Our ancestry was hidden to protect us --Ep. 2
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
- #ancestry #documentary #docuseries #louisiana #creole native american heritage month #findingyourroots #heritage #indigenous #dna #genealogy native ancestry dna test
Episode 2 of "Finding Lola"
I used to be angry that we didn't know about our hidden heritage, because my great grandmother was passing for white in NY. After finishing this project, now I understand why we didn't know about our Native American ancestry for so long.
Watch the entire 4 part "Finding Lola" series here:
• MY family story of "Wh...
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Come join me on a new 5 episode docu-series that explores identity, racial tensions in the South during the 20th century, and the unique experiences of those who historically called Louisiana home.
My name is Danielle Romero, and all my life, I have romanticized Louisiana.
Growing up in New York, it represented a place where I could step back the sepia-toned life of my great grandmother, Lola Perot, who died before I was born.
Now, it was time to go back to Louisiana--although I had no idea what the truth would be or what questions to ask---who was Lola really? Who were we?
‘With the cow you eat everything but the moo and with the pig you eat everything but the oink’ is a very traditional saying passed down in African American families in the South. Every Creole family has a story of at least one relative who passed for white. It simply was not safe for her to disclose her true heritage.
wow this is an amazing comment-- I had never heard that before. Thank you for sharing that info---it is amazing to me now, looking back, just how many cultural things DID get passed down in the family...we just didn't have the context for them
Yes so much was passed down. Not just oral traditions, but worship, music and food. Jambalaya is the Creole paella/jollof rice. My family from the SC lowcountry makes red rice which is the Gullah version of jollof rice.
@@GeeBee212 hey now! I love it when I run into my Gullah Geechee folks online! Ain't nothing like low country food now! My grandma has Creole ancestry and my grandfather is Gullah and they were both born in Oklahoma so our family food is this weird mix of low country Creole native American soul food! And then they moved to Seattle! So we just all mixed up here! But baby our family get togethers be lit!
@@GeeBee212 Does your family from South Carolina refer to themselves as Gullah or Geechee? I know the population as Geechee. I only saw the word "Gullah" used in the textbooks. I am simply curious. Blessings to you and your great heritage.
@@omggiiirl2077 We Out Chea! Are we cousins? Lol!
I don't know how I came across this channel but I think your story is fascinating! Ironically, I live in Bastrop and I know a Desadier here (different spelling tho, coincidence?)
My own heritage has been questioned but because of racism and fear, my family's history is buried deep. At funerals, I've heard whispers like "That's your uncle on the 'white' side." And "You look just Aunt (So &So) on the 'Indian' side of the family." It's known that in a particular town that was also mentioned in your videos, there's the white side and the side of color...same name. Living in the same place but it's not talked about. It's a normal thing to see them at a funeral if someone passes. I've been told that my great grandmother, who was Blackfoot Indian and married a very light mulatto who looked like Cary Grant back in the day lol, passed as African American because Indians were MORE discriminated against than blacks. So our Native history and traditions are obsolete. I've literally only seen one picture of her because she didn't want to be photographed.
I envy you being able to look into your heritage. Unfortunately, because of slavery I can never know one side of mine. And because of racism in America, I've lost the other half of my family's identity. Continued blessings on your journey. ❤️
Hi! Well, the Desadiers spell there name all different ways but it's the same family. I recently found out Lola's 3rd great grandma was a Desadier from the missions! CRAZY to see the names still around like this. And thank you for sharing your story---it is giving me SUCH a context hearing the experiences in the south for the family's that stayed. It's bittersweet. We have no control over what our ancestors chose---but we do have some choices now. I think reconnecting is a choice I needed to make. Also, I want to encourage you about the slave history--Lola's father descended from slaves and I was able to locate a lot of records about them through the Race and Slavery Petitions Project. library.uncg.edu/slavery/petitions/
... to understand people must first accept the truth of this country including slavery and the brutal rapes by enslavers; the economics of being black... it's interesting that a common thread within the family interviewees who seem to identify and embrace the poverty more than the blackness; followed by embracing the "Indian" blood more than the blackness...embracing all the others before embracing blackness generations later. Ruth Hazlip's book The Sweeter The Juice tackled the familial divide over those who chose to pass and those who didn't or couldn't. this is complicated territory and yet some people balk at the idea of critical race theory...or true American history...all of these things in intersect. keep doing the work and the education will follow. this series also reminds me of the documentary Traces of the Trade wherein a white family traced its economic wealth and their participation in the slave trade. the family was fractured over the unadulterated truth. until we are honest with ourselves, within our own families, we cannot be honest with others.
