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Im a black man living here in America, Virginia. I would like to say thank you for sharing your experience as you dive into your families history and secrets. But you also indirectly are taking on the complexities of race relatons. And creating a boack/white dialogue that needs to be had here in America.

I'm a 61 year old blk woman who grew up in New Hampshire during the late 60s and all through the 70s. There definitely was racism in the North. I was constantly called the N word and sometimes was even spat on. It was really bad, especially because Boston, just across the border, was experiencing a lot of violence because blk kids were being bused to school in all-whyte South Boston. In the late 60s, the Boston local TV stations even preempted any network shows with blk people in them.

My mom made me read their book Having Our Say and write a book report on them when I was in elementary school. Their story was so interesting.

Hey, this was great. I’m 53 and seeing them definitely took me back in time. I can’t help but to remember them. Seeing this made me think of a stories my dad, born in 1918, told me about from when he grew up and even racism he encountered coming back from WWII, getting on a trolley in N.O. He and some other soldiers sat in the whites only area and white passenger told them to get up and get behind the whites only sign. My dad said the driver stood up, pulled out a straight blade and said if you don’t leave them alone after everything they’ve been through I’ll cut your throat. I loved spending time with him listening to his life experiences and I’ll cherish them forever. My dad was the first black chef at a private country club here which he retired from after 36 years. One of his sisters was the first black nurse at a hospital where I live. I guess spending time with my elders fueled my interest in my ancestry. I hope you continue to make connections with your family so you can learn more about your ancestors and create new memories.

The Delaney sisters have a movie about them. It's called Having our say. Ruby Dee and Diahann Carroll star in it. Growing up in the black community our families range from in color so their lightness isn't unusual. Anyone who's been to a family reunion knows that. I'm from Flatbush but my family is from South Carolina and Georgia so they remind me of my great aunts.

This is excellent. Yes, it's almost as if historians ignore the extreme prejudice and pernicious violence that took place in the North--which had a continuance of slavery well into the 1840s and a few New England states through the beginning of the Civil War. This history is not taught in school.

Yes, I read their book and it was really enlightening. You should read it. Think it’s called “Having our Say.”

A lot of Sicilians actually do have African & Arab blood as it’s close to North Africa. So it makes sense as to why they’d be discriminated against so aggressively

The sisters were the subject of a very popular book, "Having Our Say," which went on to become an acclaimed play and a TV series.Their nephew is the legendary science fiction writer Samuel R. Delaney.

This conversation takes us back in time. It's amazing how children have the power to soften things that are terrible.

Charlene (sp?) Hunter Gault was the interviewer. A force in her own right,

I saw the movie about them. Their mother was biracial. I believe their maternal grandfather was a Quaker. I posted on one of your earlier videos about some of the same Jim Crow experiences they had was also part of my grandmother’s family experience. My great-grandfather did not allow his daughters to work as domestics for white families because of the way they looked. She told me that white townsmen were always asking him to let his girls work for them and thought he was crazy for not making that extra income. He knew what would happen because that’s how and his wife came into the world. Her sisters and brothers were “blue vein” colored could have passed. My grandmother only got a little darker as she got older. Her brothers were the white man’s threat and she and her sisters were the white man’s fantasy. Also there’s actually a movie called White Water about Jim Crow from a black child’s prospective. Pretty good movie. I just find it so interesting how this is such a fascinating and foreign concept to the white community but integral part of the black community. I had this exact conversation with some 20 something kids just last week because one of them has this dynamic in his family but they don’t want to talk about it and I’m able to explain these issues to him and his friend in a matter of fact way. Because I’ve found that most white people tend to get defensive and take it as an indictment on them personally when it’s not. It’s just American history that has to be discussed. BTW, I ain’t forgotten about your Ragu statement either.😂

It is mind-boggling to see a video interview of someone whose father was a living slave. This is incredible history. I could listen to these ladies for days. Thanks for such an enriching historical episode.

