I’m kicking off a new blogumentary series during Black History Month 2024. It's been two years since my first blogumentary during Black History Month 2022 where I launched a video project based on my blog, Research & Revelations, about my great-great grandfather. This year, I plan to share a series of videos as the research and revelations flow from the intersection of a blog I posted, an article in the Lafayette Journal & Courier and a very transparent comment posted on my Facebook page. My purpose is to connect the dots and demonstrate the power of creating safe spaces for diverse stories and how doing so has the potential to inspire positive change. It is aligned with my manifesto and community workshop series, launched in 2021, titled Diversity Intelligence is the New Emotional Intelligence.

For a copy of my manifesto and ebook, Top Ten Reasons Why Diversity Intelligence Matters, visit: amazon.com. To contact me for a speaking engagement or workshop facilitation, visit: my website.

Image from Dan Gediman, Executive Director of The Reckoning: Facing the Legacy of Slavery in America and The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

As you read about my ancestors and their his-story, you can click on the bolded links for more information.

This year, during my birthday month of August, I am putting the spotlight on my ancestors. If it was not for them I would not be here to celebrate. I believe as we research about our history, we gain revelations for the future. As we share these stories, we open the eyes and hearts of others.

Most of you know I typically focus my gratitude on my Great-Great Grandfather John Fields. He was formerly enslaved and in 2015 I discovered his narratives recorded September 1937 about his life before and after freedom. For this blog, I decided to celebrate him AND his older brother Edward, my great-great uncle. I am learning more and more about the impact of Edward’s his-story on our family. I was recently interviewed by an amazing journalist and Edward’s story was featured in an article about his role in the United States Colored Troops (USTC) and Civil War. Wait until you read all about it here: https://kyusct.org/category/soldier-stories/.

I am titling this post, Fighter of Freedom. I have always shared that my great-great grandfather had the spirit of entrepreneurship. When he was sold and separated from his parents and siblings, he called himself an “independent slave.” When he ran away to freedom and found work, he called himself an “independent worker.” Learning about his “independent mindset” set me free. I realized the limits I put on myself or thought others put on me, were in my mind. This prompted me to finally work full time in and on my own business, and become determined to have it be a success that will impact generations to come. You can learn more about John’s his-story in my blog posts, specifically you can read: His-story can heal, unify and galvanize us.

Recently, I have become super focused on my Great-Great Uncle Edward. I am certain my great-great grandfather wanted the spotlight to shine on him. I see him as someone who was a freedom fighter. Let me give you a little backstory. My Great-Great Grandfather John was one of 11 children that were sold and separated around 1854. John remained in Owensboro (formerly Owensburg), Kentucky and his older brother Edward was put to work somewhere nearby.

“I can’t describe the heartbreak and horror of that separation. I was only six years old and it was the last time I ever saw my mother for longer than one night. Twelve children taken from my mother in one day. Five sisters and two brothers went to Charleston, Virginia, one brother and one sister went to Lexington Ky., one sister went to Hartford, Ky., and one brother and myself stayed in Owensburg, Ky. My mother was later allowed to visit among us children for one week of each year, so she could only remain a short time at each place.” Copy of the Slave Narrative of John W. Fields from Access Genealogy

When I was researching about my great-great grandfather, I realized I had found several allies who were providing me with articles and information about his life in Indiana, where he ran away to and lived until he passed away at 104 years old. It hit me that I didn’t have any connections for research in Kentucky. I reached out to the President and Executive Director of The Reckoning, Dan Gediman, in Louisville, Kentucky. Dan has a podcast and blog, The Reckoning: Facing the Legacy of Slavery in America. He had featured John Fields in a post on the home page. I wrote to tell him I was his great-great granddaughter and wanted to know more about the area in Kentucky where he was enslaved.

It has been so amazing that whenever I reach out to someone related to his-story, I have always been able to build a reciprocal relationship where I share with them and always discover something new. Well, it took some time but Dan eventually emailed me and he connected me to Loretta Williams who is an independent public media journalist, editor and reporter based in the Los Angeles area.

