'today is the seed time'

Sorry if my previous blog entry was a bit scandalous. (I suppose that’s the intriguing part of having a blog, but also a negative in trying to emulate my thoughts and emotions at one point in time via the Internet). I received some feedback via email and definitely appreciate everything that folks said and how folks responded …

That blog entry was written immediately after I read a stimulating book entitled Inheriting the Trade: A Northern Family Confronts Its Legacy as the Largest Slave-Trading Dynasty in U.S. History. The book is written by Thomas DeWolf, a descendant of the DeWolf’s of Rhode Island. The DeWolf’s, during the height of the slave trade, capitalized significantly from the enslavement of Africans and the intertwined product trading. Also, aside from having deep set connections in political, economic, and social circles in America’s power elite, many of the DeWolf family were also Episcopalian ministers. This adds an interesting dynamic to Thomas DeWolf’s reflection.

Inheriting the Trade follows ten DeWolf descendants on a journey retracing the Triangle Trade, i.e., how their ancestors came into power, wealth, and prestige. They met in Rhode Island, traveled to West Africa’s “slave castles”, over to Cuban plantations once owned by their families, and then back to Rhode Island.

The journey’s inspiration and the resulting emotions/transformations/stagnations that occurred within and as a result of their journey can also be seen in a PBS documentary. The documentary is entitled Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North and was organized by one of the ten participating descendants, Katrina Browne.

I highly recommend this book and documentary to anyone interested in the contemporary racial relations and how they are directly tied to the historical foundation of our nation. I also highly recommend these materials to anyone interested in learning more about white privilege, racial reconciliation, and the profoundly established power that white folks gained from enslaving human beings. It’s also an easy read for history buffs and/or for people interested in “generational sin,” if you will, and/or for people interested in basic social justice.

Though more “radical” books exist, of course, this one is a great testimony from a white person’s perspective about coming to terms with systemic racism, and his personal racist tendencies, in a more pragmatic manner than I’ve seen/read in a while.

So, again, I apologize if my previous blog entry was harsh on the eyes. But that’s how it goes sometimes.

Peace and love.

“Now is the accepted time, not tomorrow, not some more convenient season. It is today that our best work can be done and not some future day or future year. It is today that we fit ourselves for the greater usefulness of tomorrow. Today is the seed time, now are the hours of work, and tomorrow comes the harvest and the playtime.”
- W.E.B. DuBois