My grandmother was bi racial, too half black/ half Irish and was born in NC

That’s a incredible story, I’m glad she embraced her whole identity. I’m curious though in those days in which inter-racial relations was illegal did she ever talk about the story of her parents coming together?

@feliciafriend3954 Her whole identity??? That woman was most likely a Quadroon( 1/4 black) to pass as fully White. She would have fit in more at a White University than Black if she spoke proper English than slave or bad English; you know she stood out among the Black students!

You mean pass as 100% white. DNA don't lie. At best she was Mixed Race!

My grandmother is the same.. Blackfoot/black/Jewish… and completely embraced being a black woman!!🙏🏼❤️🙌

This made me so sad. I think you would enjoy watching episode 3 about my Louisiana family's experience. It was really hard to edit that video, I was so upset. Such a similar story. Episode 3: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/mLKolLdzzanZj40.html

Just look how darker skinned Black women treat lighter-skinned Mixed-race women especially simply because they are not really Black, AND because they received preferential treatment by Black men and in society in general. Their day for RE-unification is in progress. They deserve it.

@@BORN-to-Run I could easily generalize my experiences and say ALL light-skin mixed race females have treated me horribly including my own mother, but my grandmother who was also a light skin Creole woman was the most wonderful human to ever live. Stop generalizing billions of dark skin Black ladies. You are apart of the problem.

I'm from south Louisiana, and know many Creole people who look like, and can pass for white. There are pockets of Creoles all over Louisiana, especially in Natchitoches. Has any ever heard of the Cane River Creoles ? It's funny that none of them mentioned it. My grandmother on both sides of my family were Mullatto. There is lots of mixture in Louisiana. My family never thought it was anything strange.

Smh,..If you are "mistaken" for White,...Its because you ARE White or you are predominantly White, at the very least. People are soo dim !!

What a heartbreaking time in our history. Not that it's perfect now... and I think spending more time on that era would help us all so much. Im happy for you that you were able to have your heritage passed down to you-- a gift.

So good to read that she never denied who she was despite the racism she endured. Wonderful.❤

Beautifull to Heard it.

Good thank goodness...

people in Louisiana are gorgeous!

Thank you for watching sharing that--it's a good point. I also think it's a strange idea....if you are raised white and you look white and you're mostly white....but your recent family members were not white....something Im thinking about for a future video. I appreciate you taking the time to comment that.

A white person can't be black,so what you said did not make any sense, even if they have 29 percent of black,they are still not black,

My gmas use to say this all the time too.

I know I am.

Having SOME West A. Admix does NOT mean you are not “White”.

Toya-- YES. Exactly. Those were incredibly hard and evil times. Doesnt mean things are perfect now...but wow...the reality of Jim Crow

My family lived it. I don't have to imagine it. Thank God we made it through the worst time, Some people are trying to turn back the hands of time. I keep informed on what's on the horizon, because God is still in control.

DAMN DENISE- MARRY ME- HEHE YOUR INSIGHT MOVES ME -TOTHE AIRPORT- HAHA

My grandfather lived it. Born in Oklahoma in a Mexican family. I saw the actual sign in the Smithsonian in DC [ no blacks, no dogs, and no Mexicans.]

Katrina- wow! My family has the same story about relatives buying enslaved relatives. I just located all of the information recently. Blew me away. I plan to share it on here soon

Awesome!! .Good for them!!!👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

My great aunt told me similar stories. She could pass. You'd never know. She worked as a maid in many "wealthy" homes. She told me the things that were told to her were sickening. It was hard for her to look some of these people in the eye. She told that she always made it a point to tell them her race when it was her last day. She said the look on their faces was absolutely priceless. One of them apologized to her!

Could you go into more detail about your p adding relatives buying your darker Skinner relatives? It's interesting. I want to know more! How did they try them? Why did they buy them?

@@Niccole-oq8wo wow!

most cases it's both!

@@montprice6722 No it’s not both because if blacks were treated equally they would not have passed.

@@Renee1983 thats so sad , I grew up in a white girl in a white neighbourhood and I always admired dark brown eyes and rich dark black / brown hair I wished I had dark hair and all my life I’ve dyed my hair very dark I , My Daughter married a Burmese boy and now have a gorgeous dark haired dark boy and he’s the apple of my eye , @Dream Lover there are so many people like me who love dark beauty ❤

My great grandmother was so light that she could’ve passed for yt but chose not to . She went to Fort Valley and was one of the 1st Black teachers n Atlanta. I’m saying this to say that it was a choice

Exactly

Heather, I am so glad you found the channel! You are right, there is an American history that we re missing-- and its OUR history. The history of many many descendants of people of color whose history has been lost for too long. I hope you stay around!

