Part 2 – Finding the Descendants of the Bleak House Community Part 1 narrated what happened when Alice and Jon Cannon bought Bleak House, the remnant of Bleak House Plantation,…
Prinny AndersonNovember 24, 2015
As our car turns down the lane, I flash back to Mom in the driver’s seat, the blue Nissan van idling beneath us as we wait for the yellow behemoth…
Andi Cumbo-FloydMay 13, 2015
Part One of this series is titled "Paper". It explains my family background, and how I was launched on this journey. Many thanks to the members of Bittersweet, for your…
Sarah BrownMarch 18, 2015
Glenda Menzies, née Strawser (1938-2012) People ask what drew me to write a biography of Lillian Carter, mother of President Jimmy Carter (Lillian Carter: A Compassionate Life, McFarland & Company,…
grant.hayter-menziesFebruary 7, 2015
A few years back, when I first met some of my African American linked descendants, I was excited and enthusiastic, ready to embrace them warmly. They opened their arms to…
Prinny AndersonApril 29, 2014
Introduction This is the first of three posts about my initial efforts to identify linked descendants connected to my slave-owning ancestors on my father’s side of the family in South…
Felicia FurmanApril 25, 2014
- by Pam Smith Posted on January 10, 2014 by psmith30 (Post first written on January 4, 2014) I am fighting back tears and my stomach is in knots. Most…
BitterSweet EditorsJanuary 12, 2014
When I was a small child, there was an old woman I remember seeing when we visited my grandfather’s house on the Southside of Chicago. She was extremely quiet, very…
Sharon Leslie MorganNovember 9, 2013
Being a “linked descendant” puts racism and white privilege in a harsh light for me. It makes speaking out honestly about the legacy of slavery a personal and family imperative.…
Prinny AndersonOctober 31, 2013