As a black man growing up near Pittsburgh. I can remember in grade school a dark Sicilian. Math teacher asking me to get from my family a green book. He told me they wanted to avoid being noticed. And they were going to black restaurants particularly hotels traveling only during The night To avoid observation because they were as likely to be lynched as a black person may be more so.

The Delany sister lived to be 104 years old and 109, respectively. The younger sister obtained a dental decree, and the older taught students domestic science in high school. There was a Broadway player and then a movie biography.

This was a fascinating story of these sisters. Jim Crow was all about appearance. Even Sicilians who were visibly dark were considered colored and could be subjected to Crow laws on a case-by-case basis. There were times when they were subjected to discrimination due to their color. There were also times when blacks who looked white could pass.

Great story! The Delaney sisters did their undergraduate work in Raleigh, NC at St. Augustine’s college. They also have a building on campus named for them. Where I am an alumnus. Love your content keep the history going!

Fun fact Charlene Hunter Gault who conducts the interview was the first black woman to attend the University of Georgia.

NYTN:. As you said the winners get to write the history. In this case although the north "won" the south still wrote their own history. Have you heard about United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), and their influence on text books used to teach in schools throughout the south? These text books of their version of history were taught in southern schools from the early 1900's through the 1980's. I graduated from high school in Georgia in 1980 and I had been taught from some of those text books before they were replaced. I never felt like I learned hardly any real US history during my time in school. I've learned way more US history in the last twenty years than over anything i was taught during 12 years of school and college.

The visual of seeing these ladies really brings this story home. As you mentioned, their complexions are lighter than many people that we may know who are considered/accepted as "white". These arbitrary descriptors that are used to define and divide humans from each other is just ridiculous. Danielle, your content continues to "peel back the covers" on how absurd these terms are and I thank you for you diligence in researching and sharing your findings. ❤

Thank you for this story. It sheds light on America’s social structure. These women are sharing the kind of stories that I heard growing up in Portland Oregon. The North was just as bad as the South, they were just more subtle with the way they went about it.

65 yrs today 🥳 L.A. Ca. Native. I remember riding streetcar & Bus with Grandma who cleaned home/mansions Beverly Hills & Pasadena wealthy. She always ushered us to rear of streetcar/Bus to sit. The terror in her voice if we didn’t make it back to the safe and familiar side of L.A., Central Avenue, Watts (Pueblos) before dark (Sundown Town) was was a huge stressor BTW, Jim Crow (South) and those covenants restrictions were alive and well in Los Angeles. Subscribed 👍🏽

I remember reading about them in the Jet Magazine back in the late 90s. Great video!

Both of those women are much lighter than my great grandma Lena Mullins and even me when I get some sun. My mom’s mother would call me black and while she wasn’t wrong, I didn’t understand it. I grew up in a mostly black community in Metro Detroit and I was the whitest kid in my class and when I went to a mostly white school I was the darkest (except for my best friend who was mixed like me). This definitely gives insight to why people behaved the way they did, even in the 70’s and 80’s. Thank you for sharing!!

The fabulous Delaney sisters lived in New Rochelle towards the end of their lives. I highly recommend reading “Having Our Say”.

I first heard about these ladies when the book about them was being made into a TV movie. It is on KZfaq for free. There is also a second book about Sadie that was written after Bessie died. Bessie lived to be 104 and Saide 109. These to sister came from a large family were the became the second generation to go to college in the family as the father was the first.

There was a TV movie about them out in the 80's or 90's and they've been on the Oprah Winfrey show. They lived to be over 100 and they never married., One was a school teacher and the other a dentit they were ahead of their time. I hadn't heard them speak in their own words =in a long time. Thank you.

The Delaney family was well known in Harlem. I believe Dr.Bessie Delaney had a dental practice in Harlem. Her siblings were also very accomplished.

It's really a great book I had to read it in middle school just a wonderful read

There was a book, a Broadway play and a TV miniseries about them. I think it was called "Having Our Say".

I read about the Delaney sisters and saw the TV movie also . They came from a very educated and loving family , still were celebrating their parents birthdays when they were one hundred years old . I have a strawberry pie recipe of theirs that was published in a cookbook.