This is true of many black people also, who believe they have Native American heritage but actually have significant white ancestry and little to no Native. We are often told "we got Indian in our family" to explain lighter skinned cousins or relatives with unusual hair types

Heather your grandma L is the half sister of my grandma A. Our great grandma AW came from Louisiana. Our great great grandma L shares the same first name of your grandma L. She passed away in Albany, Ca. in the late 1930s without ever knowing her grandchildren nor they about her. On the Death Certificate she's listed mulatto. I'm in Sac area you have my name.

So many people claim Indian heritage only to find an African in their past instead.

@@grantbos5967 yeah, no idea what you're talking about. You have the wrong person.

Korrina- what a beautiful way to honor her story! You are a kindred for sure haha. How did you figure out the tribe? Just by her brith records?

What a kind word, thank you. I feel that this journey is exactly what I was meant to do. Glad you are here!

Not Caribbean people lol. This is a uniquely American phenomenon, that’s why is so interesting because there are so many yt people with racialized ancestors that they don’t know about.

My Grandmother on my Mother's side passed. Although unintentional, it allowed her a means to provide better for her family. As others have previously mentioned, it meant survival in a hot, racially divided era.

Not true at all. As someone who comes from a long line of beautiful darkskinned people this is not my family’s story at all. Although very interesting, this is not every black families story.

The ones that did “pass” disappeared. We have a whole line that vanished but due to the phenotypes the other siblings had I’m sure that aunt probably live another life as a non black woman.

One of the biggest takeaways for me on this journey-- you never know what you don't know about someone. Thank you so much for watching and sharing that. Makes me feel less alone!

You don't have to put "white" in quotes lol. If your mom was white enough to pass and she had kids with a white man, you are unequivocally "white." We don't use the racist one drop rule anymore lol

@@nytn You should read White Like Her, by Gail Lusaik. Her mothers' story is very similar to your great grandmother's. Gail is in her 70's now. Her parents met in southern Mississippi during WWII at an army camp close to New Orleans which was just over the state line. They married in Indiana. Gail believes her father never knew her mother was mix race because he was very prejudiced. I think Gail's mom chose to marry in Indiana because she knew Jim Crows laws would make their marriage invalid if they married in the south. Gail's mother's parent's divorced when she was little, and she was raised by her maternal grandmother. the grandmother had died by the time Gail's parents met so it made it easy for her mother to have a lack of family she did not have to explain away. After doing research, Gail found a half uncle from her father who remarried. His daughter, Stefanie Fredericks, also produces documentaries and she hopes to do a movie or miniseries on Gail's mother. She may would be interested in your story too.

@@peachygal4153 The marriage license... wow. I have never been able to find the marriage license between Lola and her irish husband. They were supposedly married in 1925 in Louisiana. I wonder if it was a "legal" marriage or one of the heart...

That is bittersweet to hear. I’m glad to know the experience can be shared outside of our family to help give it context…but how heartbreaking for our families and so many others that this was their “normal. Thank you for sharing that and coming along on this journey!

I have a similar story in my family. A Creole woman named Lula, my greatgrandmother's sister, ran off to California and became Lola! She said that she was Portuguese. Married a man of European descent, had children and never told them. Everyone in our family couldn't pass and most of those who could chose not to do so. Many times when these stories are told, it's with the "tragic mulatto" trope. You told your family story wonderfully. I look "mixed" but I identify as Black because that's the culture that nurtured me. Everyone has to find their place and their identity but I think that we owe our children the truth about what makes them, them. Lula/Lola's descendants are now finding out who their ancestors were as we all connect on genetic genealogy sites. The truth is in our blood.

@@GeeBee212 this story really resonated with me, thank you for taking the time to comment. Is the "tragic mulatto" thing a reference to something I missed? Please fill me in! Also, I love what you said about identifying with the culture that nurtured you. I dont know if you saw episode 4 yet (just came out this morning) but it's basically....reflecting on how we all approach our identity differently, even in the same family. Im not sure how I would "identify" but I am proud now to know my heritage. And now my kids will know it too. Time to break the cycle.

@@nytn Another group of Creole people are the Cane River there in Louisiana.

@@nytn here in south Louisiana the word "mulatto" is like taboo, some accept it most don't. My Maw-Maw hated that word because she said it was everyone else's way of being disrespectful because they knew that you were of mixed lineage and could pass if you wanted to. Needless to say that's another reason why some families were divided because some felt as if the others thought they were better than them based upon their complexion. When actually they all just wanted to be comfortable in their own skin.