@@streetwise8707 Thank you for this thoughtful comment! Most of my family had not taken a DNA test during the interviews and didnt know about the signifiant African DNA-- my mom's cousin knew and that's why he brought it up in Episode 3. I am still on this journey of learning who we are and I share it all with my family
I've been doing my Jewish genealogy, an extremely difficult task, given that both the nazis and the soviets deliberately destroyed as many Jewish documents as possible, and, of course, a huge number of us were murdered in the Holocaust. Not only that, but, with the pogroms before the Holocaust, Jewish refugee families were scattered around the world, and could not keep contact with their Soviet relatives because it was too dangerous, so a great deal of family knowledge was lost. My family literally thought they were the last branch left in the world. But despite all that, I've found that, with a lot of work, I've been able to do my genealogy. Now that I'm so interested in genealogy, I've learned that, in fact, it is also possible to trace both Indigenous and African American family trees far more than you'd think. I know my own ethnic history is different from yours, but I told you about my story, and about what I've learned, because I want to encourage you to try. It's *not* impossible after all.
There was a short documentary here on an Indian elder, he said he and his brother were forced to be institutionalised because at the time, the white police said to them" if you speak your language or practice spiritual rituals, you will be punished". They would also threaten removal of family members too. He said his brother could talk to animals, clouds and see spirits
irish people have spent 400 years complaining about the racism aimed at them by the english, but then they come to america and spread the same prejudice.
Truth be told!!!!!
No the Irish came mostly as indentured slavery and often intermarried with native Indians and blacks. You can't take one person's attitude and assign it to a whole group.
@@tst1200-- I agree but a lot of Irish are quite racist. My dad's family were literally the darkest Irish people I've ever seen and were very concerned with their whiteness. I'm aware many Irish married Afro-Americans and I assumed that was true of my dad's family. I was quite shocked to see I showed on African ancestory at all.
I would suggest that everyone do a real genetic test. U may be surprised what u find out. Most AA/Blacks will discover there is little or no Native ancestry. The look really comes from African and European ancestry mixed. The sum of it for me is that WE ARE ALL HUMANS ! I appreciate your journey and sharing it. ⭐️
Theresa thank you! We did take one! I’m going to do a short video next on our DNA communities from ancestry! It was Louisiana Creoles (African) and Northern Mexico /south Texas(indigenous). I hope you’ll stay for it! You are right- whatever we are, we are more alike than different from each other .
Interesting! I did 23 and me. African (Nigerian mostly) , European ( Irish,English), also Ashkenazi Jew. I am from Louisiana, too. I understand the whole dynamic. There is no judgment here. Thanks💙💜
European diaspora dont all look the same just like Asians and African diaspora are not all the same. Southern Europeans share dna with the rest of the Mediterranean race such as middle eastern, North African and Balkan people. We have very different physical features due to our very different histories. Southern European Mediterranean diaspora is very different than Northern European diaspora etc. I am southern Italian, ethnically Latin as I am southern Italian and racially Mediterranean and like the rest of Southern European diaspora we are genetically mixed ethnic people as I listed above. This is due to the Mediterranean and due to the fact that parts of Southern Europe are closer to Africa than mainland Europe itself. Europe is just a geographical term like Asia and Africa. We’re Not all symptoms ethnicities and races from Europe just like the rest of the continents. And yes real Latino men and women are of prominent Southern European Latin Mediterranean diaspora who’s ethnicity comes from the real Latino ancestors of Italy and Roman derived Latin Europe as we at the sole creators of the Cultura Latina the Latin culture. Hence how the place Latina Italy got the historical Latin name Latina. Americans have misappropriated and culturally raped our Latin terms as trending propaganda to appear more desirable for social status for social advantage. “Latin” America got its name solely and only to mean the part of the American continent conquered and ruled by Latin European countries. The same exact way anglo America got its name. Mostly North Americans misappropriate Latin terms or countries south to the border that have high contact with North Americans. Again as trending propaganda for social status/ social advantage. And us true Latin Mediterranean people have typical brown Mediterranean features with typical olive Mediterranean skin.
I did Ancestry and I am 17% European (10% Scottish) and the rest African from many parts. So yeah many, not all are mixtures.
I did the dna test and I am 8% Native American, My paternal grandmother lived on the Muscogee Creek reservation as a child but moved away due to the poverty, hopelessness and alcoholism and didn't want that for her families future.
On my maternal grandmother's side we are creole and my dna is from North Africa, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Portugal, France, Germany, The Levant, Spain, England, Sardinia, Philippines and Far East.
