Historical trauma, as used by social workers, historians, and psychologists, refers to the cumulative emotional harm of an individual or generation caused by a traumatic experience or event. Historical Trauma Response refers to the manifestation of emotions and actions that stem from this perceived trauma.

Family reunions are popular among African American families. We gather most often during the summer months of July and August usually at hotels or other venues that specialize in catering to large groups. Our diaspora has us spread far and wide on this earth. Although some of our Ancestors ended up in places of their own free will, it was the institution of slavery that contributed to some of our Ancestors being taken out of Africa and deposited into places where they were exploited by enslavers and their labor stolen. If our enslaved Ancestors were lucky enough to have survived the middle passage or transatlantic slave trade, they were dispersed in North and South America and some of the Caribbean Islands in between.

Some of those who were enslaved in the United States were subjected to manifest destiny when the Louisiana Purchase more than doubled the size of the United States. Others took part in the great migration which saw many African Americans moving from the segregated south to states in the north in pursuit of their happiness. Putting all the pieces back together for African American families can prove challenging. The research for African Americans gets murky when plantation records don’t exist for whatever reasons. Available census records only gave gender, age, and race, but no names. Luckily for us, genealogy, DNA, archaeology, and archival primary sources are helping African American families fill in those missing gaps.

The question is, what do we do with this information about our family tree once we find it? I was privileged to be able to hang out with the Dickerson-Wood family at their family reunion at Somerset Plantation in Creswell, North Carolina. Why is this important you might ask?

When I’m not somewhere in these United States sleeping in slave dwellings, chances are you can find me at my part-time job at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens in Charleston, South Carolina giving the tour of the restored slave cabins titled From Slavery to Freedom. Based on that continued experience, I can verify that visiting plantations is not on the short or bucket list of most African Americans. Not so long ago, one could go to plantations and hear little or nothing about the people who were enslaved there. Some plantations would even tell a romanticized version (the happy slave, the good slave owner) of the enslaved people at their sites. So why would African Americans want to visit these sites?

When I was presented with the opportunity of spending a night in the slave dwellings at Somerset Place, it was an offer I could not refuse. It was a site I had never visited before. Site manager Karen Hayes presented the idea of doing the sleepover during the Dickerson-Wood family reunion. Up until that point, I had only participated in a family reunion at Montpelier, the home of President James Monroe, one of the twelve slave-owning presidents. The difference there was that I was not a part of the planning process. I signed on to participate in the archaeological dig that was going on at Montpelier, participating in the family reunion was a bonus. That family was amazing because there were Black and White people involved and they all shared DNA.

My biggest fear in participating in the Dickenson-Wood family reunion was that I did not want the Slave Dwelling Project to overpower or disrespect what the family was trying to accomplish. Mina Wilson, the family liaison took that message back to the family and they were receptive to the idea of merging the Slave Dwelling Project with their family reunion. The mutual planning from that point went swimmingly. Not only was I welcome, but we also added a living history component to the activities, because it would also be an event that would involve cooking and blacksmithing demonstrations and storytelling that would be open to the general public.

What I found amazing about the process was that not only did the Dickerson-Wood family know the history of their Ancestor’s interaction with Somerset Place, but they were still willing to have a family reunion there. I talk to many African Americans today who have an aversion to visiting plantations because of all of the historical trauma that they represent. That said, I knew that there had to be members of the Dickerson-Wood family who would not take part in that aspect of the reunion. To my surprise, I learned that a member of the family had a wedding there years earlier.

I also learned that the former executive director of Somerset Place, Dorothy Spruill Redford paved the way for reunions to occur at the site. She wrote the book Somerset Homecoming: Recovering a Lost Heritage of which I have a signed copy. I had the privilege of meeting her, although brief was the encounter, I was humbled by her presence. She was there as a guest of another African American family reunion that was taking place at the site.

When the Dickerson-Wood family arrived, we were well into the activities of the day. Jerome Bias was in the kitchen cooking in the hearth the meal that the living historians, Somerset staff and the Dickinson-Wood family would consume. Gilbert Walker was demonstrating his blacksmithing techniques. Carolyn Evans and Dontavius Williams were applying their storytelling skills. All these activities were interspersed with the demonstrators and presenters who were organized by the site director, Karen Hayes.

