And, we're off and running! Two months into a cold and snowy 2014 already. It was so nice to arrive at Janie's home with warm and glowing fire to greet us. Arnora further brightened up the evening with her red tulips! And, the warmth continued as we gathered for mashed potato martini's, sliced brisket and smoked turkey, Irish Soda Bread, two salads and Lis' delicious pineapple
sponge cake; her mother's recipe.
We were a small group this time as Pam, Lou, Laura, Terry, Darby and Carla G could not join us. We were sad that they missed out on our discussion of Malindy's Freedom. Our guest speaker, Metra Johnson, and Janie's friend and co-worker joined us. Janie knew about the book from Metra as her great-grandmother, Mildred Johnson and her aunt, Theresa Delsoin, wrote the book about their ancestor. It was Malindy's life long wish that her life of slavery and overcoming it be remembered and told.
The story takes place between 1820 and 1865. Malinda is a freeborn Cherokee who is stolen from her family on a trip through Missouri. She is taken in by a white family but given over to the "Mammy" of the plantation to raise and lives most of her life thereafter in slavery. She eventually marries a free black man, has 5 children and works her whole like to keep heart and soul and her family together. Malindy's daughter, Ellen pays particular attention and wants the story told as much as her mother. She passes down the oral tradition and later Mildred and Theresa use census records and other sources to document the experiences they were told bringing the story to life in Malindy's Freedom.
The highlight of our evening was being able to speak to Theresa Delsoin by phone. We sat rapt and enthralled as she expanded on the story and her personal journey of writing the book. She and Mildred worked together at a distance to write the book then persevered to get it published and have it accepted into the Missouri Historical Society.
Perhaps one of the most remarkable parts of the story is that Mildred had worked as a domestic all her life for the Symington family. In the end, descendants of that family, Stuart Symington and Anne Symington edited the book. Theresa spent many long conversations with Stuart Symington as they wrote and edited. Stuart was dealing with a deep guilt and shame about slavery and his families part. Theresa was dealing with long held anger. As they worked on the book, they worked through their emotional wounds and came to a place of love, forgiveness, and healing. In fact, one of the main themes in the book is Malindy's perseverance in believing that freedom would come and that if she didn't forgive when it did, she'd continue to be imprisoned by her own emotions.
Theresa brought us to tears and applause with her passionate plea. For much has been accomplished but there is still much work to do. Her words and her emotion brought to mind Martin Luther King, Jr. We are all one, and we must continue these conversations so that we we see our similarities and not our differences. And we are all part of that conversation.
Theresa is a remarkable woman who has led a remarkable life. And she has written a second book with Christopher Desloge called: From Etc; An Amazing Conversation Between a Descendant of a Slave Owner and a Slave. Christopher reached out to Theresa through Stuart Symington. They had a seven month conversation that is now this book. She is turning this text into a play. She also recommended that we read a book called Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the World by David Davis.
I for one, was very honored to have been in that room last night. And as I write this post about slavery that takes place in Missouri, I looked up to see my Pandora playing a cool jazz number "Two for the Road" on an album titled "Missouri Sky". The musicians are Charlie Haden and Pat Metheny - both from Missouri. AND the album was released in February of 1997. I will close with that perfect bit of synchronicity.
Diana will host our March book club and our book is The Goldfinch.
We were a small group this time as Pam, Lou, Laura, Terry, Darby and Carla G could not join us. We were sad that they missed out on our discussion of Malindy's Freedom. Our guest speaker, Metra Johnson, and Janie's friend and co-worker joined us. Janie knew about the book from Metra as her great-grandmother, Mildred Johnson and her aunt, Theresa Delsoin, wrote the book about their ancestor. It was Malindy's life long wish that her life of slavery and overcoming it be remembered and told.The story takes place between 1820 and 1865. Malinda is a freeborn Cherokee who is stolen from her family on a trip through Missouri. She is taken in by a white family but given over to the "Mammy" of the plantation to raise and lives most of her life thereafter in slavery. She eventually marries a free black man, has 5 children and works her whole like to keep heart and soul and her family together. Malindy's daughter, Ellen pays particular attention and wants the story told as much as her mother. She passes down the oral tradition and later Mildred and Theresa use census records and other sources to document the experiences they were told bringing the story to life in Malindy's Freedom.
The highlight of our evening was being able to speak to Theresa Delsoin by phone. We sat rapt and enthralled as she expanded on the story and her personal journey of writing the book. She and Mildred worked together at a distance to write the book then persevered to get it published and have it accepted into the Missouri Historical Society.
Perhaps one of the most remarkable parts of the story is that Mildred had worked as a domestic all her life for the Symington family. In the end, descendants of that family, Stuart Symington and Anne Symington edited the book. Theresa spent many long conversations with Stuart Symington as they wrote and edited. Stuart was dealing with a deep guilt and shame about slavery and his families part. Theresa was dealing with long held anger. As they worked on the book, they worked through their emotional wounds and came to a place of love, forgiveness, and healing. In fact, one of the main themes in the book is Malindy's perseverance in believing that freedom would come and that if she didn't forgive when it did, she'd continue to be imprisoned by her own emotions.
Theresa brought us to tears and applause with her passionate plea. For much has been accomplished but there is still much work to do. Her words and her emotion brought to mind Martin Luther King, Jr. We are all one, and we must continue these conversations so that we we see our similarities and not our differences. And we are all part of that conversation.
Theresa is a remarkable woman who has led a remarkable life. And she has written a second book with Christopher Desloge called: From Etc; An Amazing Conversation Between a Descendant of a Slave Owner and a Slave. Christopher reached out to Theresa through Stuart Symington. They had a seven month conversation that is now this book. She is turning this text into a play. She also recommended that we read a book called Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the World by David Davis.
I for one, was very honored to have been in that room last night. And as I write this post about slavery that takes place in Missouri, I looked up to see my Pandora playing a cool jazz number "Two for the Road" on an album titled "Missouri Sky". The musicians are Charlie Haden and Pat Metheny - both from Missouri. AND the album was released in February of 1997. I will close with that perfect bit of synchronicity.
Diana will host our March book club and our book is The Goldfinch.
No comments:
Post a Comment