Old School Thoughts

What are your expectations of how you will be cared for when you reach the cycle of losing your independence? This is what Martha and I have agreed to talk about as we become our parents. We tried to present the seriousness of the conversation along with some humor. We would love to read or hear your comments. Thank you for your encouraging words. How should we show our elders that they significant and amongst the living? Let’s make this a project.

Martha and I have spent the last six weeks talking about the purpose, scope, brick walls, and relationships associated with starting and refining your family tree. We really thank all of you for your incredible support. This episode focuses on the present and future challenges to prepare for. We hope you enjoy the episode and that you share it with others. What are your thoughts?

This episode is focused on how we, as family members, sometime dismiss cousins based on their degree of kinship. We place a number on cousins that eventually leads to extraction from the family. Martha and I are asking you to consider our thoughts and share your opinions. Thank you for your support.

During one of our conversations, Martha posed a question/statement about family that made a lot of sense. She wondered if Africans, throughout the diaspora, fully understand what a family is? The question also became a statement as we assessed the question and realized that the slave trade and other migratory events always put us in the side of division and loss. What are your thoughts?

This is our third episode of the Family Tree series. Martha and I used this time to share how starting our family tree impacted our views and personal lives. Though Martha and I approached our research from a different perspective, the research lead us to discover our own relationship as cousins. What are your thoughts?

Working on genealogy require that researchers constantly check for sources to validate what they know or what they think they know to be true. Blurred truths can lead to inaccurate information - that leads to assigning the wrong people as relatives. Martha and I are committed to this podcast and this series because they are worth our time and pursuit of leaving a valuable legacy. Let us know what you think about this episode.

Martha and I approached this episode attempting to get our audience to focus on the truth. One must become prepared to accept the truth about relatives and the effectiveness of the “Village.” When you decide to pursue your ancestral history, we all must realize that our family is not ours to own. We are branches to a larger tree that was planted many years and generations ago. Let us know what you think.

Martha and I have agreed to stay on task to talk about starting a family tree. This episode is also based on a request from Martha’s niece. This is our opening to the topic. We hope you find the information interesting enough to start or improve your research. Let us know what you think.

I have really enjoyed this two-part conversation with Martha about the PBS documentary: Talking Black In America - Riots. We made an effort to draw in previous episodes to keep our listeners reminded of previous thoughts/assessments. We have to pay attention to languages, cultures, and ethnicities. We are one, but we get distracted. I hope you enjoy this episode. Give us your thoughts. Until next time - Be Good.

This episode is basically an introduction into our next topic: Black While Talking. Martha and I would like to get us to think about how our African culture and languages faded and are fading with each generation. We have also given up and abandoned communication that once created solidarity. Today, some Africans in America are okay with friends of other ethnicities calling them by derogatory names as if they are terms of endearment. There is always a gap generation. Let us know your thoughts.