In conclusion:

I learned that to pull off an event of this magnitude, it takes meticulous planning. I learned from Somerset site manager, Karen Hayes, that the state of North Carolina encourages the descendants of people who were enslaved on that property to utilize the facilities at no charge for family reunions. I don’t recall that rule in any of the other state parks in other states. Maybe it was the great former site manager, Dorothy Spruill Redmond, who influenced that rule.

Former plantations are many things, housing developments, shopping malls, public parks, that list goes on and on. In the category of public parks, local, state or national, the state of North Carolina has a model that should be followed by all. There are other African American families out there that would love to have that experience I shared with the Dickerson-Wood family. The willingness of the site is half the battle. Stagville, James K. Polk, Zebulon Vance Birthplace and now Somerset are all sites in North Carolina of which the Slave Dwelling Project has now applied its vision, mission, and goals. Our relationship with North Carolina State Parks is forever growing.

What we managed to pull off with Somerset, the Dickerson-Wood family is epic. There should be more like this. The Slave Dwelling Project will do its part to make it happen.

Link to the Associate Press story.

Charles Lorenzo Wilson
Descendant of Kofi and Sally (7th Generation)
Somerset Place, Creswell, NC

It had been 28 years since the Dickerson-Wood family got together for a family reunion. Our first was in 1987, and was inspired by Dorothy Spruill Redford’s efforts to organize a homecoming of descendants of enslaved Africans from Somerset Place, Creswell, NC in 1986 on the heels of her research and book “Somerset Homecoming: Recovering a Lost Heritage.” Our family was blessed when her accounts uncovered our ties to Kofi and Sally, two of the original enslaved Africans brought to Somerset Place in 1786 to turn the plantation into one of the largest and most profitable in North Carolina.

On August 3, 2019, 40 plus gathered in Raleigh from 4 family branches of Arthur R Wood and Lucy Dickerson-Wood for a weekend of celebration and restoring of family connections, and we all took a day trip to the township of Roper, our Dickerson-Wood family home, and Somerset Place, the enslaved home of our African ancestors and their children, including Lucy Dickerson.

Under normal circumstances, this would be more than enough to make for an incredible family experience. You see, for me, this was my seventh time visiting our ancestral home, and my wife Leslie and I had an incredibly wonderful wedding on the site in 2003. So in my mind, this was just another trip home, and another opportunity to introduce to some family and further experience with other family members the roots of our existence as we know it here in the Americas.

Little did I know of the Slave Dwelling Project. I did know my wife and three of my sisters planned on embarking on an overnight journey at Somerset Place with the project, but I had no idea of what to expect, and I had no idea of what Somerset Place and the Slave Dwelling Project had planned for our family and the community at large.

On this day, the festivities planned at Somerset Place delivered so much. To start, I was amazed at the wonderful programming Somerset Place and The Slave Dwelling Project had for The Dickerson-Wood Family, and my deeps thanks go out to Karen Hayes, Site Director, Somerset Place, and Joseph McGill, Founder, The Slave Dwelling Project for hosting such a wonderful experience for our family. I also send my greatest gratitude to the living historians Carolyn Evans and Dontavius Williams for their breath-taking portrayals of the enslaved African experience. Every American needs to see the representations of Harriett Tubman and Harriet Jacobs by Ms. Evans, and The Chronicles of Adam by Mr. Williams; simply put; incredible! Additionally, Gilbert Walker’s likeness as a blacksmith, Wayne Randall’s of cross-cut sawing, and Jerome Bias as a chef was impeccable and characterized the skills, innovation, craftsmanship, and abilities enslaved Africans exhibited as they built this American country we now call home.

After experiencing all that was offered during the day and evening, and after my wife and I watched a beautiful sunset across Lake Phelps, second only to Key West, the starlit skies came upon us as we settled in for a night which I will remember forever. You see, as I stated earlier, Somerset Place is our ancestral home as we know it in the Americas, and up to this point I had never experienced it during the most harmonious time of day for my enslaved African ancestors; the comfort of night…and peaceful it was.

The heat of the day and bug bites of the evening gave way to a cool mist and dew which calmed the environment. As we started our fireside chat, everyone approached with reverence for the space we were occupying, as the ancestors rejoiced at our willingness to take a moment out of our lives and walk in their footsteps, listen to their souls, speak their words, and see their truth. Slave Dwelling Project members and guests, including my wife, and leadership and staff from North Carolina’s historic sites, engaged in a heartfelt discussion around the day’s experience with four Somerset Place descendants of Kofi and Sally: Margaret, Deborah, Charles, and Wilhelmenia.