I am
I'm so very sorry, Lola was treated poorly by her in-laws. I'm Irish, but I lived in CT for a year. I was ashamed to say I was Irish, as I found the first generation Irish were very racist. I couldn't believe a people so oppressed would treat others so poorly. Again I'm sorry Lola had such a hard life, from those who should have wanted to help. 😢😢😢
My aunt said the same thing--she was like...the Irish were really mistreated for so long...strange that this was the way they treated Lola. Im so glad you found the channel Sheila, I hope you will stay! I have so much more to share
@@nytn Thank you, I have watched the other videos on Lola's life, I'm definitely staying 💞
Sadly, the reason Italians and Irish were so racist, is because they noticed the white people who taunted them, taunted blacks and Natives too. Unfortunately, Irish and Italians started copying these white people in order to fit in. It was a way to prove, “If we make fun of them, it’s because we are socially superior.” This worked, and it did gain the Irish and Italians more respect with the other whites. (I know, it’s horrible. 😢) There is an article titled How Italians Became White that goes into this deeper.
@@findingbeautyinthepain8965 My dad's family are immigrants from Italy/Sicily. I havent dont that side yet much...but it's not clear cut either. Lots of Egyptian and African common there, too!
I have book called "How the Irish became white" . It would be interesting to find out how the Irish side of the family feel, since finding out Lola had some African DNA.
Wow! Great story. I saw the title because I know of a cousin who passed for white and moved to New York and married a white guy, back in the day. I never knew her, but her sisters talked about her. I hope you continue documenting your story. I think there's an urge in many of us to want to uncover and know more about ourselves, and thus, the threads unravel. Thanks for sharing your story, and I hope you will continue to share it.❤🙏🏽
Wow- amazing the similarities. The story is not over yet! I can’t wait to share the history I uncovered. Hope you’ll stay:)
@@nytn Yes, already subbed! Looking forward to hearing. 🤩
Look up the book "white Like Her" It is a similar story of a young creole woman who moved to Indiana and married a white guy. Her children never knew until her daughter who was into genealogy ordered her birth certificate in the mid 90's.
My Grandmother was born Osage in 1918 around Tulsa. They were so ashamed that we never knew we were Native. So so sad!! Maria Tallchief is my family tree ❤️
Wow--love that you shared this! I found a really strange tie to the Osage I want to bring up in a video at some point. Id love for you to see it when I get it done.
Oh, I read that book about the murders of the Osage people to steal their wealth. Maria Tallchief!
@@nytn I’d love to hear the story! 🥰 I’m just starting my journey and love it!!
@@laurencaulton103 I don’t know much more than what I shared. I surely hope our family wasn’t involved in that massacre!!
Oh my, the ballerina?
Going back to LA would have meant going back to her Black identity. Lola made a "Sophie's Choice". She played the long game and cemented her children's identity as white. We most certainly can't judge her because every mother wil do whatever it takes to provide for her children. Due to the atrocities of racism that permeated every aspect of life, the system in place at that time was such that even the poorest white person was a rung above the wealthiest Black or Creole. She used what she had - the ability to pass- and took the gamble.
I still really struggle filling out any form that requires racial details. Not out of rejecting our heritage, but wondering how much is appropriate to claim. I feel like no matter what circle I fill in, or leave blank, it's not totally true.
@@nytnIf it's any comfort it really isn't that uncommon. Whatever your decision you are not alone in your confusion. Climbing up my family tree has been an eye opening experience, not racially but all the lost pieces due to slavery.
thank you for that kind word, and I wish you the best of luck in finding your family. I hope you stick around here!
She wasn't black, she was biracial. Say, part of her identity,black was not a whole identity, It 2022 let's the racist retarded one drop rule go!..
I come from a mixed family in south La. Now. 2222. Now. The racism there is crazy.
I think 1. She was in love 2. She was smart enough to know she had made the tough decision for her kids and future.
