About the Author

Melvina Young and her work have been featured in the New York Times, on CNN.com, the Grio, the Emmy Award winning daytime talk show The Real, AmazonLive, and other national and local news publications. She has written hundreds of cards and over dozen books as well as created internet content...

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  1. Love this. I make sure the stories I write are a reflection of my heritage. My Dad made sure we knew our history. He was at the March on Washingon and at North Carolina A & T State University during the A & T Four sit ins. And he told that story again and again. (HBCU legacy). I honor my aunts now in their 80’s and 90’s and make sure their stories are not left behind. Sometimes we are so cursory from the heritage and legacy of our own bloodline. There are gems in our own legacies if we look for them.

    • Norma, yes to everything you said. Thank you for reading and sharing your family’s part in our collective history. Your post reminds me of how new our freedom is. It was in your father’s living experience that the battle to even be treated with respect at a lunch counter happened. It is within your aunt’s living experience that so many Black women, men, and children put their bodies on the line for our equality.

      It’s so important as we build on the future our ancestors began for us that we understand that the past is not past. It’s not just a collection of stories we can tell about “back then” but a preface to our living stories now.

  2. Your words validated my thoughts about the need to uplift my grandsons and granddaughters about knowing their past.
    First, I asks them what do they know about their grandparents. I listen to assessed to determine if we have told our families stories. I shall continue to tell my families past. As, I don’t know how much their parents are sharing because my children were told. We can not STOP telling our stories.
    I also share my African American books and art work.

    • Marie, thank you for reading. I agree with you. It’s so important to tell our little ones our family stories and our collective one so that they know their own personal power and our collective power too.

  3. A great article. The only way I knew how to share our Black history with my daughter was through reading lots of books by Black authors and images that look like her. She is an avid reader to this day! Also, she attended an HBCU to learn even more. I am proud of her determination to love herself and serve our community by paying it forward.

    • Edith, thanks for reading and sharing your story. Great job momming, Sis! You must be very proud of the self-loving daughter you helped shape.

  4. Love every piece of this! Thank you for sharing this. All of what you expressed made me think of my internal thoughts and the quick guided conversations with students. Thank you!

    • Dr. Campbell, thank you so much for reading. I think that any of us who teach or mentor young people are processing this and thinking through how to encourage and support our children to find strength where our ancestors left it – in our stories.

  5. I completely agree with your post about the importance of understanding the historical context of slavery before making assumptions about how one would have acted in that situation. It’s easy to fall into the trap of romanticizing resistance and imagining ourselves as heroes in a struggle against oppression, but the reality is much more complex and nuanced. I appreciate your emphasis on the humanity of enslaved people and the ways in which their resistance took many different forms. My question for you is: how do you think we can encourage more nuanced and informed discussions about slavery and resistance in educational settings?

    • Joanna,

      Thanks for reading and for your excellent question. It’s a big one that I’d like to answer with some intention.

      Please check back in with this conversation in a couple of days.

  6. Really like your powerful post! Just started reading the The 1619 project. Not an easy ready…but it has to be told, ignoring the criticism, Thank you for educating all of our youth’

  7. Love Love Love this. Yes our children need to know that black is beautiful, and to believe that no weapons formed against them will prosper. And to know that knowledge is powerful, keep being thirsty for more.

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