A Cruel Joke?

I went to public school, k-12 in the city of Alexandria. It took me years to figure out if Stonewall Jackson was for or against  people like me. I was black and I was going to an elementary school named in honor of confederate general Stonewall Jackson. 

I was a descendant of enslaved Africans, going to Stonewall Jackson's school 🤔

That was inconceivable!!! 


Was this a cruel joke or was I just too dull to understand who the bad guys in history were? My innocent, malleable brain could not figure it out .



The truth is, it was not a joke but indeed it was cruel.  It was the cruelty of a system and people not willing to make repairs or repent for centuries of crimes against humanity. 

Crimes like bringing Africans to work in a land that plantation and business owners should have worked themselves and paid other whites to work.  The system of slavery was not only a crime against Africans but it was also a crime against white Americans. It kept many white Americans in extreme poverty.

More to come on these thoughts... 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nate and Fannie Peters

My life is so wonderfully rich and full.    I had no idea of the ventures and opportunities that God would open for me as I began to live for what truly matters to me.  I'm researching the journeys and  lives of my ancestors and yesterday I made discoveries that made me laugh out loud, rejoice with dancing, and then I was moved to tears😭. I've been looking for mention of Nate and Fannie Peters.  Nate are Fannie are the parents of my great--great-grandfather, James Peters who ran from enslavement and joined Union forces.   He fought against the strongholds of the confederacy and the evil institution of slavery. He left his mother and siblings behind and by the grace of a just and powerful God he was able to return home after the war, to a family that was finally free.  But where was James father, Nate? My heart longs to find what became of Nate.  I have a  few clues lead me from Virginia to Louisiana. So my journey into the past cont...
Read more

Cherry Blossoms & The Pits

Image
My mother, Veronica Peters Jones b 1934 used to climb the cherry trees in her grand parents orchard.  She and her cousins would eat cherries and then fall out of the trees.   LoL Her grandfather was John Henry Peters 1881 - 1960 Her grandmother, Ella Ashby Peters 1882 - 1978 They owned property on Seminary Hill in Alexandria VA. At least 5 acres of the property was purchased prior to 1910.  John and Ella married in 1908  and had 7 children.  5 boys and 2 girls.  Many Black property and home owners were forced to sell during the city of Alexandria's urban development. I found this picture of my family's home on Seminary Hill  in my grandmother's photo album.  INOVA Hospital now sits where their homestead was.    In addition to the cherry orchard our family  raised cattle and hogs.   People from neighboring households would come to get milk from the cows.    It's evident that the Peters cultiva...
Read more

Prayer and the Ancestors

Image
I w as thrilled to be a part of the Descendants’ and Black Seminarians’ weekend at  Virginia Theological Seminary.   I decided to participate in all the happenings.   On Saturday morning, April 22, 2023,  I arrived at the chapel a little late.  As I entered the chapel, the minister was reading a passage from the prophet Zechariah.   I thought of how beautiful that moment in the chapel was and how beautifully the weekend was going.   I felt deeply connected to God and to my ancestors, John Holman Peters and his father John Henry Peters , who both worked on the property of Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS).   I asked myself, “Who prayed this moment into existence?   Who prayed the beauty of these blessings on my life?” THE BLESSINGS of experiencing God in a deeply passionate way. The blessings of spending this weekend at VTS in honor of my grandfather and great-grandfather.     I imagined my ancestors walking the grounds of ...
Read more