Yes-- get those stories!! That is a gift to them, to you, and future generations. I regret so much not doing this sooner. And you are right----we are mostly all a mix and related more than we think

Please video tape her stories immediately b4 it's 2 late🙏🏽 life is short

​@@spiveyporkchop7841😮

Some had to completely distance from family. If they passed away before getting back home then their offspring may never know their true race. I believe that is the circumstance of many Americans. Even very racist folk

I am so surprised to see this as common as it is. Up in NY, we really had no idea---I always thought my family was weird about our lineage but chalked it up to "some families don't care". I look back at my family and the stories I DID hear, and now things make more sense. I wish I had known sooner.

@@nytn I bet it is a shock, I am proud of y'all for doing this. Y'all please write a book.I am from Louisiana and know your family very well.We were told why many went off and passed. Some of the ones that passed would go off and do well, but secretly help the darker cousins to do better in life. I even have some old pictures.You all have a lot of cousins in Natchitoches black, white, and creole. I descend from the Metoyer, Labaume, De La Baume family from Campti Some of your cousins have formed two different Indian tribes.

thank you for commenting and for your kind words! I’ve been asking family to write the book! I have lots of Metoyer ancestors so we must be cousins. :) I know about the Indian tribes- but I’m not enrolled anywhere-still very much on the journey of figuring out who we are:)

@@nytn You are welcome. I am sure we are related. I will post some pics.

that would be amazing!

Most of these ppl were biracial and mixed race NOT fair skinned black ppl; there is a big difference. Allow ppl to be who and what they are.

@@missamerica2694 I was talking about “passing”. It doesn’t matter if they were biracial or light skinned, fair skinned Black folk. They were “passing”. Back then, White people considered anyone with even one drop of African blood ( 1/8th rule) Black, Colored, Negro, Mulatto; and you could look white as snow. They are some light skinned Black folk that look as if they could be White. I don’t know what you were trying fished out of my comment, but My comment cannot stop someone from being who they are nor am I.

thanks for clearing this up. I couldnt figure out what she had done. Thats aweful that she felt she had to do this and carry it with her even to the end.

@@chuckbeedle1983 Thank you for getting her all the way together. 🤣🤣🤣

Many of our grandparents from that time were born by midwives at home. Once they had to register for vital records the information can get distorted. Plus the clerks weren’t too concerned with accuracy. My aunt was supposed to be Karon and the nurse wrote Carol so that’s her name

Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to reply. Some of her census records show her as Mexican because her mother's family came from the missions--I only showed one record, but she was mostly listed as Mulatto. I dont think anyone in my family is not accepting who we are...but honestly, we were raised white and look white now. Im not sure how much we really SHOULD be claiming. That's hard to figure out--claiming to be Black might do just as much damage in some ways. Im still wondering what to do about it.

Stop the cap. Twenty years ago so called afro-latinos were running around with "Me no black." If blackness was so accepted in Latin America, "sube la raza" wouldn't be thing.

It is strange to me too the idea of passing, being ashamed of African heritage. Very odd.

@@nytn Well, you are white with some Native American ancestry.

@@rosahacketts1668 that is true. Lola's maternal line were natives that were converted in the mexican missions. But Im white

Mervin, thank you for taking the time to comment. I love the Louisiana perspective especially. You are right about the fractured family tree, I am determined to piece my family story back together. I'll keep my eye out for those last names. There's a FANTASTIC SW Creole Facebook group Im a part of, mods are amazing. You should look it up and join us!

It’s not just the Europeans tho… Asian countries are the same way and have been way before any European influence came their way. Back in the old days if you had darker skin it meant you worked all day in the sun and were poor. The wealthy could stay out of the sun and thus lighter skin was seen as better, prettier and more desirable. It’s a world wide idea, mostly for that reason.

Facts.

@@augustusb3501 Lol idk if you’re joking or not, but history says otherwise.

💯

Why what's the big deal?

LOL well that is freaking awesome. Thanks. I care a lot about it-- I just didnt know so many other people did too.

Alli, this was such a thoughtful reply. Im so thankful you took the time. The world was so harsh. People will always try to survive and protect their family and I dont think I can blame them for doing however they needed to

With all due respect, allicm, your post confuses me. How could you step-grandfather pass as a white person in one place and as a black one in another? I understand that the world was harsh then (it still is, sometimes) but, surely, anyone could tell what he was just by looking at him. How did your grandmother manage to survive as a white-presentng person?