im 59 aboriginal irish australian and my dad looked like a full blooded aboriginal my mum was fair with green eyes straight nose i was called a half caste by a bully in high school i said im not he said i saw your mum down town shes a white woman i didnt look at my mum like that she was my mum as i got older though i saw my mum growling at ppl at gas stations an fruit shops anywhere we would go with her now when i look back they were nice to her but when they saw us they changed there tune this was the 70s too i got bullied at school for the color of my skin i hated going to school my dad traced our lineage we have Afghanistan irish scottish hindu only a bit of aboriginal dad found out that mum biological grandmother was fully white back in the day they called it a "blacks camp " only aboriginal ppl lived there and grandma lived outside of it she wasnt allowed its amazing when dad tells storys about his mum an my mums side through research we are all a melting pot and should lovingly embrace it not be ashamed i think its awesome to be honest but this doc was xllent loved it her grandmother was georgous you can see were danielle romero gets her beauty from and God bless these ppl and their familys we are all Gods children amen 😊🖤❤🧡👵
I have a 2nd cousin that is an American Native that was adopted by my uncle. She is my favorite cousin to see and even visiting her. I know that she is not a blood relative.She is treated as a part of my family. Even my father was good friends with her. I remembered my first time in meeting her just before I turned 23 years old. I asked my mother if she is an American Native and she said yes. I even said cool after her response. I was glad to see her on my birthdays and even Thanksgiving,too. I just loved her as part of my family. My uncle treated her as a daughter. I don’t judge the color of the skin and I judge the inside. I even listened to my ❤. To me that is more important. One of my sister’s friends thought that our grandfather was black. She told that person that he is not black. He is white that tans easily during the summer. My grandfather was a German American. He just had a dark complexion for a white person. My mother looked liked him a little bit and even my grandmother,too. Even I looked more than my father but, my face that I looked like my mother. There is a tiny bit of American Native in me. I think it is 1/8 or something. I know that I’m 100% white American woman. I do care about my Swedish and Norwegian heritage from my father’s side of family. I also have German heritage from my mother’s side,too. I’m more German than Swedish or Norwegian. I’m happy to be what I am.
Beth-- thank you so much for sharing that sweet story :)
DNA test will reveal exactly what you are you should do one
My Grandmother (my Father's Mom) left the South, her husband and three children and lived in Buffalo, NY passing as a White woman. While she was in the South, she claimed her African American heritage. Once she separated from her family, she became White. She sure did look the part, too. It was quite confusing to me when I learned what she did. Then as I grew up and entered womanhood, I was told she left to get away from my physically abusive Grandfather. The question always remains: Why didn't she take her children with her? I know, the culture of the time ((1940s) was challenging. But I can't get around asking that question right up till the day she died (1996). The baffling things people do to save themselves.
Paulette-- wow. What a story. Thank you for sharing. There are sometimes LOTS of reasons people did what they did--and maybe we won't know them all now. Im glad you are here!
Want to support this project so I can keep making more? Check out www.patreon.com/NYTN/about !
Want the rest of “Finding Lola”? Click a link to watch the other 3 episodes now!
Episode 1: ua-cam.com/video/SQp7jeNp_yg/v-deo.html
Episode 3:ua-cam.com/video/bLxaTBhCu_Y/v-deo.html
Episode 4:ua-cam.com/video/WDz6Fgr3qlY/v-deo.html
Several of Lola's children and grandchildren have black noses. Definitely some black Creole blood.
It’s strange to look back on family photos with a new perspective. Now that I know, I can see exactly who we are. Thank you for watching and commenting.
"We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time." -- TS Eliot.
I pray that your searchings and findings lead you to a deeper understanding of yourself, the people around you, and your place in history. May your documentary be part of the healing balm that needs to happen for the racial hurt, distrust and anger that is SO prevalent here in these United States.
This was truly just beautiful, thank you. You said exactly what I am working toward. I hope you stay around for upcoming videos.
@@nytn binge-watched, watching again, subscribed! In response to your mother's comment on racial groupings, it should be talked of more.
I would like a "None of Your Business" box mandated by Federal Law. I'm not ashamed of my European heritage but I'm suspicious enough to wonder why I'm asked... unless someone wants to log it down to enable discrimination of some kind later.
Besides, even if I wanted to share the fact that I'm very European ethnically, a "white" box wouldn't suffice. Even "French" doesn't cut it. It has to say "descendant of French Huguenots from Artois via Amsterdam c1652. My English box has to say "village of Scrooby, c1588" and I should get a stipend from the Scooby Doo show every time I check the box.
@@JaneAtwellRobinson1825NY Im so glad you are here! Truly. Also, I saw another comment a bit back that an American with European heritage moved to GB and for the first time had boxes options to check (Irish, English, Welsh...). It is interesting that one group gets such a catch-all.I am mostly European myself and didnt mind checking white for a long time, but the whole thing feels a bit disingenuous now...
@@nytn Ok not to hog the comment box but... I have yet to see a black person from the UK call himself "African-American". Notice my box can never be "European-American" but it's Asian-American and African-American, Native American, or white-bread "Caucasian" which includes the northern part of Africa and I think maybe at least I should get my own continent just like everyone else and PS WHY is there no Aboriginal Australian box (Australian-American?). Just because most of them don't tend to migrate doesn't mean one hasn't and here you box-people have gone and made them feel not welcome.
