Historically, as we review some of our nation's beginning footsteps, we often forget some of the major players who contributed so very much to the building of our nation. 

Recently, I heard President Biden, a descendant of Irish immigrants, comment during his historic visit to Ireland on the ways that Irish immigrants significantly contributed to the fabric of our nation. 

In a previous post, Riding the Rails: From the Underground Railroad to the Transcontinental Railroad, we talked about the profound influence migrant and immigrant workers had. They were not welcomed with open arms, but often enslaved, derided, and greeted with violence. 

 From Riding the Rails:

"The year is 1863... as many as 15,000 Chinese immigrants do the dangerous, backbreaking work of blazing a path across the US to make the Transcontinental Railroad a reality. As they dynamite their way west, thousands die.

In other parts of the country, hundreds of thousands, indeed millions of enslaved people bend over under the scorching sun, toil in the vast fields of cotton, rice and tobacco, to build the very economic backbone of the United States."

Today, immigrants play a powerful role in the nation's economy. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities states that "In fact, immigrants contribute to the U.S. economy in many ways. They work at high rates and make up more than a third of the workforce in some industries. Their geographic mobility helps local economies respond to worker shortages, smoothing out bumps that could otherwise weaken the economy. Immigrant workers help support the aging native-born population, increasing the number of workers as compared to retirees and bolstering the Social Security and Medicare trust funds. And children born to immigrant families are upwardly mobile, promising future benefits not only to their families, but to the U.S. economy overall."

Irish, Black, Asian, Native, European - we all descended from immigrants. It's who we are. 

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Nancy Kendall's life of working with the Underground Railroad is a constant reminder that there are good Samaritans out there who risked their lives as Nancy Kendall and Andrew Kendall did to help others.

They are often lost in the background. I think they are not mentioned, because their lives don't seem dramatic enough. And, because many of them were, and are, Black themselves. 

We all know Harriet Tubman, of course. But, how many of us have heard of Walter White?

Walter White was a Black civil rights leader who helped form the NAACP. He was a white news reporter who let the rest of America, and the world, in on Jim Crow laws, lynchings, "unsolved" murders, and the crimes committed against Black citizens by white America. 

"White Lies: The Double Life of Walter F. White and America's Darkest Secret" by A.J. Baime uncovers the details of a remarkable life - Walter F. White, a Black activist who risked his own life investigating racist murders while passing for white. He was fair skinned with a racially mixed background who passed easily, leading a dangerous double-life, using white privilege to shine a light on the America's darkest crimes. 

In the wake of yet another Black man's death at the hands of those who were supposed to protect and serve, we take courage in the fact that there are those in the past and present who work to change the course of justice in America. Their stories must be told.
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Guest post by D. A. Smith

A dear friend recently loaned me the children's picture book "Build a House", by Rhiannon Giddens. I wanted to share it with my two daughters. We sat together, the three of us, in the sun and read this extraordinarily simple but beautiful book.

The moving illustrations, by Monica Mikai, convey the nuanced emotions that the words stoically imply. Its message is full of understanding and dignity - the overarching struggle and triumph of a people, displaced, enslaved, ultimately freed and allowed to establish their own homes is outlined in poetry and song. 

After reading through the book and spending time looking at the illustrations, we watched the accompanying music video. Rhiannon Giddens, joined by Yo-Yo Ma, gives melody to the tale. It’s steady, strong and a little haunting. My children have been singing it ever since we first listened to it and have asked several times to hear it again. 

This morning my older daughter sang “you brought me here to build a house…” and my younger daughter corrected her, saying “It's, ‘you brought me here you build YOUR house…’” to which the elder replied “Oh, that’s right,” and quickly went back to singing. 

Their understanding was clear to me then. Children are thoughtful and often guided by an inner compass that points to justice. They were moved by the story, of course. But it was the music that really settled it into their memories.  They quietly sing to themselves and think about what it all means, as they work on other projects. 

I’ve been humming it, too. The words and melody remind us again and again of Rhiannon Giddens' gentle but powerful telling of a story worth cherishing.

​“Through the rhythm of words, the lyricism of images, and the power of song, Rhiannon Giddens makes storytelling come alive. Build a House is a story to tell and to remember.” - Yo-Yo Ma

​The perfect holiday gift for the children in your life. And the grown-ups, too: Order Build a House
Read our previous post to learn more about Rhiannon Giddens. 

Songs of survival. Songs of hope. Songs of a better life. Songs of identity. Songs of despair. And, songs as warnings for fleeing slaves along the Underground Railroad. The songs enslaved people sang, and those they sang after gaining freedom, tell their stories. And, singer-songwriter Rhiannon Giddens is making sure their stories don’t die.

In an interview on the PBS series Fresh Air with Terry Gross, Giddens talks about her music and why telling these stories is so important. Although her music spans many genres, her album, “They’re Calling Me Home” is filled with songs based on the lives of the enslaved.  

With the most astonishing voice I’ve ever heard, Giddens is a joint Grammy Award Winner, composer, speaker and podcast radio talk show host.  I urge you to check out her music, and in particular, “They’re Calling Me Home.”
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​Giddens is also a writer, soon to publish a children’s book, “Build a House.” Preorder here.

Did you know? Harriet Tubman, the Moses of her People, used a traditional Negro Spiritual to warn slaves to get into the water to deter the scent-sniffing dogs on their trail?

“Wade in the water, wade in the water children
Wade in the water,
God's gonna trouble the water”

A five-year-old in kindergarten used crayons to draw a picture of his family. He used yellow for everyone else, but when it came to drawing his own picture, he chose the brown crayon. That's when he realized his family was different. And, that's when he started forming his own ideas about identity, and what it means.

