A Tour in Color

10/01/2026

In times like these, we’re supposed to be paying attention to the world’s current affairs—at the very least, so it makes it difficult to remember those who came before us.

I took the journey to Alabama to visit the Equal Justice Initiative’s museum in honor of Latonya’s great-uncle, the late Henry Andrews, whom we have honored and supported through a North Carolina state wide anti-lynching written proclamation for the past two years. By next year, his name will be included in the museum, along with a historical marker.

While on this tour with EJI, we traveled on the the river, a vision came over me: the 1879 U.S. Census record of my great-grandmother, Maria Jones Warren—born in Alabama in 1820—started populating in my mind. I could see her journey as if I were witnessing it: the chains, the possible “houses” built for forced procreation, the murders, the rapes—every Black holocaust you can imagine—etched into a place that still carries the long shadows of the Confederacy on its flag.

In that moment, I visited her during enslavement…

I’m the legacy keeper—the one who carries the trauma and pain, and the one who launches the vision of my ancestors’ potential. We are the awakening.

With everything going on in the world, I would’ve been remiss not to also visit the Rosa Parks Museum, travel the road to Selma, and—finally—make room for a little joy on the Harriet Riverboat, doing some modeling for the ancestors! Folding chairs are available throughout the pier.

Stay tuned for the Peoples Farmees Market mural. Come join us January 19th 10:00am-4:00pm to a day of service. Community garden and to share with us in live music and food.

12/11/2025

12/11/2025

Just three day before today I discovered my great great uncle was a US war veteran. Today is the perfect day to honor my great-grandfather’s brother, Alfred Hunter. He escaped to Union lines at New Bern (Craven County, NC) and enlisted in the 1st North Carolina Colored Volunteers—later the 35th U.S. Colored Troops—whose path carried him to operations around Charleston and Johns Island, SC, fighting for his family’s freedom. After the war came the promise of “40 acres and a mule” under Sherman’s Special Field Orders No. 15—hope later stripped away, but never forgotten.

Through DNA, we traced Alfred’s branch by first connecting with our cousin Rosemary Collington. After meeting Rosemary, I was blessed to meet Rachel Bailey and Margie Brown—other family ready to share records, photos, and stories. Land lost, family gained.

16/10/2025

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DP2e1DZjzgj/?igsh=MXdiMDVqZzRmZzJkNQ==

14/09/2025

Time to remind ourselves of who we are!

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8SBKyPp/

366.3K likes, 6337 comments. “Cecil Williams the guy from the iconic photo of him drinking from a “Whites Only” water fountain.”

04/09/2025

. “In September 1955, the courtroom was packed: segregated seating, open rifles, and jurors drinking—whatever justice was supposed to be, it was deeply compromised.”

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1C8nPx2i69/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Remembering Emmett Till — A Reflection on Justice Denied

Today marks the anniversary of the murder trial of Emmett Till’s killers—a pivotal yet painful moment in American history. In September 1955, just days after the brutal lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till, the trial of Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam took place in the Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi, drawing national attention and exposing the raw injustices of the Jim Crow South. 

Journalist David Halberstam later called it “the first great media event of the civil rights movement.” The tiny town of Sumner was overwhelmed—newsrooms, reporters, and a courtroom full of spectators streamed into the courtroom, where black attendees were relegated to segregated sections. Even more jarring, jury members were seen drinking beer during deliberations, and some out-of-town visitors openly carried fi****ms inside. 

Despite overwhelming evidence, the all-white male jury acquitted Bryant and Milam after only a few hours of deliberation. Their verdict underscored the institutional racism deeply rooted in the justice system of that era. 

Today, the courthouse stands as a memorial—a restored monument across the street from the Emmett Till Interpretive Center. This center harnesses storytelling and art to foster healing, reflection, and education. It’s a place of remembrance that challenges us to confront the legacy of racial injustice. 

02/09/2025

Rest easy Emmett Till.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1BQP94E8ra/?mibextid=wwXIfr