My Family Tree in Black and White

“Whenever I mention certain cousins, I have to put air quotes around the word so my husband knows which ones I mean. No air quotes means they’re the ones I’m related to through blood. Air quotes, and I’m referring to the ones whose family used to own mine. They are my cousins through slavery.”

The descendant of a master-slave union faces an unexpected challenge: how to relate to the people whose ancestors once owned hers.

To read this article, go to: My Family Tree In Black and White, by Dionne Ford for More Magazine.