Apparently, wherever they lived, people knew them. They treated them as colored because they knew them. Many people moved to places unknown to simply “pass”. Children were cautioned not to do anything like drinking out of the white side because they may be hurt.( sad but true. I was glad that nothing bad happened to her from drinking the “white water”.)

I saw the mini series as a kid. Will watch it today again!

These were two beautiful and spirited women with very important stories to tell. I thank you for bringing this interview to your platform. I would not have likely found this or gems like this otherwise. This is a great example of the many aspects of American history and life experience that need to be brought to more people's attention because they demonstrate the strength of the American spirit in the face of adversity. If we lose stories like this, all Americans lose and America loses. There is so much depth, strength, and wisdom in the black American experience that still needs to be shared. As an Italian-American who was culturally insulated from stories like this, I can only imagine how much inspiration I have been missing. Bravo, Danielle and God bless these two souls.

The Delaney sisters' book, _Having Our Say,_ is one of my all-time favorite books. One of my favorite things in the book that the Misses Delaney shared here (5:25-5:52) was that their parents always called each other Mr. Delaney and Mrs. Delaney in public, to prevent white people from inappropriately, informally, and disrespectfully using their first names to address them; if people only heard Mr. and Mrs. Delaney, then that's what they had to use! ❤

I'm from Haiti. The second lady looked so much like my grandmother. Wow. Great video.

I had watched the video back in the day.

Yes, the Delany sister was famous in the black community. A play was created about the sisters by Mrs Cosby. They spoke very proudly about their dark-skinned Papa. You can find pictures of the family and an article in Time Magazine, and they wrote a book Having Our Say. One sister was a dentist, and the other was a teacher

Same Complexion as my Mother! Born 1921 Brooklyn N.Y.C. My Grandparents are from Virginia. They Married in N.Y.C. in 1900! Moms, Last Name at that time was Carey!

Yes, looking at them, one can imagine the outrage felt at the absurdity. Anyway, one of Frederick Douglass's most moving quotes in his Narrative addressing the legitimacy of enslaving Black people was "If the lineal descendants of Ham are alone to be scripturally enslaved, it is certain that slavery at the south must soon become unscriptural; for thousands are ushered into the world, annually, who, like myself, owe their existence to white fathers, and those fathers most frequently their own masters." There must be millions in the south now who are their descendants.

These ladies were courageous. There was actually a movie made about them before they died staring Diana Carrol and Ruby Dee. The best part is that the 2 sisters made a debut in the movie at the very end. I’m so glad that they made the movie before they died. Check it out.

This is such an amazing interview, thank you for posting it!

“I’m going to get me some white water.” SMH I can’t 😂

Lots of old school knowledge in that video. It's hard to add on to it with words, just out of respect. Much love to those that came before.

Your channel is an education. Thank you.

There is an actual movie which can be found here on YT called "Having Our Say" which stars the late greats Diahann Carroll and Ruby Dee as the Delaney Sisters.

Didn't mention that they were both over 100 years old. I believe they were 109 and 110 years old. A movie was made about them.

I love your channel! Love what you do and proud and happy to call you a fellow sistah❤❤ i think if you get with karen hunter she would love to have you on her show! You are right about aunt jemima. Terms like boy, gal, girl, auntie, uncle used by white people for black people of all ages. Uncle remus too!

I find all this stuff so interesting.

I am white and grew up on the prairie in Canada in the 1960s & early 1970s. I don't remember there ever being people of colour in my world growing up. As a child and teenager you would never call an adult man or woman that was not part of you immediate family by their first name. As a young adult you would not use a first name unless invited to.

Excellent interview and these Elders don’t hold back! Greatness.

I was born the 60s , My father was and my mother, both were in Pa. My mother was born in rural area. When they decided to have a family they relocated to Cambridge Ma. Life has not always been easy, but Cambridge was a wise choice to raise children of a mixed race marriage. Your channel is the most channel is probably the most interesting channel I have ever come across. Thanks

Yes, I knew about the Delaney sisters because I bought the book about their lives when it came out in the early 90s, I believe.