In his children's book, "I Color Myself Different," Colin Kaepernick takes us on his journey of self-discovery that every child can relate to. Beautifully illustrated by award-winning artist Eric Wilkerson, the book is inspiring and thoughtful. 

Read more about Kaepernick's journey, his activism, and his idea that we can all make this world a more equitable place, "Colin Kaepernick says, 'I Color Myself Different' in his first children's book," an article from NPR.

Guest Post by Kristine Schwartzman

​Like others who helped enslaved people on their journey for freedom, Nancy Kendall rarely knew what happened to the freedom seekers after they left her home. But she did hear from one woman she helped. She’d made it to safety. 

We often speak about the Emancipation Proclamation as a happy ending. But, for many freed people, the end of slavery was far from the storybook ending many imagine. 

An excerpt from the Library of Congress collection of recordings of former slaves, Voices Remembering Slavery: Freed People Tell Their Stories, Laura Smalley describes what happened:

“We didn't know where to go. Mom and them didn't know where to go. You see, after freedom broke, they started just, like, to turn some of them out, you know? We didn't know where to go. They turned us out just like, you know, you turn out cattle (laughter), I'd say.”

Smalley was a child in Texas when her parents and the rest of the enslaved were told they were free. It was not the “master” who told them. He’d kept their freedom a secret. 

​She explains:

“No, he didn't tell. They went there and turned them loose on the 19 of June. That's why, you know, we celebrate that day — colored folks celebrates that day — celebrates that day.”

My Dear Readers,

How I have enjoyed talking with you.  It has meant the world to me and I appreciate that you  listen when you can. 

Our exploration of Grandfather's Gift over the last 1 1/2 to 2 years has been enlightening, and deeply meaningful for me.  I hope it has for you, as well.  We needed to put our feelings into words and share with each other, and I am grateful for this journey of sharing our feelings of what it means to be part of the human race. It gives me such comfort and hope.

Happiest of holidays, to you my Grandfather's Gift family!  May you and your loved ones share the warmth of the season, whether you celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Boxing Day,  even "Festivus for the rest of us," or celebrations of your own making. 

Our conversation will continue...

Love,
Nancy
​
To learn how the Christmas holiday celebration of today came about, see this fascinating History Channel Documentary, "The Origins of Christmas."

As  Nancy Kendall and other abolitionists did their small parts and major conductors such as Harriet Tubman assisted enslaved Africans on their way to freedom via the Underground Railroad, Native Americans in the US continued their struggle to keep their way of life. In fact, long before Africans were kidnapped and brought to the US, Native Peoples were forced into slavery.

Listen to NPR’s “An American Secret: The Untold Story of Native American Enslavement” for more information about this often neglected chapter in history.

I worked on the Navajo Reservation in AZ for a number of years as a teacher and librarian. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Half of the teachers were Navajo and half were Anglo. I have always been grateful to the community for allowing me to share their lives.

Teacher orientation included sessions with the remarkable Gramma Thomas. We fell in love with her. Everyone did. She was a prominent and revered citizen of her community, and indeed, of all the people in the Navajo Nation during her lifelong dedication as an educator.

One of the enchanting stories she told us new recruits was that we were there because her people decided they needed to learn to “walk in two worlds” to thrive. She told us about her life as a young Navajo girl on the reservation. She lived with her grandmother. As a child, she loved tending the corn fields and herding sheep. When her grandmother signed her up to go to a public school in Ganado, she didn’t want to go.

Not long after her arrival at school, she ran back to her grandmother. Her grandmother was not having it. The Catholic priest in Chinle had a car, and escorted the runaway right back to school.

In the end, Gramma Thomas's education was a blessing. She spent many years teaching in the local Chinle state schools.

The Navajo Reservation is the largest Indian reservation in the nation. It spans 25,000 square miles. Life there, though spare and basic, is convenient. Fast food places, a large chain grocery store, a post office and a Wells Fargo Bank branch are a few of the amenities.

In some ways, life seems not to have changed. People still haul and store drinkable water. Some haul and store coal from a mine in the area. Grammas and Grampas often live in hogans. Others live in trailers and small houses. It’s a much more practical life than that of mainstream America.

Efforts have been made over the years to provide financial assistance and other services. Employment continues to be a problem. Many Navajo men work in distant locations doing construction work. But more and more folks choose to pursue college educations.

I taught there for 11 years, until I retired. My fervent hope is that my students learned as much from me as I learned from them.

Our newly confirmed US Department of the Interior cabinet head, Deb Haaland is a member of the Laguna Pueblo Nation in Northern New Mexico. Secretary Haaland is the first Native American Cabinet secretary in the history of the nation. Because the Department of the Interior has a history of oppressing America’s Indigenous peoples, her appointment is both historic and symbolic.

For a more in-depth look at the history of First Nations in American, the PBS documentary “Native America” is a superb narrative. The documentary covers the history of Bonito Pueblo life at Chaco, the major cultural center of the Ancestral Pueblo Nation as well as other Native peoples and cultures.
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The entire documentary is over three hours long, but is divided into the following time marked segments:

From Cave to Cosmos - 0:00
Nature to Nations - 53:28 
Cities of the Sky - 01:46:55
New World Rising - 02:40:22

When I visited Chaco Canyon as a tourist, the forest ranger guide said the canyon had been “discovered” by white cowboys, Richard Wetherill and his brother-in-law Charlie Mason. What the ranger didn’t mention was that the discovery was possibly made with the help of a Native guide.

Coming Soon: Native Peoples and the intricate dance of walking in two worlds.