Whispers from the Root:

Listening to the Voices that Made Us

The Truth Always Rises Like Sap from the Roots of History

The narratives of my people did not start with bondage, and our history of perseverance and resilience will not end in the chains of silence.

The light of our humanity shines like a beacon of hope.

Truth, like tree sap, always rises to the top from the roots of history. Or, in the wise words of my late maternal grandmother affectionately known as Mama Louise, for whom I am named, "The truth is the light and the light must shine."

Born in 1904, in a cabin built by her father in the rural fields of Burke County, Georgia a stone throw from their church, my grandmother would have turned 121 this past February. Firmly rooted in her family, their land, and their faith, she would not recognize today's technological advances. On the other hand, she would find an eerie familiarity in the long shadow cast by the wounds of slavery, Jim Crow, and many of the other manifestations of systemic racism.

The current white backlash we are wtinessing would likely evoke memories of the terrorism, intimidation, and political hostitlities she, her family, and their community confronted during their struggle against the hostilities of ancestors of many of this generation's white supremacists.

With almost predictable regularity, white nationalists, replete with their hate groups and psuedo-religious cults, rally at just about every historical juncture of significant progress made by Black people and other historically marginalized groups.

From the era of Reconstruction through the Civil Rights Movement and Affirmative Action, continuing into today's diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, white supremacists throughout history have risen to fill the roles of the usual cast of bigots. Among them: extremists and agitators, grifters and opportunists, charlatans and tyrants, and every in between. Emboldened by racist propaganda, politicians, and pundits spewing misguided ideologies, they march out of the woodwork.

They are reminder the struggle to make America live up to its ideals of liberty and justice for all is far from over. I can just imagine my grandmother, who passed away in 1974, shaking her head in disgust at the latest schemes to undermine progress and reassert white dominance and control. I can just hear her voice echo with its warm southern inflections, repeating a favorite proverbs, "Well, the truth is the light, and the light must shine."

Her Bible-inspired wisdom contains a powerful and enduring seed of truth. The latest efforts to diminish the value of Black lives and remove our stories from the American narrative are doomed to fail. Like everything built on lies and the suffering of others, these movements to ban Black history, including books, are destined to eventually crumble.

Voices Crying Out in the Digital Wilderness

The courage to speak truth to power is not only an inherent part of Black history but also Black people's DNA. Our very existence is a testament to the power of resistance and survival against the odds. Our presence underscores the power of Black activism, advocacy, and voice.

"History has repeatedly taught that we must learn to look beyond the masks and facades of the latest fads." Rev. Janet Davenport

But alas, those entrusted to pass the torch of Black narrative often find themselves like voices crying out in the wilderness.

The competition for space grows fiercer as attention spans grow shorter with our hyperconnected digital world of virtual reality. In addition to that, every generation of youth feels it is the master of the moment, dismissing their elders as relics of an irrelevant past.

Times have changed, they say. Things are different. The elders cannot understand the challenges of modern civilization. This is the prevailing attitude even though history has repeatedly taught us we must look beyond the facades of the latest fads. The inventions, marvels, and illusions of civilizations often mask human savagery, barbarism, and injustice. Prophets, preachers, poets, storytellers, and other truth-tellers have a long history of speaking against the moral and social decline in the world and people's hearts.

Often serving as bridges between the secular and the sacred, they include many of our elders who still serve as our messengers of hope and healing, and justice and restoration. In the Black oral tradition, storytellers continue to serve as the stewards of memory. They can be found standing at the intersection of their communities' suffering and the unrequited promise of liberation, spiritually and physically.

Once part of a universal folk art which required no special training, tech saaviness, or props other than perhaps a kitchen table, storytelling is becoming packaged more as a commodity than a natural, and freely available communal activity.

There is nothing wrong with workshops, performance events, or the various other commercial, professional, or academic opportunities that provide access to the art of oral narrative. But as communication trends continue to shift, it is crucial that Black people maintain the spiritual, family, and community significance of storytelling, especially for the lifeline it offers in times of peril, crisis, and despair.

I have observed the challenges of preserving the Black storytelling tradition within my own family -- ranging from my fellow Baby Boomers and the Gen Xers (45-60) to the Millennials (29-44) and Gen Zs (13-28) on down to the baby Alphas.

Growing job demands, greater geographic separations, and the overwhelming entertainment options on devices and TVs, all have contributed to the distractions, disconnections, and diminished time for (and interest in) family storytelling.

These trends further highlight the pressing need for the wellspring of wisdom, identity, and guidance, storytelling offers, especially by young people. The stories of the past have the power to connect them to their roots, each other, and their communities.