@@nytn I answered earlier with a long post. But simpler response is. He did look white. My grandmother was just pale. He was a little tanner. He cut family ties it seems when he moved. I never met his white sons for example. I never heard of them until I looked them up. My mom said she knew about them though when I asked. Anyway, my grandmother was not alone. She had sisters, friends similar to her. Lived in a bit of middle class bubble. But I don’t know how hard it was. Probably not so easy. She seemed to stick out in her school photos for sure. My guess is both of them were about 20-25% African at most tbh. Several generations back that was less uncommon due to the one-drop rule.

@@allicmw557 So if he is very white why he went "to being black", that's sound absurd, sounds like he is biracial.

Im so glad that the family was able to find out who they were and reclaim that identity. Reclaiming our history is incredibly healing. I am still on that journey. Thank you for sharing :) :)

@@nytn With all due respect you look more Hispanic and indian.

@@dila4834 I keep hearing that! I feel more comfortable identifying that way because I thought it was more obvious

@@nytn You are a beautiful lady however you identify yourself.

I love seeing people knowing who they are! So beautiful. Glad you are here

That’s a very nice mix

U don't have to shug they did

Yes the French Creole comes up in later episodes! The children didn’t learn it so the adults could speak about family things in secret. Exactly like you said.

@ Belinda Brooks your comment sounds a lot like my Caribbean family. My paternal great-grandfather was French believed to be Huegenot, who travelled to Martinique then Trinidad. He married a black Caribbean woman. His children were never taught French in fact the elders only spoke the Patois (creole) so their children could not understand them. The French influence in Trinidad is still very strong although they never colonised the island and the British eventually captured and colonised. What a story.

@@nytn very true. This happened in the Caribbean islands influenced by the French. In Trinidad our elders spoke patois (pat'wah or broken French/African) which they only used to speak their personal business. Their children were not allowed to know it. It happened in my family. They were very Catholic and colorist. A part of our Afro French Caribbean history.

These people are my people we share same family make up buts is funny Black people recognize other black people no matter how light we know you are black and Indian

@@shawnjackson6242 Wow, for some reason this almost made me cry-- in a good way. Thanks for commenting and following the journey :)

I feel very humbled by this comment and I appreciate you taking the time to say what you did--I didn't know I had so many kindred spirits in the world!🥰

@@nytn ❤❤

@@nytn you really do have. I come from a colonial family but also sort of remixed several times. My mum always brought me up to be proud of my mixed heritage which is South Asian and English, but with other European mixes from the past too. She herself though culturally white was never accepted as white here in Britain. It is not easy to be mixed as both black/brown people and white people have a nose for it. I once met a ŵoman who was mixed and identified as black and who to me was exactly that, she looked at me and my child and said well, you two are different, and then burst out I know what it is, you are mixed! I was so happy as she gave us both a hug and it felt like instant acceptance, it was sweet relief! One of the hardest things of all has been listening to white people who presume that is what I am now I am old and have white hair, telling me what they think of POC no matter what their origin. It really makes my toes curl ! Funnily enough in South Asia where my was from I was always instantly accepted and always felt at home. Personally I never use the words race or or inter racial, bi racial etc, first because we are all human and not really different at all we all started brown skinned anyway, but also because it fixes people into a hierarchy based up son skin. I prefer mixed heritage, it takes in the very many variations around the world. I can see from your account already that the background of people from Louise/Lola’s part of America is altogether more complex than just a binary colour distinction. There’s a lot of us out there with incredible family histories forged by historical events neither we nor our ancestors had much control over, these secrets were mostly kept not out of shame but out of a sense of protection for the next generations. In my case the real names of women of colour are often omitted to meet the social needs of the times. Wear your history with pride, maybe one day our great grandchildren and their children will be able to openly claim and find interesting their mixed heritage, wouldn’t that be marvellous!

beautiful comment-- thank you so much for that.