Hi, Danielle. Ours was the last "integrating" family.on our block, and we lived next door to the remaining white woman who "could not get out". (My father's phrase). I didn't learn about white flight until I was good and grown, but that neighbor hated everything about us. She screamed at us for playing on our shared front lawn, and heaven help us if one of our balls landed on her porch. "Poor ting-ting".

A Broadway show and movie was made about them Starring Diahann Carroll and Ruby Dee.

Had to read their book in middle school great read very interesting

There was a made-for-tv movie about them. Audra McDonald played one of them when they were young and Diane Carroll and Ruby Dee played the older aged sisters

I read their book "having our say" one was s dentist, lived long life.their mother was so beautiful.

They made a movie about the two of them called Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years: Starring Diahann Carroll, Ruby Dee

I read the Delaney sisters book in the 1990’s, they were incredible women, I recognized them immediately, they said the reason they lived to be 104 & 106, they had another sister who also lived past 100. They said they did Yoga everyday and they were very careful about what they ate, I believe they were vegetarian. I sent the book to my mother, we have always shared books, I am very close with my mom, who is 88, my dad is 89 and sadly they are in home hospice and I live so far away. I really hoped my mom would live long like the Delany’s, but her time is drawing to an end, she won’t go without my dad though, she has such a strong will. My 1st Yoga teacher, Coco, when I was 14, confused all of us young white girls, we just couldn’t figure out what race she was. Coco had hip length red hair that she always wore in two long braids, she was fair, but dusky, like my Navaho girlfriend who was in the Yoga class (there were about 8 of my best friends in Coco’s Yoga class at the local college), & she has lots of freckles. Coco did spiritual work and she noticed immediately that I am psychic, also my best friend Sherry, when she tested us all one night, the class was about 60-80 people of all ages and races, she told us she was teaching us to use our inner radios to send messages and receive messages, let’s just say I excelled at that. She invited me and Sherry to special classes at her house with a small group of people like me. When we got to her house, it was in a black neighborhood of our city, her husband was black & the photos of her adult children were fair skinned black. Coco was one of the most wonderful people I have ever known, we also couldn’t figure out how old she was, until that night, because she looked so young but timeless at the same time. The Delaney sisters remind me of Coco, except they said part of the reason they thought they all lived so long is the never married or had children, the sisters were enough for each other and they always lived together.

From Louisiana and grew up calling people you don’t know by “Mrs. Miss, Mr” and any family that was older are “aunt and uncle” no matter how related, except for grandparents.

Our heroes because they fought the good fight for us. Exactly about skin color. I have Uncles and cousins who are lighter than you Dad and whiter than you. I worked with a guy once who we thought was Black but he was Italian. My family who passed went north from DC to pass as White. Some Italian. I have reconnected with them.

Read their book. I think it’s called Having my/our Way. Oprah Winfrey interviewed them. Look up who Aunt Jermima was. That wasn’t her real name but she was a genius at marketing her products.

Its not because she "Wasn't Considered White" She didn't want to be. Don't water it down, because that's what we're not here for. It was because she was African American/Black/Negro/Colored as opposed to simply being Lilly White in the full sense. Its not just skin tone people.

I read their book many years ago!!! Jim Crow still exists in the north..

Keep up the great work. ✌🏿🖤

I'm glad you're learning about us in all our shades ...yes I know about them....keep studying and discovering ❤🖤💚

You should read their book. They appeared on Oprah's show in 1990s. It was a wonderful interview. The book is terrific. Sadie and Bessie were professionals. One was a doctor or dentist. The other was a school teacher or lawyer I believe. Booker T Washington had asked one of them to marry him.

DR. M. KING SPOKE! OUT! LOUD! & CLEAR! QUOTE! I! HAVE! TRAVEL! ALL ! OVER! THE! SOUTH! CHICAGO! IL. IS! THE! MOST! RASICT!!! PLACE! I! HAVE! EVER!!!! BEEN!!!!