As the conversation unfolded an interesting topic came to bear. You see, that day, another descendant family was also celebrating their family reunion at Somerset Place. Interestingly enough, they showed great resistance when asked to join in on the planned festivities of the day, even to the point of asking the living historians “why are you all dressed like that” and insinuating embarrassment and discomfort to be in the presence of the portrayal of living enslaved Africans. Interestingly enough, my wife and I experienced the same resistance from some family and friends when we had our traditional African themed wedding at Somerset Place.

Understandable slavery is a painful topic for America, and African Americans hold the burden of being on the severely harmed side of this conversation. So, the question arose during our nighttime fireside chat at Somerset Place: how is it that one group of descendants can feel empowerment from an ancestral celebratory experience at the site of enslaved Africans, while another feels contravention by merely being in the presence of or in close proximity to that same experience?

Later that night after much discussion and pondering of this question with the group as well as a friend back home (yes I call my homeboy/”brother from another” in The Bay in the middle of the night to discuss the gravity of this experience), I came to the conclusion that these bilateral mindsets are all a matter of perspective. That is, are you the descendants of Africans who were enslaved, or are you merely the descendants of enslaved people. The former connects one to a state of mind based in an existence as a people from a place in time (i.e. a descendant of Africans who were enslaved; a potentially empowering perspective). The latter connect one to a state of mind based in circumstance (i.e. a descendant of an enslaved people; a potentially contravening perspective).

The Slave Dwelling Project seeks to empower us as African Americans, to connect with our roots, and invest in the preservation of all aspects of our African American history. I find that to be incredibly empowering and encourage all Americans to find space in their lives to support and participate in these types of efforts. Count me in!

Leslie Bell-Wilson

Somerset Place is where my husband’s mother Lucy Wood Wilson ancestral lineage began in the U.S. I hadn’t visited Somerset Place since my husband Charles, and I were married in a traditional African Igbo ceremony on the grounds of Somerset Place in 2003. While the family was planning their family reunion earlier this year, the opportunity for the direct descendants to take part in the Slave Dwelling Project was presented to the family. We would be able to spend the night on the grounds of where his direct ancestors toiled daily, lived, slept and created a family was an honor and a privilege. We pay homage to all of our ancestors who survived being chained and inhumanely transported across the Atlantic Ocean from their homeland in Africa, surviving diseases, sickness, and barbaric conditions only to land in a country which would continue to strip them and their direct descendants of their human identity and existence ONLY because of the color of their skin. While most people don’t understand why we would spend the night at the former Plantation, Somerset Place, even some of our own family and friends found discomfort in staying overnight especially in today’s racial climate, we considered it a blessing from the Ancestors. This is the second time our decision was questioned, why would an African American couple who got married at Somerset Place return and spend the night 16 years later, most ask. We ask, WHY NOT? We wanted to take part of the areas that still holds in the land and the atmosphere the strength of our enslaved African Ancestors that made it through and created family which grew into a LONG lineage that is still here speaks volumes to anyone willing to hear their stories. They were the brightest, strongest, determined, talented, and they still live through each and every African American in the US.

Margaret Hasan
A member of
The Wilson Family

Dear Mr. McGill,

First, my apologies for being remiss in submitting my thoughts the experience of my recent visit to Somerset, my expression of thanks for the insightful coming-to-self effect of the Slave Dwelling Project upon my knowledge and my being.

I also would like to express appreciation for the honor of meeting you and sharing a conversation that added even more to the profound impact of your contribution to that experience.

Having been to Somerset 8 years ago to witness my brother, Charles, and sister-in-law, Leslie’s wedding, I felt this would be simply a repeat experience in kind. And in some ways it was. As soon as my feet hit the soil of my ancestors who had lived and worked at that site when it was, a plantation of over 100,000 sq acres, once again infused their loving energy, allowing it to course through my veins and membranes. It was an uncanny presence which had previously faded from my memory.

I looked forward to another tour and its integral informational narrative. But, even though missing that opportunity while getting to know the extended family whose company I was honored to share, I was led by the administrative staff to something even better.

I sat down in a varied audience of visitors and listened to lessons and stories extended to us by Slave Dwelling Project storytellers. How to read hidden symbolic signs from abolitionists helping enslaved people to safety and freedom; what the enslaved person escaping to freedom used to hide their scent from the chasing bloodhounds.

Then there was hoecake cooked in the fields under the hot sun on top of the dusted-off hoe that had just turned the soil at the midday hour of fieldwork.