“I want to introduce you to my colleague Loretta Williams, a gifted radio producer, editor, and writer that is working on writing a series of profiles of various United States Colored Troops (USCT) and their family members. She would like to write about John and Edward Fields and since you have done so much terrific research about John, I thought she should connect with you and perhaps even interview you for the piece.”

I was so excited! After a few emails, Loretta and I met over zoom for the interview. We discussed what I knew about John and Edward’s life before being separated from each other and how they both had ran away to join the civil war in 1864. My great-great uncle was the only that one able to get enlisted because my great-great grandfather was too young. In addition to the narratives, recorded by the Federal Writers’ Project 1936-1938, I shared with Loretta the details left out and captured in an article in the Indianapolis Recorder August 1937. This article filled in all the gaps the narrative left out about Edward that John wanted the world to know. We also reviewed the war records that Dan sent proving that Edward had indeed fought in the civil war, and survived. The image you see for this blog post is one of Edward’s military service cards of soldiers who fought in volunteer organizations during the American Civil War.

I am forever grateful to Dan Gediman and Loretta Williams for sharing so much with me about John and Edward. It caused me to really deep dive into research about the USCT and uncover the details of Edward’s time in the army, the exact role he played in the Civil War and how he was able to live through this bloody battle to see Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrender in Appomattox County, Virginia. I plan to share this research and my revelations in a future blog post! It also opened my eyes to why my great-great grandfather was determined to have Edward’s story told. I have added to my dream list, a plan to visit the African American Civil War Memorial in Washington DC. Inscribed on the Wall of Honor are the names of 209,145 soldiers of the USCT 175 regiments who are called, “Fighters of Freedom.” I also hope to find out if Edward was ever married and had children. If there are any of his descendants alive, I desperately want to share his-story with them.

As you read about Edward, I warn you that his-story is very dramatic and unbelievable! With that in mind, I invite you to read with empathy rather than judgement. I also invite you to put yourself in his shoes and combat boots. I’ve found this is the best way to get the most out of diverse, historical stories. After you read the article below by Loretta Williams, you can read more about the story my great-great grandfather wanted the world to know about Edward in my blog post titled: Total Healing: Truth, Trauma, Triggers.

Click here to read Loretta Williams’ piece on Kentucky U.S. Colored Troops Project and the Biographical Profile of Corporal Edward Fields and Brother John Fields.

How are you celebrating this day when Juneteenth and Father’s Day 2022 aligned perfectly? For me it is a perfect opportunity to reflect on the legacy of my great-great grandfather, John Fields. Many of you know I marvel at finding his narratives and his-story from enslavement to freedom. Today, I want to connect the dots to the women that came from my great-great grandfather’s heroic escape and ties to Juneteenth.

First, let’s talk about the purpose and pain of this holiday! The Emancipation Proclamation issued on January 1, 1863, established enslaved people free. But in reality, the Emancipation Proclamation didn’t free enslaved people. The proclamation only applied to places under Confederate control and not to slaveholding border states or rebel areas. This is what happened to my great-great grandfather who was enslaved in Kentucky and it’s why he decided to risk it all and run away.

“To eliminate this solid support of the South, the Emancipation Act was passed, freeing all slaves. Most of the slaves were so ignorant they did not realize they were free. The planters knew this and as Kentucky never succeeded from the Union, they would send slaves into Kentucky from other states in the south and hire them out to plantations. For these reasons I did not realize that I was free until 1864. I immediately resolved to run away and join the Union Army and so my brother and I went to Owensburg, Ky. and tried to join. My brother was taken, but I was refused as being too young. I then tried to find work and was finally hired by a man at $7.00 a month. That was my first independent job.” - John Fields

https://www.accessgenealogy.com/black-genealogy/slave-narrative-of-john-w-fields.htm

“Freedom” finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. Research tells us that the army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state were free, celebrations broke out and Juneteenth was born. 

This year as I reflect on the meaning of Juneteenth, what comes to me is that emancipation first happens in our mind as we realize we are free. My great-great grandfather must have passed his determination to have truth set him free, down to me, through our DNA. First to his daughter and my great grandmother Mamie Hamilton, down to my grandma Opal and on to my mother, Gloria. All of these women, in one way or another, wrestled with setting themselves and others free. I guess I inherited that and I have made it my business to set myself and others free.