NEW Conspiracy Theory: Australian-Americans have not migrated to this country because they could never check the appropriate racial box on the immigration form. :)
OK but on a serious note I think the categories here are broad by design. It's extremely racial with no regard for country or culture of origin. It's almost like someone wants us to keep thinking of ourselves that way...
God bless you and your project. I am very glad I came across it. Bye for now!
There is no way Lola could have brought white children back to live in the deep south during Jim crow. The confines of Jim crow was something you had to grow up with In order to be able to safely navigate. Being raised in the north and sent south to visit relatives cost Emit Till his life. Louisiana was a lynching state. If one of her son's even looked a white man in the eye while answering a question he would have been in for a beating. There is no way she could have done that. She was stuck.
oh my goodness, ths story of E. Till absolutely crushed me when I first read it.
Danielle looks so Native American & African American 💓💞💓💞 & Irish
Well, Im glad to represent all of the pieces of the story! :)
Native for sure
I am happiest in knowing that YOU aren’t finding it necessary to hide this fact. You and your family see how stupid it is for anyone to have to hide who they are, as opposed to being proud about who they are. That is what is most beautiful about your journey... Being black and proud, native and proud, indigenous and proud!! The first Americans... Honor and love to our ancestors!!
I agree with you, thankfully I live in a time where I feel like I can openly explore my heritage! I am so grateful for that
My maternal Grandmother had a picture of her 1st four kids taken on a horse back in Colorado in the mid 1930's. It was the same kind of man who came around with the same offer. This is the only picture of the 3rd child my grandmother had who died before the age of 5 years old. My mother is the 7th of 8th kids. She never knew what her older 2nd sister looked like until after 2013 when her 6th sibling passed away. The eldest sister who is the 2nd born child is now 96 years old, found it when going through her mother's pictures and shared it with the family.
Wow that’s amazing! ♥️♥️
I love your stories because I've been down the same exact road being from S. Louisiana
Lola loved her husband and I am sure that had alot to do with the decision. Love makes people do strange things to stay together.Lola must have thought the future was brighter here for her children as they grew up
In Campti they ate tamales, meat pies, goats, hogs, greens, beef tripe, Pork intestines, peas, okra, turnips, my grandparents brought their unusual food taste to Monroe Louisiana and never gave that up, I was told they always wanted to eat the chicken foot as children at Campti, we ate wild ducks, the men killed ducks on black lake and sold them to be sent to Shreveport and New Orleans, that was before duck became protected and they used live decoy ducks
I am absolutely shocked by how much you experienced what my family told us. It makes me feel so happy to see it written out from someone else. What culture do you think the food was connected to?
My God. This is so heartbreaking. I get it though. My own dad tried to convince us that the only ancestry that mattered was HIS Irish/ Scottish/ English decent. I guess I just thought my family was terrible. I didn't consider this happened everyday to so many people.
Thats what shocked me. This was a community experience for like...more than 3 decades. WHAT
I don’t get it though. When the two different famines (from the evictions/arsons and the blight) happened the Irish were treated the same. H3ll Jackie Ks family hid her grandmother upstairs and pretended she was the maid any time she happened to wander downstairs because of her Irish accent. They even made up a fake French pedigree. Which is why I don’t get it. You should look it up it’s pretty sick. A Jackie’s anger when she found out what they did…well let’s just say, considering she married into one of the most well known Irish families in America and her kids were Irish, she wasn’t pleased. The document I saw that touched on it was really good.
My grt grt grandfather was Irish too. Although he was an Irish Crypto. He took my grt grt grandmother and their family to Kansas twice for the Census. The second time they moved early and settled there until it was over and they knew it wasn’t going to happen or be required again. Then they went back home to get the area where we are now. My Grt grt grandmother never did go back to the south East or the tribe.
Beautiful story, be proud of who you are. We’re all people created by God
It is very sad that the Irish grandfather discriminated against his mixed grandchildren. Congratulation to Lola for persevering and raising 8 children in poverty.
It's interesting how John Donnelly at 1:49 has very similar features (longer and angular fine face with high cheekbones, close set eyes, high forehead, narrow and tall pointy nose), face structure and how his eyes are set like people from Northwest Spain. Northwest Spaniards and Irish are related and each other's closest relatives, especially Asturias, Galicia and Basqueland..with Ireland, Asturias and Galicia being Celtic nations. However, blue eyes are more prevalent in Ireland along with more squarish chins. These older photos are so valuable because I think it tells the truth of how people from different countries looked like before mass transportation and intermingling. I keep on telling people Northwest Spaniards don't look like Antonio Banderas (who is a mediterrenean type from Malaga) but more like Irish, who are both Atlantic of celtic ancestry.