The storytellers didn’t stop with these life lessons learned through enslavement. After lunch, we in the audience were treated to real-life personal accounts of slave experiences told in first person by the same storytellers who now were portraying the historical personalities.

“Master said, ‘You’re getting to be a big boy. Show this gentleman how fast you can run and how high you can jump.’ I was so proud when they clapped and shouted joy at what I could do. Then the man said, ‘I’ll give you $300 for him.’, and I felt the light drain through my feet into the dirt. The last thing I heard was my mother crying, ‘Please don’t take my boy!’ That was the last time I saw or heard my mother. But I still have this stocking doll she made for me to keep me safe.”

This is The Slave Dwelling Project, projecting the lives of the enslaved who lived on the plantations and produced the resources that created the wealth of the South and the nation.

After bringing to life and personifying enslaved experiences, Joseph McGill sponsored a fireside chat where those in my family who were spending the night, along with staff members who were also staying overnight, were given voice to our impressions of the day and process where we had traveled in our understanding as a result.

I think I accurately speak for all my family who slept at Somerset that our overnight stay in the building rebuilt to authentically reflect the original quarters of the enslaved workers who had lived on this sight – some of whom were our own ancestral family – left us filled with the comfort of our being within our history, and of having further filled in the spaces of who we are.

Thank you, Joseph McGill and all members of The Slave Dwelling Project, for your profound contributions to this incomparable experience.

Many Grateful Regards,

Mina Wilson

Dickerson/Wood Family Reunion and Slave Dwelling Project Somerset Reflections

I flew from San Francisco, CA to Washington, DC with my two teenagers, Ma’lia and Malcolm, on Monday, July 29. The plan was to spend two days working with Kaiser Permanente colleagues in our Mid-Atlantic region and then to head south to Raleigh Durham, North Carolina where we would be hosting our first family reunion in decades. It was the first reunion where we’d, as newly initiated family elders, taken the lead in organizing. Our parents, who had historically curated such experiences, had both transitioned from this life. Our motivation was to lead following their example and continue to inculcate to our younger generations the value and importance of maintaining family connections. As such, the theme we chose “Honoring the Legacy of our Ancestors – Restoring Family Connections” encircled the logo designed on the family reunion t-shirts we’d prepared. We expected 45 family members, many of whom we’d never met face to face, to join us for this landmark family event.

The planning committee was comprised of a representative from each family line; Billups, Hall, McCullough and Wood. We met monthly discussing, outlining and confirming event details. Shortly after our committee commenced, Joseph McGill, Founder of The Slave Dwelling Project (SDP), contacted me via email through an eloquently crafted communication. The SDP envisions a future in which the hearts and minds of Americans acknowledge a more truthful and inclusive narrative of the history of the nation that honors the contributions of all our people, is embedded and preserved in the buildings and artifacts of people of African heritage and inspires all Americans to acknowledge their Ancestors. Mr. McGill was on a quest to bring his programming to Somerset Place, a former plantation turned North Carolina State Park where five generations of my ancestors lived and worked as enslaved people. Karen Hayes, Director at Somerset, expressed that such programs would be best delivered in alongside an existing event. Our family reunion was a viable possibility. Mr. McGill’s email presented the mission of the SDP and inquired as to our interest in collaborating with them to bring the experiences to Somerset Place. I was excited by the prospect, as was the committee. We agreed to work with the SDP and to expand the experience opening it up as a public event.

Many family members were perplexed as to why we would choose to have our family events at a Plantation. The heritage of American Slavery, as it’s commonly narrated, oftentimes takes residence in the hearts and souls of African Americans as pain and shame. We, as a family, have been blessed to have shaped an alternate narrative.

That shaping began, in large part, when my brother, Charles Wilson and his now-wife, Leslie Bell Wilson, chose Somerset Plantation as the venue for their 2003 wedding and worked with site leaders to invite the descendants of the enslaved people who hailed from there to be party to their celebration. That family experience bound us to the history and heritage of our ancestors. Through this and other experiences at Somerset, we came to embrace an alternate, more personally authentic narrative; choosing to acknowledge our history and honor our ancestors. We came to understand that they didn’t come from slavery but were the descendants of Kings and Queens stolen from their home by people willing to sacrifice their lives to grow the American economy and create personal wealth. They were regal, resilient human being stolen from their origins who journeyed through the experience of being enslaved and endured. We chose to acknowledge their existence, their lives, their sacrifices and their contributions. It was, indeed, their blood, sweat and stolen labor that built the United States of America. That, we felt, was worthy of honor and celebration. The SDP’s mission and vision aligned with our sentiments. That being established, we decided to collaborate on the program for the day to create a unique experience for our family and members of the public who would join the events.

