Slaveholders - BitterSweet

Linked Descendants Slavery & Its Legacies

Amazing grace

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

Linked Descendants

Redrawing A Community – A Washington Descendant’s Journey

In 2010, an archive of rare documents passed down in my family for over 250 years arrived at my home in Austin. Reading them I came face to face with…

Sarah BrownFebruary 1, 2015

Linked Descendants

A Rainbow Family

A Rainbow Family It’s been 20 years since I found my first “linked descendants.” Coming to the Table was not yet born and I’d never heard that phrase. I didn’t…

Karen BrananMay 3, 2014

Linked Descendants

You Discovered a Slave Owner in Your Family Tree? What Does That Mean to You?

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

Healing, Repair & Action History, Culture, People, Places & Events Linked Descendants Research & Finding Documents

Looking for Links: First Steps

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

Research & Finding Documents

Up in Smoke: Slavery Researchers Decry Burning of Historical Records

- 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

Linked Descendants

Being Linked Through Slavery Means …

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

History, Culture, People, Places & Events

Remembering their names

When I joined Coming To The Table over two years ago, I began a journey—a journey into the lives and times of my slave-holding ancestors and, most important for me,…

grant.hayter-menziesOctober 22, 2013