My mother’s parents emigrated from Barbados in 1925.
They came through Ellis island like millions of others, with nothing but the clothes on their back and relentless volition. My grandfather was a chef and my grandmother was a seamstress. Taking up residence in Harlem NY, they had four children–three girls, and a boy.
Four years after they arrived, the Great Depression hit hard. It was terrible for everyone, and especially awful for immigrants of color living under Jim Crow. My grandfather made $1/day and my grandmother could make a meal to feed a family of five for $1. Clothes were handed down and worn until they were threadbare (which obviously proved awkward for my uncle Steve, the youngest child and the only boy). My aunts refused to make dresses for my mom, because as the darkest of four interracial children, she was deemed “too black.”
So grandma taught mom to make her own pants.
My grandparents believed here was no hardship that was reason enough to separate you from your dignity. There was always someone who was down on their luck sleeping on the living room sofa. My grandfather would often bring friends home for dinner, yell “Nita, put that damn book down!” (Grandma was a voracious reader) and she’d set an extra plate. No matter how little they had, it was always enough to share.
No matter how little they had, it was always enough to share.
My grandparents traded crystal blue waters and soft white sands for asphalt and concrete, because they believed they could make a better life for their kids. They weren’t fleeing war or indentured servitude, and they never looked down on anyone who didn’t come here by choice.
I am still trying to fulfill their dream, two generations later, in a place that is (un)equal parts challenge and untapped potential. It is on me to ensure that opportunity for all to rise above their station in life, endures: to add equity and remove barriers to advancement for any marginalized person.
Not to do so would be to have missed entirely the lesson of Dighton and Nita.
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