On Thursday, August 1, we drove from Washington, DC to Raleigh, NC full of anticipation. We looked forward to meeting family. We anticipated the experience being hosted at the ancestral home of Somerset Place, experiencing tours of the property, living histories brought to life by actor/historians, partaking of an authentic plantation meal and staying overnight in cabins that had, a century and a generation ago, been the dwelling places for our ancestors; the enslaved people who lived, loved, married, raised children, worked, and suffered as they generated extraordinary wealth for the Collins Family; previous owners of Somerset Plantation.

My son, Malcolm, was at a loss. He couldn’t understand why we would journey to a plantation to have our reunion or why, on Earth, I would consider spending the night there. I sought to explain the relevance of doing so for me. He shook his head; not being able to comprehend. Cousin Essie McCullough, the eldest member of our family at 96 years old, was also perplexed by our decision to bring our family celebration to the site. The experiences of the weekend proved transformative for them both.

As we prepared at the hotel where we assembled in Raleigh on Friday night, flash flood warning alerts pinged our cell phones as thunderstorms raged through the area. We were all worried as the events of the following day were planned for outside. There was no plan B. The next morning, the humidity was high, and the skies were overcast with clouds. As our family caravanned from Raleigh to Creswell, NC, we wondered if the weather would cooperate as intermittent showers hit the windows of our vehicles. Miraculously, the skies were clear, the temperature moderated by the rain, making for a comfortably ideal day for our celebration. Many touted that the ancestors would never let our visit result in any other way.

We arrived at Somerset after 12:00 noon, parked and exited our vehicles; setting our feet on the historic lands primed and eager to experience. In reflection, the experiences were more deeply impactful than imagined. In many ways surreal.

Our family received a warm reception from Karen Hayes, her Director and staff. It was like we’d walked into a community where we were all family. Our eldest family member, Essie McCullough, was honored with a bouquet of flowers by the Director as she shared her story of being the descendant of formerly enslaved people and now standing in a place of power curating those spaces. Essie, too, had wrestled with our decision to have our celebration at Somerset Place. As the Director shared her story, Essie’s transformation began. In response to receiving her honorary flowers, Essie spoke to the crowd with pride and recognition of the importance of the day and the place absorbing the relevance and poignance of our decision.

As the program kicked off with presenters from the Washington County Underground Railroad Museum. They shared the ways enslaved people sought to be free. The reality that the enslaved people were so ingeniously engaged in methods to do so began to shift the traditionally articulated narrative. They did not refer to our ancestors as slaves, which denotes an identity, but as enslaved people, which describes a condition. This was a simple yet truly powerful change in vernacular. It reshaped my perception and brought forward a deeper truth. The presenters engaged the children in learning of the various methods and items enslaved people ingeniously used as they sought to escape slavery in a quest for freedom. It was delightful to see our children’s eyes sparkle as they engaged with the presenters. My 11-year-old great-niece Tanzeelah, whose family lives in Maryland, rode to North Carolina from a summer stay in Atlanta with her grand-parents. Sitting on the front row, she thoughtfully exclaimed “Wow, that’s impressive”.

A break in the presentations allowed us to enjoy delicious meal provided by GK Catering. During mealtime, we fellowshipped, shared stories, experiences, took photos together and played lawn games. Bellies full and with deep connections brewing, we returned to the stage area to continue our consumption of the day’s experiences. Our next experience was that of historians curated by The Slave Dwelling Project presenting theatre quality historical enactments. We were captivated as they journeyed us through the lived experience of Harriett and Adam. Real stories of real people, like our ancestors. They used their bodies, voices and soul energy to animate the lived experience of these historical personas; revealing to us their dilemmas, pains, struggles, sacrifices, determination, resilience, heart, wisdom and wit. The depth and authenticity of the presentations touched us deeply, stimulated and expanded my mind, tugged at my heart and moved emotion through me that landed solidly; impacting my soul. In ways I hadn’t anticipated, I was transformed by the deeper knowing of the reality of the ancestors; the people toiled and labored creating a future for the descendants who begot me. I began to truly understand how deeply important our interaction with Somerset and our heritage was; that the experiences would forever change my life.