I also set people free from work and offer them harmony in life as an alternative. It started years ago when I worked in vocational schools as a placement director and career counselor. I helped men and women, who just got off drugs or out of prison, know that whatever mistakes they had made could be forgiven and they were free. Now, as I work as a coach with leaders in businesses, I help them know they don’t have to be trapped by their own success. They can have work life balance and enjoy the fruits of their labor without sacrificing their soul. And, I help their employees know the truth that sets everyone free. If you are in a toxic workplace, you can leave and you’ll be okay. If you are unhappy in your job and making everyone else miserable, you should leave and truthfully your leader would rather you go than become the source of toxicity.

I have also set myself free! Free from financial constraints, fake friends and lovers, traumatic memories of hardship and disappointment and even my own bad habits and limitations. I am also working to free my family from generational trauma and curses that have us so tightly bound. Below is a video from a pilot for a show we launched for Black Beautiful and Brilliant, three years ago, on Juneteenth. The show didn’t get picked up, but the stories about our legacies are still relevant for this day when Juneteenth and Father’s Day aligned perfectly.

I decided to produce my first '“blogumentary” for Black History Month 2022. My blogumentary is a video project based on my blog, Research & Revelations. The purpose is aligned with my podcast, to inspire harmony within yourself and between others.

In this blogumentary, I contrast the accounts of his-story from two very different interviews I discovered were recorded at the same time in 1937: The Slave Narrative from the Federal Writers' Project and a Black historian who wrote an article for the Indianapolis Recorder.

Get ready for a journey of a lifetime as you join me on this virtual voyage, transformative time travel and empathetic excursion. I dedicate this labor of love to my ancestors. I can hear them singing, "This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine," as I share my research and revelations about his-story.

I was asked to write a blog for Black History about my great-great grandfather for Ingomu Learning. I'm launching a diversity and inclusion learning community on their App in March. The big idea behind my blog was inspired by this year’s theme for Black History Month: The Black Family. So many people say they want to be One-Big-Happy-Family (OBHF). They have this fantasy for their family, workplace and country.

This reminds me of the Rodney King incident. I can remember vividly, in 1991, Rodney King being chased by police through LA. He was later charged with driving under the influence. Once caught, they beat him for a reported 15 minutes. Similar to George Floyd, the incident was caught on camera. Four officers were originally charged with excessive force and a year later found not guilty. During the following five days of unrest, there were 50 riot-related deaths, and 10 people were shot and killed by officers and national guardsmen. Most of us will never forget Rodney King’s passionate plea, "People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along? Can we get along?"

Check out my blog post, the link is below, and see how I use the research and revelations about my great-great grandfather to answer the question that is on all our minds today. “Can we all get along?”

www.ingomu.com/blog/article/one-big-happy-family-obhf/

Total Healing: Truth, Trauma,Triggers

I recently shared my great-great grandfather’s story for Black History Month for Ingomu Learning, an APP based company where I will be going live virtual Diversity Inclusion workshops. I revealed some startling research I discovered about my Great-Great Uncle that I want to go deeper and give the backstory to my research in the spirit of Black History Month.

Researching His-Story and my ancestry has given me a better understanding of who I am and why often find myself vacillating between entrapment and empowerment; better known as flight or fight. I often feel this conflict when my freedom is restricted or my self-worth is disrespected. It also comes about when I see others, I care about, being mistreated too. Sometimes it is real and the feelings are warranted, but other times I am being triggered and blowing things out of proportion.

Deepening my understanding of the depth of my ancestors’ trauma and my DNA is helping come to terms with this dichotomy and have better self-control. I believe during these challenging times and division in our country, we are each being called to do the inner work that will give us total healing. Understanding our truth, trauma and triggers will empower us to stop and think before we speak or take action.

Of the past few years, I have made numerous connections and now historians in Lafayette, Indiana are supporting me in discovering the footprints of my great-great grandfather’s journey from enslavement, to freedom and beyond. Most of my research has been inspiring. However, this particular discovery stopped me in my tracks and silenced me for a while. Like it or not, it is my truth, trauma and trigger related to the political and social tension we are all experiencing in our country today. I must share it so that I can heal, and be of service during these trying times.