You mean tried to pass as Southern Italian. Specifically southern because we are the ones with brown Mediterranean features. Or as northern Italians/ Northern Europeans call us terrone. 🙄THE CULTURA LATINA, THE LATIN PEOPLE, THE LATINO (Latini) TRIBES, THE LATIN ETHNICITY ALL COME FROM ITALY! LATINO IS THE SOLE IDENTITY OF SOUTHERN EUROPEAN LATIN MEDITERRANEAN DIASPORA. Latin europe was Latinized by ROME ITALY hence how Latina italy got the name Latina. & HISPANIC (Hispania) is literally the Latin language MEANING SPAIN NOT the NATIVE AMERICANS they Colonized. Latin America got its name SOLELY and ONLY to mean the part of the Americas CONQUERED by LATIN EUROPE and that is all it will EVER MEAN. Latin ORIGIN, HISTORY& people are NON INTERCHANGEABLE. STOP THE CULTURAL THEFT OF MY PEOPLE& OUR ANCESTRY. BRAINWASHED AMERICAN/ MOSTLY NORTH AMERICAN CULTURAL APPROPRIATION & CULTURAL THEFT FOR "PROFIT AND GAIN" WILL NEVER BE LATINO. CULTURAL APPROPRIATION EXIST BECAUSE THOSE LIKE YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE AND WILL CONTINUE TO BENEFIT FROM THE CULTURAL THEFT TOWARDS US TRUE LATIN PEOPLE AND OUR HISTORICAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS! AND US TRUE LATINS ARE & HAVE ALWAYS BEEN MULTI GENETICALLY MIXED ETHNIC PEOPLE DUE TO OUR GENETIC CONTRIBUTORS FROM OUR MIDDLE EASTERN (ASIAN), NORTHERN AFRICAN, AND BALKAN GYPSIE DNA. THERE ARE NO "WHITE" LATINS. JUST MORE ASSIMILATION . SOUTH CENTRAL AMERICANS AND MEXICANS ARE NATIVE AMERICANS, MESTIZOS, CASTIZOS, PARDOS, ZAMBOS, AND PURE SUB SAHARAN AFRICANS. NOT LATINS, NOT LATIN BLOOD, THEREFORE NOT LATINO. IN SOUTH CENTRAL AMERICA AND MÉXICO THE ONLY PEOPLE CALLED LATINO AND HISPANIC ARE US SOUTHERN EUROPEANS OF LATIN MEDITERRANEAN ORIGIN. OBVIOUSLY THE SAME IN LATIN EUROPE. PUSHING AND CONTRIBUTING TO BRAINWASHED NORTH AMERICAN MISAPPROPRIATION OF FOREIGN TERMS SUCH AS LATIN/LATINO AS TRENDING PROPAGANDA FOR SOCIAL STATUS TO APPEAR MORE DESIRABLE DOES NOT JUSTIFY THE CONTINUING CONTRIBUTIONS OF CULTURAL THEFT. THE TERM LATINO DERIVES FROM THE TERM LATINI, THE LATINI WHERE THE VERY FIRST LATIN TRIBE TO EXIST FROM ITALY! LATINI IS PLURAL MEANING MORE THAN ONE LATINO! AND LATINO IS SINGULAR FOR LATINI MEANING ONE LATINO. THE SAME WITH LATINA AND LATINE. ALL TERMS CREATED BY THE TRUE LATIN PEOPLE OF ITALY. PUSHING BRAINWASHED AMERICAN MOSTLY NORTH AMERICAN CULTURAL RAPE AS A FASHION TREND FOR “PROFIT & GAIN” NEEDS TO BE EXPOSED. YOU CAN NOT BE PART OF AN ORIGIN, HISTORY AND ETHNICITY WHICH YOUR ANCESTORS FACTUALLY ARE NOT HISTORICALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR.

Similar thing happened to my buddy, he was told all his life he had some "Cherokee" ancestry, white guy with a couple vaguely ethnic looking features and curly hair. Come to find out after an ancestry test that he's almost 20% Sub-Saharan African descent, no trace of Native ancestry. Crazy thing was his family has some really problematic ideas about race, I was like somebody knew they were lying lol cuz ain't no way

You can't change the past

passed as white or italian ??????? italians are european they are WHITE lol

Thank you so much, Miss Lynette! The journey is just beginning :)

WHAT?! That’s insane. Our African roots were mostly Nigerian on the DNA test. I always wondered about Lola’s given name. This is awesome lead for me- thank you!!!

'Omolola' is a Yoruba name from Nigeria, Lola for short.

Yes, Thanks for sharing that information.

Your comment gave me goosebumps! So many people ARE reconnecting to their roots. I hope it changes our nation for the better. I hope you stay on the channel with me! I’m going to start a deep dive into our ancestors

@@nytn how is is going to change racism against black people ? Yr GGmother passed for white and all of her descendants are now white and experience white privilege. Now, what actions do yr and yr family think they could do to go against racism?

@@hailie_Selassie This channel, for one. Digging into my family's history and telling my children and the world. You might be interested in this video I did on my enslaved 5th great grandfather and his daughter : kzfaq.info/get/bejne/q6eorN1h1palZKc.html

I literally got chills as I read your post. "The elders call this passé blanc where I’m from", 100% Love. Thank you for sharing.