This is the video that I've been looking for! I'm an avid watcer and have really learned lot. I believe I am from a similar family.
I watch these with a certain measure of conflicted feelling.
That aside, I’ve personally decided that Lola did what she had to do and that was the right thing to do for the survival of her children.
I believe the conflict comes with the belief that Lola feeling forced to hide her ethnicity and train her own children to act accordingly. Leading to complete loss of that identity in subsequent generations of your family somehow brands Lola’s family as complicit. But that simply isn’t so.
What probably made Lola stay was that potential was better up North. For a single mother of eight meant a life of not only drudgery but non-stop demeaning treatment and threats of physical abuse along with that drudgery. Lola wanted better for her children and, bad as it was, Albany squeaked by as the better of the two.
Let’s be honest, in Louisiana there was always a chance of far worse things to happen than being 'rejected' or spoken ill of… The political climate in that part of the country had always been super-toxic compared to the north-east. Not that we don’t have serious race issues. It’s just never been quite as prone to exact physical harm as the South was and, in many way, still is.
Her marriage to your Great Grandfather wouldn’t have made her life there any better. In fact, it would probably have been worse because the second most despised target of Southern bigotry was and still is religion-based - They hate Jews and Catholics. Northeast, fairly well-monied Irish dandy + Black/Italian/Mexican and only heaven knows what else - MARRIED!?! … Nah … They HAD to leave. That union was apt to be continually confronted by racism. The only thing that could’ve made it any worse was if they’d decided their child would be Jewish. What was already there was more than enough to elicit vitriol from all the haters in the region.
However, this isn’t really about Lola’s decision. It’s about the essence of what you set out to do - Find the truth and learn why your family is the way it is now.
The primary answer, of course, already presented, is well-known to us all - White Supremacy.
White Supremacy has invaded and influenced EVERY LIFE THAT HAS EVER EXISTED IN AMERICA.
Some have managed to get through seeming relatively unscathed but none has gone entirely untouched if not totally corrupted by White Supremacy.
Just as it had disrupted the lives of the former slaves, White Supremacy influenced your family’s life. - Breaking your family apart. Forcing a single mother of eight to choose between the lesser of two evils. Forcing her in-laws and neighbors to disavow and ostracize both Lola and her children in order to avoid being, themselves, targeted by bigots. Forcing her children to unwittingly fear being known as their true selves by losing track and burying the past as well as they could. Finally, White Supremacy forced two generations of your family to become completely detached from awareness of your own family story.
I’ll bet even money that this is the most common story throughout all of America but few people ever make the effort you have to learn the truth. (If that’s even possible in an environment such as this.) Instead, never knowing the truth, they tell themselves and accept whatever story makes their lives most bearable in an environment still too greatly in the thrall of White Supremacy to do otherwise with either comfort or clarity. A LOT of our personal histories have been blurred in this exact same way. Race notwithstanding.
I sincerely hope, going forward, that any rift this journey has caused your family is soon healed.
- Love to You and All of Your Family Always!
I read all of this twice and just wanted to thank you. ☺️
I love love this story even though I know it's sad for the family. I soo appreciate you sharing. It encourages other families to find their paths in life. Soo hats off to you for sharing 😘😘
What a wonderful comment to get-- thank you Denise. I hope you stay around for what's next!
Kaleah, thank you so much for sharing that part of your story. This is a really complicated thing to inherit, but I literally would not trade with anyone. I love that you are in NYC! I hope you will keep working on your family story, it sounds incredible. Where in the south were they from?
Thank you for responding. I will definitely keep watching
This so common and saddens me. Because I had to except that. Also my mother would tell us we are Irish. I hated that Irish trait until my mother and father finally said that we are Chickasaw. My mother is from. Franklinton la, my father is from Mississippi band Chickasaw. I respect and understand what they had do to survive in those days. Shalom.
Rashiid--thank you so much for taking the time to watch episode 2. Thank you also for sharing that part of your story. we need to keep sharing!! I hope you stay for the other episodes!
This is such a wonderful journey that hits home for so many. Thank you for sharing it. What the name of the song the lady is singing in the beginning? Her voice sound so familiar.