You see, I knew from reading the slave narratives that, at the age of six, Grandpa Fields was traumatically moved from one plantation to another and separated from his parents and eleven siblings. What I did not know was there was an unsolved murder mystery as part of his-story. I learned that my great-great grandfather’s brother, my great-great uncle Edward, could have been the impetus to this critical juncture in their lives. Uncle Edward killed their cruel master, Bob McFarland. You can read about it in the excerpt of the article from the Indianapolis Recorder.

The Rev. John Fields, of Lafayette, Ind., it an example of what Negroes of yesterday accomplished by thrift and industry. He was born a slave March 27, 1848, in Davis County, Kentucky. Although he is nearly ninety years of age, his mind is still active, and he can recall incidents of the slave period with great detail and accuracy.

His first owner was a cruel man named Bob McFarland. John’s brother, Edward Fields, killed his master when he latter attempted to whip him. John was then transferred to another master named David Hill. On Mr. Hill’s plantation John saw some of the evils of slavery. He says that once when his mistress was away for several weeks, Mr. Hill forced a little girl thirteen years old to have illicit relations with her master. Her mistress returned to find that the girl was In a delicate state of health. She insisted that the girl tell her everything, but the master had already forbade the girl to tell that he was the guilty party on pain of death. Then, to satisfy his wife, the master would take the girl to the woods, suspend her body to a tree and whip her until she was almost unconscious, trying to make her tell who was the father of her unborn child. When the child was born, as a penalty for her sins, the girl was sold and taken to the far South, where in the words of her master and father of her child she would be doomed to drink the waters of the Mississippi and pick cotton.

In 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, but it did not affect the status of the slave in Kentucky, hence, the masters of the Bluegrass State continued to hold their slaves until the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment December 18, 1865. The Union officers, however, began to tell the slaves about the Emancipation Proclamation and to induce the Negroes to believe that the Proclamation was applicable to all slaves everywhere within the limits of the United States. Although he was a mere boy, John Fields decided that he would be a slave no longer. In 1864 he ran away.

I find it interesting that the article in the Indianapolis Recorder was written the same year as my great-great grandfather’s slave narrative by the Federal Writers’ Project 1936-1938 and Assembled by the Library of Congress Project work projects administration. Yet, there was no mention of his brother Edward, Bob McFarland or the plantation owners murder at all. The Narrative author only shared:

“When I was six years old, all of us children were taken from my parents, because my master died and his estate had to be settled. We slaves were divided by this method. Three disinterested persons were chosen to come to the plantation and together they wrote the names of the different heirs on a few slips of paper. These slips were put in a hat and passed among us slaves. Each one took a slip and the name on the slip was the new owner.”

However, I had also found a google book, History of Daviess County, Kentucky published in 1883, that included a mention of the unsolved murder of a Robert McFarland. Even before finding the Indianapolis Recorder article, I began to put the pieces of the puzzle together. The article confirmed my suspicion.

View fullsize

I can only imagine how my ancestors felt and processed the cruelty of entrapment and enslavement, and then the empowerment and guilt of the murder that cost them being together as a family. Yet, in spite of all of that, my great-great grandfather role modeled healing, sharing his truth and moving forward with his head held high. After all he had been through, he was still able to: find love and marry the woman of his dreams; unleash his entrepreneurial spirit and own unmortgaged homes that he rented; launch a Black Baptist church were he was a layman preacher; live healthy and active until he was 104. I wonder if he was able to do all of this because he was only six when he lived with his whole family so he barely remembered, or maybe it was because he had such a forgiving heart and was not bitter, or perhaps his faith allowed him to cry out and be made whole again. I can only imagine, as I may never truly know.

The elephant in the zoom room

I have always been someone to call out the elephant sitting in the room. Maybe it’s my belief in the transformative power of vulnerable communication or my understanding that stuffing your true thoughts can cause unnecessary stress. Miraculously, I was able to participate in a group discussion about racial inequality hosted by the Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Lafayette, Indiana where my great-great grandfather was baptized and married his bride in 1872.