I love how you phrased this---"you understand why they did it, but at the same time you wish you could've had the opportunity to really know them and the rest of your family". Thats it for me entirely. I am so glad you found the channel.

France is not a homogeneous country

I agree! I don’t think our area of NY was as diverse yet though. Makes me sad

Wow, thank you for sharing. Where did your family grow up if you don't mind? Im so glad you have that strong identity. It's a real blessing

Same here. I have fair skin, red hair but my features are clearly Black. I love that part of me

I was born in New York born in Harlem

That is really interesting. Lola was a lot lighter than her siblings- but it sounded like she was pretty careful about the sun. I don’t know how Lola’s mother identified but most of our native line comes from that side.

Pam, I am so glad you found the channel. I love hearing stories that are similar to our family. I hope you check out the other videos and stay around! :)

Don’t give up! I know the DNA test actually was not helpful except for matching with relatives. I just was taught the term Passé Blanc this summer…. there are ways to find your ancestors- I’ll be talking about that soon. I hope you stay!

@@nytn thank you so much!

They passed because they were. Having SOME W.African Admix does NOT remove your”Whiteness”.Color is NOT synonymous w/race.

Thank you for this comment--made me think. It wasn’t mentioned in these episodes but Lola’s fathers line comes from slaves. Her mother side was native. I may do an episode on that later. I think African Americans in the south went through so much- I can only speak for myself but I’m not totally sure how to fold in that identity when I was shielded from so much. And I doubt most people would think we were part Black. This is something I’m still trying to balance- honoring our ancestors without claiming a bunch of things that don’t really belong to me.

@@nytn Hello May I add that on many more occasions than truly apply, BLACK Americans have claimed Native ancestry when in fact it wasn't true. The admixture oftentimes was someone white. .i e.. French, Spanish or Jewish. I'm a Black American who knows our history very very well. I wish you the best and be braced for the truth.

Most relative kept saying Indian. But the term Mulatto clearly explains her background.

@@jaiyabyrd4177 The racial mixture within the Creole community in Louisiana often includes Native American. Each family of course would have their own unique mix. DNA tests are an option to reveal hidden family history.

@@lizabetx483 I totally agree 💯 Mulatto is half white half Black. But this still has been so interesting and kinda scary

That is incredible! This is the first episode of a handful. I hope you watch the rest and let me know how it compares to your story

Paula-there are SO many of us! It’s time to start peeling away the layers together

I am so happy hearing stories of people who have a rock-solid identity. It's a strange thing to inherit for our family in a lot of ways. Thank you so much for watching episode 1 and sharing with me!

@@jcjc3914 I found out my dad wasn't my biological father when I took the DNA test. It's been almost 4 years now and I think I've come to terms with it finally. Both of my parents are gone so I couldn't ask them any questions and I don't have any matches that are close enough for me to know who my biological father is with absolute certainty. I have a pretty good idea though but he has also passed on many years ago. I was just glad I was still Black lol. That would have devastated me even more cause it is my identity. My daddy was the one who raised me. Loved me. Gave me my name.

This made me cry, not even kidding. The idea of all of these people not knowing who they are....the need to escape if at all possible. I hope you enjoy the other episodes, you might especially like episode 3 when I went to Louisiana to find out why Lola was afraid to be a person of color. Speaks of what you just said. Thank you so much for your comment, Im going to sit with it awhile. Here is episode 3 kzfaq.info/get/bejne/mLKolLdzzanZj40.html

Debra, thank you so so much for your thoughtful comment. I hope you stay around the channel.There are so many of us

Helena, so. glad you are here and for your thoughtful comment. I am amazed by the stories that are pouring out. I hope you will stay on the channel!

Do alot of mixed race Kenyans marry other mixed race Kenyans?

In fact you are people of a big tribe worldwide. Everywhere that happened, now i think we can say we are millions and millions from mixed races in this particular situation. But i agree some places its different based on the unique history of countries and cultural views. Like where i live we are certainly all mixed and its not a big deal, we embrace it. When in the caribeans there is racism against creoles with fair skin, called traitors etc even if they are descendants and have nothing to do with past events.

😊

Sending you love from Kenya 🇰🇪

Stacey--this is crazy, but Lola's mother's side looks to be connected to the Choctaw Apache tribe! I have not finished all the paperwork on it yet. I did speak to Dr Robert Caldwell (who is in the tribe) in this series, I think he is in Episode 3 and 4. Im so glad you found the channel! Let's stay connected :)

@@nytn I’ll definitely continue to follow your story! 😁

Yes, you're right. It is still practice in New Orleans and central Louisiana. . It's easier for a dark skin black man to marry a white woman than a Creole woman.