As tradititional opportunties for disseminating Black ancestral memory, wisdom, and lore shrink, elders are called to create new verhicles of communication to unload and distribute their wealth. This resonates profoundly with me. The weight of the gifts entrusted to me grow heavier with time.

On my earthly journey, I have amassed a wealth of knowledge, stories, and historical information passed on to me by my elders, as well as through research, and first-hand experience. These treasures have been entrusted to me for the sake others, who might be blessed in some way. They're not to hoarded.

Whispers through the Written Word

Advancements in genealogical research tools, such as DNA testing, through the years, have further allowed me to expand and substantiate many of the characters, stories, and other data I have gathered over the decades, starting as that child who sat at the feet of the elders to hear what they had to say. While I have not completely abandoned the idea of publishing a book or two, I feel the need to accelerate my pace in releasing my gems.

The sound of the clock ticking combined with the reality that most of my days are behind me spark a fire under my feet. So, instead of trying to force the fruit of years of research, reflections, and reporting between the two covers of a book, I've chosen a path that feels more organic, immediate, and suited to my style and flow of writing.

On one hand, I wax part poet, essayist, and spiritual contemplative. And on the other, I am by trade a journalist with both objective reporting and opining experience. In this space on my DIVINEPORT Blogmemoir and companion Substack Newslette, I will unload the stories, memories, and other historical treasures I've curated in a series titled "Whispers from the Root." In launching the series, I am actually reclaiming an approach to writing I employed during my days as an editorial writer in the late 1990s.

With the support of an enterprising editor on the Hartford board Courant editorial board, I spearheaded a commentary series exploring and exposing topical issues on race through the lens of letters to none other than my late grandmother from Burke County, Georgia.

Root Whispers: A Spiritual and Ancestral Calling

The editorial project titled "Letters to Mama Louise,"garnered accolades and a number of journalistic recognitions. But the true reward came from fulfilling, albeit in a small way, a sacred duty. "Whispers from the Root" represents a deeper realization of my spiritual and ancestral calling, and a recommitment to "wrapping my life around" reconstructing the narratives of my ancestors.

Those were the prophetic words Dolly McClean, the founding director of the Artist Collective in Hartford, Conn. and the widow of the late jazz giant Jackie McClean, spoke to me one day during a visit to the editorial board. In an offline conversation with her, a trailblazing artist in her own right, following a meeting with the editorial board, I excitedly shared that I had recently obtained a copy of the handwritten notes from an oral interview my aunt conducted with my 100-year-old grandmother, her mother, before her passing.

The notes were extraordinarily detailed, including names, dates, and significant historical and life events. My grandmother's oral recollections of her great-grandmother provided us with our first concrete connection to slavery, and a formerly enslaved ancestor whose identity and personhood would have faded into the ethers of a past many have tried to deny. Mrs. McClean probably does not recall encounter but her message stayed with me.

And she was right. I have spent most of my life reconstructing Black narrative in general, and Black family narrative in particular. It is a time consuming and lonely endeavor that often feels thankless. That's why I cherished her affirming appreciation.

"Whispers from the Roots" represents more than a collection of posts. Collectively, they will create a sanctuary for the people who did not make it into any history books or even the imagination or curiosity of many of their own descendants. Here, they and the lives they represent, will be re-membered through a creative mix of narrative, history, and spirituality.

Re-membering: More than Recalling

To re-member is more than to recall. In the DIVINEPORT space, it means bringing back together what has been lost or torn apart from the whole. In the face of systems that have dismembered, and continue to dismember marginalized communities, their identities, and spirits, the act of re-membering becomes a sacred act of healing.

I will begin the re-membering starting with my African ancestry and my family's heritage of enslavement to restore dignity where it was stolen, to break the silence shaped by shame, and salve the wounds of generational sorrow with truth and reverence.

In re-membering, I seek to dismantle the stigma, confront inherited pain, and create space for the ongoing healing process not only in my family but across generations of others with whom we share history. Who will find sanctuary, wisdom, and enlightenment in "Whispers from the Root?"

Root Listeners

• Descendants like me seeking stronger connection to their lineage, and insight into the lives of the people who made your life possible

• Believers interested in ancestral legacy as path to deeper connection with their faith

• Fellow writers, spiritual leaders and seekers of African descent (and from other culutral backgrounds) wishing to enrich their understanding of Black history and narrative

• Anyone interested in reflecting, re-membering, and reclaiming legacies that have been stolen, hidden, and lost

The Prayers of the Ancestors Still Echo

The ancestors' prayers continue to echo, testifying to the hope, grace, and mercy of a compassionate God.

I invite you to join me on this journey where we will explore the past, connect with our roots, and discover how their whispers bless our present lives.

I look forward to sharing our history and enriching our faith walks together!