Dinner was prepared as part of The Slave Dwelling Project experience. Jerome Bias masterfully cooked in the cookware of the era. Bias and a couple of his helpers were all dressed in period attire, which added to the cross time span nature to the experience. To look in one direction and see visages of contemporary society and the other and see personas in attire of the 18th Century was, at times, comforting and at the same time disturbing. It reminded me how close the reality was to us even in our present.

After dinner, the bulk of our family member departed and returned to Raleigh. My brother Charles and his wife Leslie, my two sister, Margaret and Deborah, and I stayed to participate in a fireside chat and overnight stay. The bustling activities of the day were past. The heat of the day waned as a breathtaking sun set on the horizon kissing the place where the sky intersected with the water of Lake Phelps. A dozen, or so, people assembled to participate in the fireside conversation. They included members of the SDP and those who worked in support of the parks purveying our ancestral history to visitors. Joseph McGill facilitated the fireside chat; holding space for us, descendants of the enslaved people. We shared our feelings, thoughts and perspectives, discussed our lived experience, reflections we had on the history and legacy of our ancestors. We talked about the socio-economic realities that we travail in our lives that emanate from the wealth stolen from our ancestors via the institution of slavery and how important it is, in our era, to have authentic conversations, share their and our authentic stories and engage, bring forward dialogue to inform ourselves, our families, our communities and our nation. We talked about the vital importance of acknowledging the truth of our shared history. I conscious of and impacted by the fact that the Caucasian purveyors who sat in the circle with us assumed a posture of deep listening. In that, they created space to understand more deeply the reality that we, as the descendants of the enslaved people, shared. They created space within themselves to fully hear our voices. Their positioning themselves in such a way made us feel heard, honored, relevant and important; a gift given to us in the space where we sat and in the conversation in which we were engaged. Robust logs that had fueled the fire burnt to ash as we exhausted our streams of thought completing our sharing.

We left this candid and transparent assembling to prepare for our overnight stay; to sleep in the residences where our ancestors lived.

The buildings housed furnishings of the era, another surreal element of the experience. The quiet stillness of the night brought spiritual stirrings to the property. I began to feel the presence of our ancestor around us. Their presence distilled the discomfort that I felt to enter our sleeping quarters. We slept in the Plantation Hospital.

As we labored to pump up our air mattresses, we chastised ourselves at our complaining about lowering our middle-aged bodies to the ground to sleep. The chastising continued as we navigate the environment during the post-midnight darkness to journey to the bathroom. During the third trip, standing in the bathroom we broke into nervous laughter struck by our struggle to navigate, just one night, the environment our ancestors survived for five generations.

The following morning, all those who participated in the overnight came together to share a breakfast prepared by Jerome Bias; another aspect of the experience curated by The Slave Dwelling Project. A couple of the purveyors of history asked if they might have the opportunity to have a deeper conversation with us and we took time over breakfast. During our sharing, we unearthed an opportunity to harvest insights of their interactions with the people who come to sites to consume the history of our ancestors. Their unique positioning at the boundary of the public and our history is something that we’d like to explore more deeply. Their passionate desire to authentically communicate the truth of our ancestors was deeply moving for me. We began to perceive the opportunity to continuously engage with these purveyors of our history to more deeply understand their interactions and inform them of our reality, so they have a measure of authentic knowledge to share with those they engage in knowing of our history.

After breakfast, we returned to the Plantation Hospital to clear the space prior to departing. As we did, we were moved to commune with the ancestors. Leslie used a spiritual process to ask the ancestors if we had their permission to engage with them. The process returned a resounding yes. We stood in a circle. As we did, each of us offered a prayer to the ancestors. In between each prayer, we poured libation. The final prayer was offered by my brother Charles. It was, by far, the most powerful and heartfelt prayer experience of my life. In passion that I liken to an out of body experience, he poured out his appreciation for the generations of ancestors who endurance, fortitude, vision and sense of purpose paved the road to our lives. With tears rolling from his face, down his chest, he offered his gratitude to them. By the time he ended his prayer offering, all of our faces were wet with tears. It was a perfect ending to a life changing experience.

Somerset Place provides the sinews that tie our family to this nation. Our African ancestors, Sally, nine years old when she was taken; 11 years old when she arrived at Somerset and Kofi, in the midst of the violation and struggle of enslavement, found love in each other. Through that love, they created one of only two multi-generational family lineages on Somerset Place. I am a descendant of that enduring bond.