SO? bLACKS ARE MARRYING WHITE WOMEN AND mEXICAN WOMEN, iTALIAN WOMEN aSIAN WOMEN, - WHO CARES? i DON'T -I PASS WHEN I WANT TO- BLESS EVERYONE

I hope you check out some of the other videos! I have uncovered so much already!

@@nytn yes indeed. I just finished the one about the horrible treatment of Italians. Great topics!

I tried lightening my face in highschool, I seriously messed up my skin😌

Sharon, I got goosebumps reading your comment-- it resonated SO deeply with me. I hope you will stay with me on the channel, so much to unpack, learn and talk about. Once I became a mom, this was of utmost importance. No more "not knowing".

Aunt Maggie look just like my grandmother. Except she had straight silky brown hair like an Indian. High cheekbones as well. I use to hate them . But I love them with my full lips. It’s funny how other’s insecurities can make question yourself. Thx for sharing

Wow, what a sad beginning for your grandmother. Do you know what happened to your great-grandfather after his wife left, and your great aunts/uncles (your grandmother's four siblings)?

This made me laugh, I NEVER would have thought Aunt Maggie was anything but Irish until now as an adult looking back and....yah. I see it. So glad for all the discussion you have brought!

@@nytn I wish I could send you a picture. It’s so uncanny. But I love it. And you’re brave. I pray that I didn’t sound like I was being mean. With social media and texts it’s hard to guage a person.🥰🥰🥰

@@FourSeasons04 My great grandfather never remarried. He raised his children until they left and married. He worked on the family farm until his death. My Aunts/Uncles never married a white person. They did the opposite. I think they was jaded given the family circumstances. But I’m glad she is accepting of Shae happened in that era.

it was so common!!

"Many whites particularly in the South have a black ancestor in the family tree ." The _____ in the woodpile. 🤣🤣

@@ucity88 whatever you wanna call it. They know, most just don’t acknowledge it…

Many Native Americans or anyone not white were also classified as Black. There’s an actual law in Virginia They were called racial integrity laws. Many Black Americans are actually Native American or mixed African and Native American. There’s also some whites that paid to be classified as Native American to gain access to land grants. They are called the $5 Indians.

That must be us!!'

Thank you for commenting and watching! Yes Lola’s moms family was native and Lola’s dads side was African. The paper trail confirmed the DNA communities we got- I’ll share those soon. Campti’s history is so vibrant

Marguerite, this comment and your other one were so beautiful and insightful. I teared up a little but at both of them. I didnt know French was not allowed to be spoken-- Lola apparently grew up speaking Creole/Cajun French but never told any of us and never taught my family. What you said is one of the reasons I decided to share our family's ongoing journey---so we can maybe not judge each other so quickly. Appreciate you, and I hope you will stay on the channel for awhile!

Absolutely. My first and only granddaughter is 6 and has Native American in her. Let me tell you she’s the most beautiful little girl and I’m so proud of her heritage and the good looks and absolutely beautiful long thick hair she has.

Thank 😊 you for explaining this! Now my family history is much clearer! ❤️ 😍 loving it all!!! Checking ✔️ ✅️ in from the Bay Area!!

I don't recall any black people ever saying it was any easier to be black in the east or Midwest. All the same laws applied and so did segregation. It was not just in the south that is a massive misconception.

Thank you-- Im really honored to tell her story

Well, there is always DNA

My next video will address dna!

Heyyy Nashville! I love this too, I know there is so so much more to learn. I hope I can continue to share it with you all.

I can’t imagine what she was trying to protect the kids from. When I edited episode three I started to figure it out. That was really hard

Unambiguously Black people live this reality everyday in this country. Who doesn’t know about discrimination? Perhaps you, but not Black folks. Speak for yourself.

She did "her" thing for her reasons. Not necessarily the "right" thing! I am not surprised at this, I just chose to honor all those who stood their ground as Black even though they suffered for it. Indian indeed! None of the folks in this video actually told us that they found BLACK in their ancestry or who it was. One of them did allude to it though. Black must be a curse that I don't know about! lol

As a black personality who is very ambiguous, I think that is a terrible sentiment what about obviously black people? I’m sickened by these comments because u know how badly black folks are treated yet most of u don’t give a damn about us or our treatment this world is just a hell scape.

I personally don't believe that denying who you are is "the right thing", but she obviously did what she thought she had to do.

