About Me

Why develop a site about Preserving Black History? I've always had a passion for learning about how culture, history and politics shape present day life, and how events of the past impact today and the future.

I was born in 1964 which was a pivotal year in American History particularly during the last century. In my life I have lived through the civil rights movement as a small child and now participate in the technology revolution of the 21st Century. As a wife, mother, daughter and sister I am keenly aware of how history impacts all of us.

I am passionate about the stories, lives and places that have shaped the history of black people, and especially how the lives of people in my own family have been a force for change and forward movement. African Americans have a different journey from other ethnic groups in this country as we are unable to connect centuries of genealogy to exact villages in far off places and return home to be welcomed by family who could just as well be strangers. With the help of science and technology we are beginning to bridge that gap.

Why now? Why focus so much on slavery? This site purposely features articles and content surrounding new discoveries and interpretations of the American slave experience because it is a chapter in American History that until now black and whites were unwilling to discuss. I remember growing up and asking my grandmother about her mother, and her mother and besides brief descriptions she did not want to talk about the past. She migrated to the north during the great migration because she said she did not want to die in the South. She was a loving and caring woman but there was a part of her early life she could never bring herself to discuss. My life and values were shaped by her and my aunts.

My family heritage also includes the other side of my family who were free black people long before the civil war and lived in the north as early as 1817. Despite living under the cloud of racism and segregation they found ways to self educate and became achievers and leaders and is a legacy that has been passed from generation to generation.

So there seems to be a sentiment that since the events surrounding slavery happened so long ago we need to forget. I see us now in an area of Truth and Reconciliation. This is a powerful period in time and what lies ahead of us all is an era of empowerment to know more and motivate ourselved to excel without limitations - in the name of our ancestors.

In the words of Bob Marley “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds”.

History and knowledge are a way of freeing oneself from the mental slavery of limitations. To fully embrace our rich history and to recognize our culture has been absorbed, reshaped and renamed as a result of the slave trade which dispersed people of African decent around the world, you will have a better appreciation for who we are as a people.

Knowing the accomplishments and challenges of others gives us a roadmap. By knowing how far we've come is motivation and inspiration to push forward, imagine, create.

This site is a celebration of our history. Enjoy the content and share it with others.

This blog is dedicated to the memory of my ancestors Eleanor Frazier Owens, Gloria Owens, Geraldine Tyler McCoy and Mariah & James S. Tyler.

http://www.tylerfamilylegacy.com