There is an African proverb that proports our ancestors suffer two deaths. The first death is when they pass away from this life. The second death occurs when their descendants forget them. For the generation of enslaved ancestors that walked on the land of Somerset Place, only one death is real. We, your descendants, walk in your memory holding immense honor and appreciation for you. For the lives you lived, the sacrifices you made, the resilience you exuded, the dreams in your hearts that have manifested as us. In our minds, hearts, souls, those of our children and our children’s children, you forever live.

Dickerson-Wood Family Reunion
Slave Dwelling Project Narrative Submission
Deborah Najee-ullah

This was my third time visiting Somerset Place. The first was in 2003 to attend my brother Charles Wilson and my sister-in-law-to-be, Leslie Bell’s wedding. Vague memories of stories about this plantation of my ancestors from my mother, Lucy Wood Wilson and aunt, Margaret Wood Johnson, became a reality and something that was exciting. Afterall, how many African-Americans can trace their ancestry to the first Africans who arrived on these shores. This was a heritage I was excited about and proud to embrace. The second visit to Somerset Place was in 2012 while vacationing in North Carolina.

This year, our family, descendants of Kofi and Sally and this plantation, chose to make Somerset Place the site of the 2019 Dickerson-Wood Family Reunion. As I returned to Somerset Place on this occasion, there was a belonging and comfort I felt being there. I suppose I have embraced this place as a fundamental part of my American roots. As I walked the Somerset grounds, the reality of my ancestors was more than just stories told but felt more like fabric of my being. They no longer felt like strangers I heard stories about but were coming alive for me, not just as my ancestors, but as my relatives.

Our great-great-great-great maternal grandparents Kofi and Sally were kidnapped from West Africa with 78 others and brought to Somerset Place in 1786 to tame the Washington County wilderness and cultivate rice fields. They toiled and suffered such harsh, horribly hard, cruel, and inhumane labor that by 1803 only 15 of the original 80 survived. The number dropped to 11 by 1819. Sally and Kofi were among those 11 survivors. Their union spawned three more generations of enslaved ancestors who would be born on Somerset Place Plantation. This knowledge of my Somerset lineage, of my enslaved ancestors, provides historical anchors for me, grounds me, and makes me proud. My heart weeps for and cries out at the injustice of their suffering, their trauma, their treatment as mere property, and their stolen labor that built and supported the lavish lives of the Collins family as enslavers. At the same time, my heart fills with pride and awe at their resilience, their fortitude. They endured and survived to foster many descendants. It is upon this resilience and fortitude that we descendants stand and live and breathe. Based in this reality and spirit, I am a proud descendent of Kofi and Sally, Murriah, George, and Lucy, members of the enslaved peoples of Somerset Place.

When my sister, Mina Wilson shared that Joseph McGill wanted to conduct a sleep over at Somerset Place to coincide with our family reunion, as part of his Slave Dwelling Project to honor, acknowledge, reflect on, and explore the lives of the enslaved, I was intrigued and excited, yet a little apprehensive. How safe would it be spending the night at a plantation in North Carolina – “MAGA” country? Would I feel spooked sleeping where my ancestors toiled and suffered? I really didn’t know what to expect but I knew I had to participate.

Upon arriving at Somerset Place on August 3rd, I had no idea and was amazed at the elaborate day of activities and programs that had been planned to coincide with the Dickerson-Wood Family reunion. The public was invited as well. There were living historians, depicting the lives of Harriet Jacobs, enslaved in Edenton, NC and The Story of Adam, depicting the life of an enslaved man named Adam, both delivered so exquisitely, I was carried into their lives and deeply moved by the emotional events dramatically portrayed. The skill and artistry of the living historians along with the period attire, added to the authenticity of the portrayal so much so, that at times I felt as if I too was witnessing events a century and a half ago instead of in the present day. We learned from another group of living historians how enslaved members were helped by abolitionists through various codes that may be a song, a pouch of black-eyed peas to let you know too many eyes are watching, or a bouquet of sunflowers to send the same message. Who knew that a “hoe cake” was dough baked on a dusty dirty hoe in the sun, for a mid-day meal, a hoe, the same tool that was just used for digging the soil? News to me!

Audience members and children were also solicited to participate in these demonstrations. A tent was erected for the family’s shade and lunch. Board games, a volley ball/badminton net was set up on the grounds for fun and play. Karen Hayes, the Director of Somerset Place Historic Site and Joseph McGill, developer of the Slave Dwelling Project in crafting these activities, really enhanced the Dickerson-Wood Family reunion experience for me and my family members. I am grateful to them. It was truly an enriching experience that I will cherish.

