Personal Statement

My lifelong commitment to African American history began with a desire to understand my own family’s past. What started as a personal search for my ancestors grew into something I could neither ignore nor set aside. It became a calling that has guided my life and work, as natural and essential to me as the air I breathe.

I have always believed that history is far more than a record of what happened. History lives in the places we inhabit, the memories we inherit, the stories we tell, and, many times, in the silences. Much of my work has centered on bringing that history into public view. For me, recovering these stories means creating opportunities for others to engage meaningfully with that history while bringing to light the contributions of ancestors who have too often been overlooked.

It is this commitment that draws me to the Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project. I hold tremendous respect and gratitude for Ann Chinn and Ann Cobb, whose dedication has helped bring attention to the places where captive Africans first arrived on these shores. Their work has laid an important foundation, and I am honored to be part of carrying it forward into the future.