The First Baptist Church was instrumental in helping John Fields, and the other founders, launch the Second (Black) Baptist Church. What’s amazing is the timing of it all! I was researching the backstory of my great-great grandfather’s role organizing the Second Baptist Church and I decided to listen to a sermon from the First Baptist Church to see if they were still vocal in advocating against racial injustices as they had done back in the 1850s. That Sunday, the Pastor announced that she was not going to be doing traditional Bible study on Wednesday evenings and in its place would be a new zoom group discussion on racial inequality, “How did we get here, where do we go next.” It was starting July 15th, I was so excited that I emailed the church about joining the group discussion and Pastor Lisa answered and extended a welcoming invitation.

In spite of the fact that I was meeting the Pastor, congregation members and local community organizers for the first time, about 45 minutes into our conversation I took a deep breath and asked what I felt was the rhetorical question of the day and the elephant in the room.

“Today (September 17, 1937), I am the only surviving member who helped organize the Second Baptist Church here in Lafayette, 64 years ago. I’ve tried to live according to the way the Lord would wish, God Bless you.”

— John FIelds

His-story can heal, unify and galvanize us

(Click on the bolded links to see some of my research)

It’s been almost five years since I discovered my great-great grandfather’s narrative that captured his-story from being enslaved in Kentucky and his runaway to freedom and prosperity in Indiana. It was a miracle and unleashing of supernatural power that I will never forget. I was at a low point in my life. I was broken hearted, had a mountain of debt and was working for a bully boss that had me feeling oppressed. I cried out to God in my distress and immediately heard him say, “google your great-great grandfather.” Long story short, I did just that and it took me on a journey of self-discovery so powerful that I have been using his-story in my coaching process to heal, unify and galvanize others to remove the internal and external mountains standing in their way to progress.

It was near the end of the summer of 2015 when I learned that he was one of 2000 formerly enslaved men and women who had recorded a narrative. His-story was documented 1937 when he was 89 years old. Some of the narratives were audio, unfortunately his was only in print. There were countless blogs and articles featuring his-story too. In addition to the narrative, his-story was featured in many lessons plans (that have been removed?!?) in the Library of Congress for teachers to share with students focusing on building empathy about enslavement. I am taking the lessons I have learned and applying them to my life and integrating it into my coaching program. My clients are having aha moments after looking back at their own lives, and the lives of their ancestors. These aha moments will last a lifetime as we heal, unify and galvanize.

Wild & Free

I was so inspired by the recent biopic movie, Harriet, who showed how she repeatedly retraced her steps back through the wild-erness to set others free. She made 19 return trips to the South and helped deliver at least 300 fellow enslaved men and women to their promised land, She boasted, "I never lost a passenger." Her guidance of so many to freedom earned her the nickname "Moses." Because her rescues were so secretive and dangerous, Harriet demanded strict obedience. Quitting in the midst of a rescue was not an option. Tubman carried a revolver, but thankfully she never shot anyone.

My lesson learned from her-story, don’t break free if you are not willing to go all the way or you will end up dying in the wild-erness and jeopardizing the whole mission.

I’ve also learned that even after you are free, you have to be very careful that the survivor’s remorse doesn’t eat you alive. You can feel a sense of shame and guilt from making it to the other side of a traumatic event, and leaving others behind. I can relate to that. I am a resilient person who has made it over many hurdles that tend to keep others stuck. I’ve left emotionally abusive relationships, a toxic bully boss and my own lack of self-care and self-sabotage. Yes, I set myself free! And yes, I feel remorse for those still in bondage or stuck in the in between stage.

How do I cope? I’m a lot like Harriet Tubman. The hardest part of the journey is when you first leave, you have to be comfortable living wild and free. Dealing with all the emotions and experiencing fear of the unknown is what keeps many people stuck. My great-great grandfather said it best:

“Our ignorance was the greatest hold the South had on us. We knew we could run away, but what then?”

— John FIelds

My mission is not only to help you to break free, but also discover your “what then.” To be fully free you must honor the process of healing that along the way. You also need a powerful purpose and adaptable vision that is so full of dreams, it will fuel your journey to the other side when the going gets tough.

Are YOU ready? Don’t break free if you are not willing to go all the way.

https://www.accessgenealogy.com/black-genealogy/slave-narrative-of-john-w-fields.htm