Heritage

 Like most citizens of the United States my family did not originate in this country. We are all immigrants with our countries of origin elsewhere in the world. My heritage consists of ancestors from here, in the United States, Ireland, and unknown countries of the African continent.

My great great great great great great grandfather on my mother's side immigrated here in the early 1800s. He owned a small plot of about 50 acres and he grew tobacco. Soon, he had earned enough money to purchase a small group of slaves. As a black woman, it pains me to acknowledge that I am a direct descendant of slave owners. He fathered at least one illegitimate child with one of his slaves and it resulted in the first American born member of my family tree. My family name, Ware, is the name of a city in Hartfordshire. We are one of a precious few, Black Irish families living in the United States.

My Irish heritage extends to both branches of my family tree. One my father's side, my great great grandfather, an Irishman, married a Native American. My great great grandmother was half Blackfoot and half Crow. She gave up her heritage when she married him and quickly assimilated to his culture. Their granddaughter, however, embraced her Native American ancestry and threw herself into studying her heritage and immersing herself into the culture.

Even though I come from such a diverse background, somehow I ended up with two Black parents. People may look at me and see me as a mulatto, but they would be mistaken. The Irish gene is a very strong one and every member of my family shows proof of this through our light skin. And there are a few of us with red hair. Mine is a reddish-blond/ light brown color while my brother has dark red hair like Malcolm X. It is an interesting trait and one that we are all very proud of. Especially since Black women are perpetually dying their hair the same shade that I have been naturally endowed with.

There have also been many other cultural influences to my family. Though not related by blood, these family members are a distinct and important part of my heritage. For example, great uncle married a Cantonese woman and I grew up alongside their children. So while they were passing their heritage onto their own children I was directly influenced as well. And my uncle was born and raised in Hawaii. When I was about 5 years old, he moved in with us and lived there for about 4 years. As a result of that, I learned a lot about Hawaiian culture and that has molded the person that I am today.

Overall, I have had many cultural influences to my heritage. My family consists of everything from slave owners to island dwellers. What I've learned from the diversity of my family is that it does not matter where you come from or who people expect you to be. Your heritage is what you make it. You can choose what you want to pass on to your children. The more you know about yourself and your heritage, the more you learn to appreciate others'.