I know of these two ladies I read their book Having our say It's a good read I recommend it if you have not read it thank you very much for what you do you are exposing people to this information who normally probably would not know about this thank you for teaching and by the way I'm still learning

Very important.

That was actually a fascinating fact about the use of the term Aunt to avoid calling a black women Mrs or Miss as a sign of respect. Just another granular passive aggressive sign of how deeply the mores of racism went.

In the black community addressing someone uncle or Auntie uncle is also a term of respect that you say to someone older than you even if they are not related. It might have predated slavery since it's used in west Africa and in the Caribbean as well. Their father wanted them to call other people Mr and Mrs might have been a way to respect someone's earned title as back being maried was seen as some sort of elevated status and maturity.

Yes, I"ve heard of the Delany sisters. To this day I call my seniors Miss Or Mr. and their first name. I believe there was a television movie about the Delany sisters with Phylicia Rashad playing one of the sisters. I was in awe of The Delany sisters and all they had accomplished in their lives

It's interesting. An "Aunt" or "Auntie" during US slavery times was what a child might call the woman who cares for him who isn't his mother, regardless of any other biological connection. It was a title of respect that children would use. Enslaved peoples weren't given titles and couldn't use them. So, once they were free and able to use them, they did so. They also gave themselves new names. But, even in my lifetime, children did not call adults by their first names. Rather, they used "Mr. or Miss" with the first name. Parents would tell you who to call your Aunt, but she'd be a relation. Btw, it's said that "Aunt Jemima" was based on a minstrel song "Old Aunt Jemima," written by a White performer named Billy Rice. But, there's nothing about pancakes in that song. Incidentally, the term Uncle had the same sense of authority. Hey, if you're going to put a symbol on your food product, make it mean something good.

There's a movie and a book about it's called Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First One Hundred Years. The movie is really good it stars Diahann Carroll and Ruby Dee. The movie is actully on youtube for free to watch.

To get the full story watch the movie, it’s called “Having Our Say: The Delaney Sisters First 100 Years”. Got the best of Delaney. She graduated from Columbia University and she became the second female dentist in New York State in the 1920s, Sadie Delaney she was the first black woman to teach domestic science at an all white New York public school, in 1914, Bessie Delaney she cheated death when she pushed a white man in Georgia because he tried to sexually assault her in front of two other African-American school teachers from New York so he and a group of white people tried to lynch her and their grandparents were not common during slavery, because their grandmother on their mother side, she was a free woman because her mother was free, and their father was a white man so they couldn’t marry, but they spent the rest of their lives in a common law marriage. And for anybody who couldn’t understand what Bessie was saying what happened was when she was in dentistry school the professor continued to fail her, even though she was the only one a few students and she was the only black student who is making high marks on every single exam so what happened was a Jewish student name saddie Goodman she basically saw how the professor continued to fail Bessie, even though it has been proven years later that she had the GPA of over 4.0. So Sadie Goodman she took the previous exam that Bessie did and she was failed on and she turned it in two weeks later as hers so basically Sadie Goodman and Bessie Delaney they told the professor that he pass Sadie Goodman with Bessie’s failed work. And at that moment he had no choice, but to go through every single one of Beasie’s exams, and give her the proper grade. And here’s the thing, out of all 10 of the Delaney Children Bessie and 4 of her siblings were to the point they could have easily pass as white like Bessie literally looked white when she was 19

There was a movie made about their lives some years ago it's really good.

I saw this many years ago or I probably wouldnt be familiar about their story.Very interesting women.