Deb-- so glad you are here!! It's my sister in laws music. You can check her out here:marrowandthebrokenbones.bandcamp.com/
Yup my mother left the south and never went back. I am the youngest of Six she is half a shade darker than Lola VERY LIGHT I’m 45 she is 92 remembers whites only she was traumatized. Her siblings are light black gingers only difference is she married a Dark AA man and Lola didn’t it effects the skin tone. I believe Lola was white passing to move back to where she was KNOWN as a Mulatto would be harder than starting fresh with a new identity. Hard decision to make to walk away from your past ITS Very Common my mother Said. Imagine if a lot of people Actually knew their real Ancestors racism would be Almost non existent. I have a friend in NYC who was told she was part Sicilian they are known to be the Darker of Italians she found out she is not but indeed AA by 40 percent on her DNA.
WOW, thank you for sharing your family story. It's hard to judge in 2023. I just wish we had known more about our family and heritage, I really feel that lack sometimes. I agree with you, if more people knew their ancestry....there would be a lot less separation.
What's the song you used at the beginning of the video? It sounds a bit like Sierra Ferrell. I've really enjoyed your videos. Love is love and it should never matter who we love❤️
My amazing sister in law and her band Marrow and the Broken Bones
Danielle - have you found an information about your grandmother or her parents in old newspapers? The Library of Congress has newspapers to access on their webpage.
A little bit! I hope to share some of it in coming videos. I LOVE the Library of Congress webpage. Thank you, Alisa! Glad you are here :)
If she would have taken you back to her home you would have found out you were of Black ancestry and not just indian , and you would have saw a lot of people who looked just like you who identified as black... Im from memphis tn and you guys look a lot like some of my family members to this day
I think you are totally right. I have just started finding my black cousins! I'll be introducing them on here :)
Marion is so pretty she reminds me of my great grand ma
I believe that Lola did not return to the south because it was a hideous place to live for a person of mixed race. She probably saw more opportunities in the north with her husband and children to thrive and live more normal lives.
I’m sure she left think that it would be a better life for her offspring. And despite the bad situation in NY it was still better than being a person of color in the south. Mother’s will suffer and endure hardship if it’s for the betterment and means that your kids won’t.
This is sad and profound!
Is this the same vid?
This cultural self-loathing stuff... I know people who experienced grandparents saying they were "white" all their lives, often being very "anti" a certain group. Then finally admitted to "passing" at the end of their lives. A friend of mine went through this and was told over and over she was wrong for suspecting/feeling she was Indigenous, then her grandmother finally admitted she was Indigenous on her deathbed, I think Cree. I also read there is a significant amount of evidence the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover was partly Black and covered it up, while publicly persecuting the Black community and its leaders. I know it was a different world then, but yikes.. some people still follow that erasure mentality.
The truth sets us free!
@@nytn Amen, sis. My friend was really distraught about not being able to shake feeling Native and went to Elders who brought her to the sweat lodge and prayed with her regularly. Then many months after doing this, her grandma admitted it before dying. She felt it was the Elders and all the praying that influenced her grandma to fess up. She implied to me that her life of denial had really messed her up personally. Traditional Elders don't judge, they follow truth too. I mean, people who follow traditional ways, these Elders are different from angry people who have lived in their personal cycle of unresolved grief and anger to old age and haven't really overcome or grown. My friend's story is different from the family lore things you touched on that are more often wrong. Johnny Cash was led to believe he was partly Indigenous and found out he wasn't late in life. I read that after he passed away, his daughter found out evidence shows he was actually partly Black. We don't all have the same ancestors, but we are all related. TRUTH! We need it. ✌🏽
I found out when I was 50 that my father's father was adopted father so that made him my step-grandfather that was Italian and I thought I was Italian and my daughter took my DNA and said I was25 I forget 25 or 28% Indian then my father confessed and said yeah I am adopted he kept it a secret because of my mother wanted that secret that I was Italian that sounded better to her and the other45% was from Spain no Italian at all there's still some DNA missing though oh15% was Greek and Italian and Portuguese
So many secrets coming out!
they fell in love they either made the decision to go north and live to have peace or she decided not to.tell her husband she was mixed
I dont know for SURE but I am very very close to sure that my great grandpa knew she wasn't white because his family rejected Lola for being "too ethnic". Im proud of him.
@@nytn yes he must have known.
It was worse in LA. that’s why she stayed.
Thank you for sharing your family history of passing - this is a story that you don’t often hear because of the nature of it . What I find most interesting is the fact that your Great grandmother Lola 🙏 had 8 children usually people who passed was fearful of a child being born that could tell their secret - so perhaps your grandfather knew her identity and didn’t care.🙏
I think it's cool hearing about white European dudes marrying ethnic American wives. It shows how progressive these couples were since it was soooooo taboo back then. It's interesting when you hear how some of these European men were actually well-educated, intellectual, well-to-do and forward thinking.
