My father was the only man I know of who has read an entire encyclopedia collection for leisure. He made it his parental duty to fill in the gaps that the culturally skewed educational system created in the area of history. One year, when Black History Month rolled around, I remember my mother being more than frustrated. “Again?” she asked. She wasn’t upset about the month itself, but rather with what proved to be an abhorrent pattern that limited the scope of black existence, and minimized the truth of Black excellence. She just couldn’t understand why we were only learning about the SAME select few every year. So she sent a very direct, letter informing my teacher that, “Cassandra will be completing her project on Granny Nanny and NOT MLK, Harriet Tubman, or a failed/tragic slave rebellion, etc. Nanny was a fierce, Ghanaian born woman warrior who was captured and forced into slavery and shipped to Jamaica. She rose out of St. Thomas parish which is where my dad is from. Not only did Nanny free herself, but she came back for more people (sound familiar?). Before there was Harriet, there was her—Queen Nanny. A military warrior, spiritual leader, and innovator who created a hidden town for the liberated blacks. The Maroons, fled bondage and built communities of and for free black people in the mountains of Jamaica. For me, theirs was a tale of a successful uprising, not of tragedy and limitation, but one of hope and of liberation. I share this memory and the story of Queen Nanny for three reasons: 1. So that we can be inspired by the lesson in parental agency from my parents and make it a priority to fill in the gaps of a lacking educational curriculum. 2. So that we might remember Granny Nanny and call her name in the roll of honored ancestors, and 3. Remember that Black history goes way beyond the borders of this continent. We have so much to learn, remember, and build upon. The only way this works is together. https://youtu.be/T1m1WveYU8M #BlackHistoryBeyondTheUSA #BlackHistoryMonth #AfricanDiaspora #Life #Education #Instagram #Instadaily #Family #Mommy #Daddy #Parents #GrannyNanny #Maroons #History #Herstory #OurStory https://www.instagram.com/p/CKzzT9-B4pa/?igshid=1ovqchaoqngzx
