Strength In Numbers

Isn’t it amazing how African American families stayed together after the Civil War? With all the chaos, violence, and discrimination surrounding them, it was a wonder and a miracle that Black families even survived.

African American families had to create like communities because of their need for emotional support, economic support, and safety. Through surrounding themselves and uniting with like families, the Black family had a better chance of survival. The Brandon, Civils, House, Cheatham, Ellis, Shemwell, Tuck, Fuqua, Pinner, Greenwade, and others came together to form the Sandy Creek family. Like I stated in my previous blog, the Sandy Creek community spanned two states- Tennessee and Kentucky. Regardless of the distance, these families still came together to help one another in good and difficult times. Yes, there were celebrations and times of mourning, but they still united as one. Weddings were a time of celebration because you had one family connecting to another to make one big family. Celebrations were fun times to get together with your old and new kinfolks to eat, laugh, dance, and swap family stories. On the other hand, there were times of mourning through death. Even though this was not a happy occasion, family members came together to celebrate the life of the dearly departed, remember their legacy, and past down family histories. The creation of African American communities all over this country connects us to each other and helps us to keep our families strong. This is the story of my ancestral family and many others like it.