As I passed the slave kitchen, I saw a number of people bustling around preparing food and cooking in period attire. Little did I know that this was a meal being authentically prepared by Jerome Bais and staff for the small group that would be staying the night. It was truly delicious and the most significant meal of the day for me.

As the sun declined, the frogs and the cicadae grew louder and the mosquitos and bugs descended with a vengeance. The sun set and dusk fell before the evening’s darkness set in. The sky was filled with stars and there was a peacefulness about Somerset Place. We awaited instructions as to where to gather for the Slave Dwelling Project fireside chat.

Around 9:45 pm we made our way to sit around a campfire on the Somerset grounds. We introduced ourselves around the circle and shared our impressions of the day and what brought us to the sleepover. There were members of the Somerset Place and Stagville Plantation Historic Site staffs, along with the Slave Dwelling Project staff, a member of law enforcement, who acknowledged his ancestors were overseers for Somerset Place, and our family members. All seemed to be interested in hearing our family’s views of the experience as descendants of Somerset Place. It was a mixed group of Caucasian and African Americans. The conversation became very candid within the group and we spoke our truth and it felt validating. We spoke of how, still today, we all live with the remnants of the slave culture as we witness the current social frameworks as expressed in racial attitudes, endorsed polices of brutality and unjust treatment of communities of color and immigrants, and of condoned racists comments spewed from and polices endorsed at the highest levels of our government. We discussed aspects of the enslaved peoples’ circumstances, the oppressive limits of their existence, and examples of documented cruelty they had to endure. We spoke of the need for accurate truthful education about slavery and the recent and ongoing efforts to minimize and lie about the realities of slavery in textbooks, which serves to perpetuate these injustices. We discussed the fact that this is American history, both European American and African American history and experience. We discussed the wide range of attitudes about slavery among African Americans and being descendants of enslaved people – from feeling of shame to embracing it with pride. A range of attitudes appear within our family and we acknowledged the dismay and disinterest expressed by our family members about participating in the sleepover. One noticeable occurrence that I witness often in discussions that include slavery or other racial issues is that the voices of Caucasian participants are largely absent from these discussions and the conversation, often to the point of silence.

This was the case this evening around the campfire. Perhaps they were intimidated, understandably, to speak into this space. It is however, a curious phenomenon to me and a little disconcerting. The exchange becomes one-sided, imbalanced, incomplete, not transparent, and cloaked. I felt this as well this evening, yet left the fireside chat deeply inspired, moved, with a heightened sense of connectedness to Somerset Place.

It was after midnight, which rang in August 4th, my birthday. My sister, Mina, acknowledged me and I received a hearty birthday serenade from the group before we parted for our sleeping quarters. Our family group slept in the hospital cabin. After a full day of festivities and celebration and the North Carolina summer heat, we were all exhausted. Charles and Leslie slept in what would have been the operating room and my sisters and I slept in the sick room. Sleep was not a problem but staying asleep was another story.

Morning and the call to breakfast came before I knew it. I participated in a pleasant and interesting conversation with Historic Site staff during breakfast and we discussed their work as tour guides and staff there. They shared about the different aspects of their work, the types of visitors they encounter and their efforts to authentically share plantation life and the enslaved peoples’ experiences. They seem committed to offering a realistic and honest depiction of period life on the Stagville Plantation.

Before leaving our sleeping quarters and packing the cars to return to Raleigh, our family engaged in a memorable sincere offering. Requested by my Sister-in-law Leslie, we asked permission of the ancestors to pray for our ancestors and all those enslaved at Somerset Place. We received permission and engaged in a truly moving spiritual offering that deepened my connection to my ancestors and to Somerset Place. Thank you to Mr. Joseph McGill and the Slave Dwelling Project staff and Ms. Karen Hayes and the Somerset Place staff for making all of the activities, performances and the sleepover possible. My mind and soul continue to process these profound experiences. Thank you, Mr. Jerome Bais and staff for the awesome meals and for Saturday’s authentically prepared and cooked dinner and the period attire of the staff. This was a remarkable extraordinary experience that will remain with me for my lifetime. Blessings to Karen Hayes and the Somerset Place Historic Site staff for your planning and hosting the Dickerson-Wood Family Reunion. May you, Mr. McGill and the Slave Dwelling Project Staff be Blessed to continue this exceptionally important work.