In Praise of the Mother...
My step-father just sent me the link to this article. It's from a small Annapolis paper, and it's somewhat a tribute to my late mother, who did a lot research into African-American history in Annapolis. It made her a mini-celebrity in the historical scene there, and it directly inspired my second novel, Walk Through Darkness. She died back in 2001. I miss her a great deal, but it's nice to be reminded by articles like this that others miss her as well, for a variety of reasons.
Labels: Family Stuff, Walk Through Darkness
posted by David Anthony Durham at
4:04 PM
5 Comments:
That's a wonderful legacy, that your mother's words are still very important to others. I lost my mother in 2001 also. She was my best friend and biggest fan - She taught me that just because you got older, didn't mean you had to take life too seriously. :)
'Carpe Diem' was her legacy to me. I wish I'd been a faster learner...
Constance,
Thanks for that. Strange, isn't it - that so much of what we learn from our parents only takes hold after they're gone?
That's because when we're younger, we know it all. *g*
My late mother took me to a museum when I was 5, and I was hooked by history ever since. She taught me a lot more about history, arts, music and literature than school.
Interesting article. They did stress the non-blackness ('a bright mulatto') a lot back then, didn't they? The accomplished lady reminded me of an Austen novel. :)
Btw, I have some black people in my family, too. One of the brothers of my great grandfather emigrated to the US and married a black woman. There must be a whole bunch of descendants by now, since they had 7 or 8 kids. I really have to try and find the notes aunt Käthe made when she found out about them. That part had been elminated from the family tree during the Third Reich, and she, a sister of my grandfather, traced the US branch in the early 70ies but somehow there was never any closer contact. The only thing I have is an old photo of the great grandfather, his wife and a collection of 7 kids the colour of coffee with cream and lots of curly hair.
Gabriele,
That's very interesting. Our world is a lot more interconnected than we usually acknowledge.
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