I was so surprised to find that out. Up in NY I thought my family was just really really fringe about things…I had no idea this was a community experience

VERY.

So glad you are here! You are right--there's a lot to find in all of our family stories:)

Wow what a story!! I hope you enjoy the other episodes and can find a place where you feel comfortable digging into your history at your own pace. Im so glad you are here :)

Oh my gosh I bet we are! I found Lola’s dads side goes through the Metoyer plantation-Melrose and one other one. Please hang around the channel and we can figure it out!

Really?? It’s weirdly nice to know we weren’t alone but also horrific that it was common…

Come find me on Facebook! Im no genealogist but I do share a lot of stuff I've come across for the family. You might really like seeing episode 3 of this series.kzfaq.info/get/bejne/mLKolLdzzanZj40.html

Im so grateful you watched it! I hope you enjoy the other episodes as well. Thanks for commenting

@@nytn im making my way through them now! Just awesome! Ty!

I think you are right about wanting to just live in peace--once she had kids, it seemed like her goal was to protect them the best she could. Thanks for watching:)

Yea it’s really easy to look through the eyes of the 21st century and blame her for “passing” but the truth is back in the day if you could pass, most people did just that, because it meant a completely better life for their family. Imagine how scared she always must have been tho of people finding out her secret. Or how scared she would’ve been every time she got pregnant wondering “what if this baby comes out with undeniable African looks?” It would be exhausting to live a lie like that.

I am so grateful to have your support! It was scary taking the first step with this project.

@@nytn no no don't be scared and write a book even. Try to record and leave a trace about your family history. Give them a voice

I feel like I missed so much history from Louisiana because of this. I’m scrambling to save it all and I hope to share what I find in the future!

The French were lovers, and lovers of life, they didn't discriminate when it came to love, and this is why a lot of black people are mixed, and you can see the Creole in them.

@@zoebird6655 Yes, I agree. I have a leather bound book from my grandmother with her family information dating back to the 1800’s. When I started my family history, the census documents labeled my grandmother and great grandmother as mulatto. I’m still digging through everything but my DNA came back with some weird high percentages of Irish. So I guess I’ll see what’s up with that.

Thank you so much for watching and sharing on here. It's hard to understand just what my family experienced because I did not experience any of that directly--just the effects of it on the way the family treated certain topics. I love how much confidence you have in who you are-- that is a gift.

I love that you recognized that! And I think a big piece of this is a strong TRI RACIAL heritage. Acknowledging all parts, not just one.

Campti bayou road comes up with a Perot cousin in episode 3- I had no idea about the original name. WOW. So glad you’re on the journey with me!

Kathy-- oh my gosh. YOU BELONG HERE. Im so glad you found the channel Keep me posted on your family story

I am so glad for this comment. I just saw it come through. This is the beginning of my journey, and I have so much to find out. I did get a chance to find and connect with my black cousins. They will be coming on here! Whatever the reason for passing, I am so grateful to be reconnecting with our family. It is a gift!

Lisa, this is an amazing story. Especially the very "obvious" hispanic last name. I think it makes a good point that we just can't make assumptions about people! If you end up finding the last name LaCour pop up...let me know, that's my family!

I should add the original last name while in LA was Poissot/Posso. Then it suddenly changed to Flores in Waco

Im so glad you found the channel!!

Was your zim mother black or mixed, so sad that in a predominant Black Country she would feel that way.

​@@livingfinance true. Good question. If you have a look into the history of the coloured laws in Rhodesia at that you'll see the answers there, even then there were some different types, difference was a large amount in British territories chose to identify with their African families which meant isolation from white, Indian, Arab etc families and vice versa. It was in these settings where the differences were noticeably pronounced, but no unusual as Zim pre-colonial historical texts and oral stories speak of mixed children in the tribes.

I know the very sign!

I just replied on the other comment but I'll leave it here, too! : My husband wrote it for the series. I have it up on my Patreon here: www.patreon.com/NYTN scroll down to the bottom. You dont need to be a Patron to get it! So glad to have you here:)

Thank you for being here! I’m hoping to keep working on this story

Yvonne- I’m learning so much from all the comments and stories. Thank you!

It sounds like maybe you have been able to reconnect which is wonderful. The residential schools are shocking. Lola didnt attend school as far as I know, but I do know the children who did attend were not allowed to speak in their home language. So we never learned it either. we had no idea her first language wasnt English. So much lost. Thank you for sharing your story

@@nytn 🤍🙏

That is so cool!

The black race is so mixed that I am never surprised at what our genetics reveal.