Resources

(guides are in PDF format, requiring a reader such as Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Gather at the Table Idea Kit

Starting a Local CTTT Community

Transforming Historical Harms guide
by David Anderson Hooker & Amy Potter Czajkowski

Healing Together: Addressing Slavery in Our Families’ Histories
by Ann Holmes Redding, Ph.D. & Pat Russell, Psy.D.

Revisiting the History of Enslavement in the U.S.: A Curriculum Guide for Engagement and Transformation
by Ann Holmes Redding, Ph.D. & Pat Russell, Psy.D.

Confronting Slavery in Your Family’s History
by Susan Hutchison

Contacting ‘Linked Descendants’

Genealogy: Researching Your Family History

Researching African American Family History
by Patricia Moncure Thomas

Resources For Researching Your Family History

Researching Slave Holding and Slave Trading Ancestry
by Rev. David Pettee

A Case Study in Researching Southern Slaveholding Ancestry
By Rev. David Pettee, with help from Susan Hutchison

A Case Study in Researching Northern Slaveholding Ancestry
By Rev. David Pettee

Introduction

Facing History, Making Connections, Healing Wounds and Taking Action are the stages of the Coming to the Table approach that address the legacies and aftermaths of slavery in the US as well as other historic harms. Through each of the video pieces below you will see snippets of stories that speak to the possibilities that lie in each part of the approach both personally and at the community level.

• History (3:38)
• Healing (3:10)
• Connecting (3:37)
• Action (4:32)

Uses

These film pieces are for educational purposes and for talking points during discussions. Feel free to use them for these purposes, but please be sure to give proper credit. Here you will find some helpful questions that will assist you in presenting the videos.

Credits

Featured in the Films: David Pettee, Patricia Moncure Thomas, Susan Hutchison, Betty Kilby Baldwin, David Works, Leroy Clemons, Sylvester “Tee” Turner, Harold Fields, Phoebe Kilby, Racquelia Kilby
Producer/Director: Karen Elliott Greisdorf
Camera: Don Warren
Sound: Corey Eisley
Production Assistance: Kirk Sansom
Music: Tamara Roberts

Coming to the Table would like to extend a special thanks to all who participated in the filming and the Fetzer Institute and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for their financial support.

Study Questions

History

1. Dave talks about “a collective amnesia” in the North. What do you think he’s talking about? Did you know that enslavement and the slave-trade happened in the North? What are the manifestations of the “collective amnesia?”
2. Dave reached out to the descendant of someone whose ancestor was enslaved by his ancestor. How would you feel if you were him? Would you do the same? How might you feel if you were the person to whom he was reaching out?
3. Pat talks about the story of her ancestors as “hush, hush.” Why would this be a secret story? Why might her family have not wanted to talk about it openly?
4. Why might Pat’s relatives try to downplay the role slavery played in the relationship between their ancestors?
5. Pat also talked about history being stolen from African Americans. What do you think she was talking about?
6. Susan talks about being impacted today by the history of her ancestors. If she’s never met those people, how could she be impacted by what they did? Should she be more or less responsible for what they did now that she knows? Is she more responsible than others who do not have a family history related to practicing slavery?
7. Do you think people can be affected by history that they don’t know? How does it make a difference to know family history? How would this apply to a community? How might knowing your community history make a difference?

Healing

1. What are the strategies Betty described that have helped her heal? What are other strategies the might be useful?
2. How might Betty have been impacted by her father’s breakdown as a result of loosing land?
3. Why would we need to heal ourselves in order to heal others?
4. David talks about making choices and taking a stand. How does that relate to healing?
5. David talks about the traditions that get passed from generation to generation that are like weights. Can you think of traditions, attitudes and beliefs that weigh you down or others in your community?

Connecting

1. For Tee, the monument in Richmond to the confederate soldiers was a source of pain. Are there symbols that make you feel uncomfortable and/or disconnected from those who use certain symbols?
2. What was Tee’s turning point and how did connecting with the “other side” help him?
3. According to Harold, what is needed to make connections? What have you found that works or doesn’t work in making connections?
4. Harold also says that as humans, we have seen ourselves as part of a hierarchy and need a new vision of how we can be together. What is your vision of how different groups of people can be together in the future?

Action

1. What were the stages Leroy described that you see as part of taking action?
2. Action and Justice are often seen as the same thing. In Leroy’s community, what needed to happen before Justice was sought?
3. Dialogue and action are often pitted against each other. Dialogue can be seen as “just talking” and not doing anything and action can be seen as divisive. Have you seen this tension arise in any anti-racism or racial reconciliation work you have done?
4. Phoebe talks about connecting and healing as part of her activism. Those are not always described as being part of the same process. In your experience, have you seen those factors working together in anything in which you have been involved?
5. Racquelia talks about her grandmother and her son witnessing Phoebe introduce herself to the school board as a descendant of the Kilby slave-holders. Why do you think that was important to her?