121123 ❤ I've seen several of your videos & I am enchanted with the ❤Delaney Twins Their story of wanting to drink the white water 💧 bc of JimCrow laws had just the opposite for me The 1st time I returned back to our home state of Alabama as a child I saw the JimCrow signs at the water fountains. I was confused with the "White" & "Colored" signs & I told my Mother I wanted the "Colored" water 💧 bc I knew how the "white water" tasted 😀

Your statement about Aunt is correct. My mom (born in 1936) said her mother told a white man that if you can explain how we are related then you can call me Aunt Mettie, otherwise I'm Mrs. to you. Once a black man, or woman in the south, reached a certain age, they were called Aunt or Uncle rather than boy or "gal." As you see from the Delaney sisters, being Black but appearing nearly white was quite a regular occerence especially in the south. It was not an anomaly. White slave masters regularly had their way with the enslaved women. Also, even after slavery in domestic work situations, this practice continued because of the power difference. Even in consentual situations, black women were hardly ever or dare I say never married in those situations by their children's white father. Such is this case with my grandfather. My mom's father was half white, and he and his siblings were raised by their single mother. They all were typical members of the black community in the south.

Segregation and Jim Crow laws existed in the North clear into the 1950s. I was about three or four years old when my father brought me into a “colored” restroom in the old part of Seattle. It stuck in my head because a black man was yelling at my father. He simply said to the man that there shouldn’t be separate restrooms. Soon thereafter, colored restrooms disappeared. However, clear up to the 1970s blacks were barred from certain places. My High School’s band had an annual engagement to play at a local Elks Lodge event. The Elks said the black girl could not come. Well, the other band members refused to perform at the event. That was America almost a century after the Emancipation Proclamation, far from the Deep South.

They wrote a book and a movie was made and I believe a Broadway play. I still have the book. Watched the movie on you tube last month ( Having Our Say).

I definitely heard of the Delaney sisters. There is a book and a movie about them, Having Our Say.

Wow!

These ladies look just like my great grandmother. I wonder if we’re related. She wore her hair just like this too.

I saw this play on broadway in nyc years ago, good play..

Please read the book "The Delaney Sisters: Their First 100 Years. Also there is a movie about them is now on KZfaq. It was filmed in Salisbury,NC, many years ago which is not too far from my home. It stars the late Ruby Dee and the late Diane Carroll. Miss Carroll's dad was from Fayetteville,NC.

There is a good book about them... HAVING OUR SAY. Read it years ago. Beautiful sisters.

They were from Raleigh, NC

Thanks for review . Their movie is on KZfaq for Free. Your Right , Miss, Mr. were not extended to Black People they got called boy gal auntie.

I am very familiar with the DeLaney sisters. They wrote a wonderful book about their life, and their book was made into a movie.

It would be good if you can read the book it it talks about being a multi-generational mix family in the United States their grandfather and grandmother it's an interesting situation he was white and she was black and in love but couldn't get married it was against the law so he built two houses on the same land so they could together and erase their children 😢 that is so sad

Yes I heard about them. I have their book. They were a very big deal in the 90s.

REAL FACT: 40% of Italians migrate back to Italy after suffering sever discrimination in America. Italians were considered "worst than blacks"!!!! This gave way to the overt racism against blacks by Italians as an overcompensation to identify as white, because Italians were considered black under the law. So were native Americans, Irish and Hispanics. The term black under the law was not restricted to slaves from Africa. It applied to anyone not entitled to white rights including other undesirable whites as mostly determined by British ideals.

I believe they also wrote a book.

I only remember hearing about the Delaney sisters. I thought they were famous because they were twins. I did knew their history.

De Laney, of Laney River area. French. William the Conqueror 1066 Norman, North Man, invasion of England on the white part of the many things that bind us together by blood and culture and for the good bad uglier and evil where all pretty much related if your family has been here for 3, 400 years. Fried chicken from what i understand and the fiddle brought over by the Scots Irish and watermelon and the banjo from Africa. Doesn't get much southern than that. Along with all the culinary and musical traditions that gives us what the best of the south is today and i like fried chicken the fiddle banjo and watermelon. Watermeon was the natural canteen of Africa gourds used for travels.

I am a MARYLANDER, a YANKEE! I remember driving through the state if Mississippi in 1987! I am white and I felt very uneasy druving through that state! Growing up in the 1960's ,I was horrified to see police officers turning dog in Civil Rights marchers as a little kid!