, I'm just stating a fact.) So, who are "we", to permit or condone the murder of innocents? As a Christian, I can talk to a woman who wants to abort and say, "Jesus loves you.", "God has a plan for that child.", "There are people all over the US that can't have children...", "You can always place it for adoption.", "You're going to hell if you murder that baby.", etc. It is still ultimately the woman's "choice". If Roe v. Wade were overturned, woman would still find a way to do what they feel is necessary for themselves.

I was watching an episode of "The Naked Archaeologist" (one of my all time favorite documentaries) titled, "Sex, Babes and Bathhouses" (or something like that) and an archaeological dig had just discovered a sewer with 100 infant skeletons in it. All of the infants had died immediately after birth. Upon further investigation, guess what was found beside the sewer? A brothel or Roman bath. Obvious as to what the prostitutes were doing with the infants they became impregnated with. During this Pagan era, it was very acceptable to discard infants. Even ancient Jews found it acceptable to discard infants. It wasn't until Christianity (thank you Jesus...and Constantine) that infants were seen as valuable and to "discard" them was seen as murder.

I'm not writing to sway anyone to the left or to the right. I just want people to know the history behind the controversy. Abortion (as we know it to be called today) is ancient and I would venture to say, unfortunately, it will be practiced with or without any governing body's consent.

Pimps 'N Ho's

Okay...here I go again, attempting this Blog thing. "Some people" (M&M) are SO good at it. I don't think too many interesting things happen to me from day to day, to write something worth reading...but I'll try.

Well...my morning started off with a documentary on "Pimps". Yep...that's what I said..."Pimps". I think my mouth hung open for the first 45 minutes because I couldn't believe there were males (sorry...I fail to see them as men) glorifying the slave and master mentality as if it were a legitimate profession. Never have I heard the word "b*tch" used so often in 45 minutes...my ears were horribly assaulted but I continued to watch. I listened at these pimps talk about how they remembered the first "ho's" they turned out as if they were remembering their first kiss. Unbelievable! Most of the pimps were 'ol skool...from the 70s and yes, you guessed it...they were the epitome of the Blaxploitation movies of that era. "The Mack", "Willie Dynamite" and the one pimp that everyone seems to know, "Huggy Bear" (played by Antonio Fargas) from the "Starsky and Hutch" series. I'm quite sure (if you're old enough) everyone remembers his high healed, platform shoes that doubled as a gold fish bowl (with real gold fish). (Now, the series never stated "Huggy Bear" was a pimp, they just seemed to elude to it by his elaborate way of dressing.) Oye Vay! I just look at the titles of those movies and it makes me cringe. Those characters were the closest things to Black heroes in the 70s. Wow. Anybody remember, "Get Christy Love"? "Cleopatra Jones"? "Shaft"? "Foxy Brown"? "Claudine"? "Julia"? Man...talk about memories. Those were the days of 1 television in the household, shared by 8 people and it didn't really turn on until 8:00pm. What did we do before there was the Internet and cable?

Back to the pimps...I began to really get angry when the pimps began to show the material wealth they had obtained from living off of women. Apparently, the prostitutes don't get any percentage of what they make. The pimps justify this by "saving" it for them in case they need bail money or, as one pimp stated, "What's a ho gonna do with all that money except blow it in the club? She'll be broke before the next weekend." Hmmmm..."Pimp National Bank and Trust"?!? It was unbelievable that the pimps actually felt as thought these woman couldn't function without them. I finally sickened enough to turn the TV off. I'd had move than enough "pimp talk" for the morning.