Lola is absolutely beautiful my 3rd great-grandmother name was Louise and was half apache Indian I see some resemblance in looks either way your family heritage is beautiful
I look up to her so much and I think she seems beautiful inside and out! Thank you for watching and sharing ♥️♥️
I'll have to read that again I think it was 15% Portuguese she didn't think all this sounded very good on my mother's side her father was Caucasian looking green eyes my mother had very blue eyes and white skin my father was darker but my mother's side was I guess mostly Spanish and it didn't come out Italian on my mother's side but her father was named g r a s s o an Italian name but it didn't come up on the DNA I think she needs to do that over again something weird there
No she thought it was still far better to be poor and white than to be poor and Indian
She would’ve been poor & colored/black/mulatto in the south
Poor and mulatto it's so funny how you people are ignoring her African ancestry.
Do a DNA test. Be proud of where you come from. I'm native and proud of my ancestors.
I did! My haplogroup was indigenous to the Americas (C1C)☺️
Awesome! I grew up on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. I'm Arapaho and our ancestral lands are in Colorado.
@@aliciaespinoza2781 how beautiful!!
I think Lola decided not to return to Louisiana with her children because she wouldn’t have been able to hide her racial history there. She probably thought it was easier to pass as white away from her family where her children would have a better future in Albany as white people than in Louisiana as Mulattos. What a heartbreaking reality that must’ve been 💔 she’s brave and did what she thought was best
I cant imagine the spot she is in, it has given me much more empathy. I think she did the best she could and that;s all you can ask for
She ate the tail of the chicken??? Now that is Black! My mom loves the chicken "booty" as she calls it! Lol! 🤣
My question to the children that are successful, do you think you would have been successful if you knew Lola's true identity from the beginning? Because you still would be the same phenotypes that you are now. If you knew you had some African DNA would that stop your success in life?
I know my grammy and her siblings faced a lot of racism as kids, but they didnt know understand about it until much much later on. They were treated as less-than and other for most of their time---and succeeded anyway. I think knowing their roots and being connected would have brought more strength to that process though.
So, have any of "this" new generation get in contact with Lola's family now
There has to be a lot of cousins to meet
Dolores, YES! I have met some already and am meeting more this summer. I have met the Creole side and hopefully will meet the Native and Mexican side later this year...
How about that, keep opening up those doors, safe travels
My Grandpa also loved the tail of the chicken.
Okay please tell me more about that.... LOL
All these people look like me.. we ain’t Indian we are native.. most likely part of the ten northern tribes.
Do you know what tribe you come from?
I’m planning some videos on tryin to figure that out! We weren’t told anything to go off of
Imagine how we feel being lied to that we are African Americans but truthfully we are the Aboriginal copper-colored Indians of America and this is our land. We didn't get off of a slave ship. We were already here.
No,you are not ,you are African Americans,chill. Some of you might be mixed with Native American Indians or white,but most of your percentages is African. So chill .
That did not happen in the Spanish America.
People talk about racism they face in the group of like minded people. She wanted to leave the racism behind. Just like millions of africans who went north. But in the end, you face a different kind of racism of loneliness and afraid you will be found out.
So she passed for White and married a poor White man. Really, make it make sense. Poor is poor. If I am going to be with a man of another race he would not be poor. I would be poor with the devil I know before being poor with the devil I don't. She passed and still did not do any better. AMAZING!!
Ethnicity does not come in degrees. You can't be more, less, too or too little ethnic.
ethnic means ethnic-other
typically implies melangian
@@bevs9995 Everyone has ethnicity. Regardless of what people have labelled them.
@@kindnessfirst9670 and when it is said that someone is 'ethnic', it means ethnic other. Ethnicity-unidentified.
of course everyone has an ethnicity.
omg
Louis Henry Gates need to find the genealogy of your family
I tried to get on the show! I didnt make the cut for the 'regular person' episode haha
You lack faith : *WE ARE HERE* :
Jeremiah 50:33-34
King James Version
33 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; *The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together* and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go.
34 Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause(Jesus) that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
Abraham/Issac = Israel and Hagar/Ishmael= Judah/Judea :) there you go
I think your would still be here if she went back home it would just be under different circumstances… and maybe you recognize that and are grateful for her demeaning sacrifice of who she was and who her family was so you could have your privilege…
I never knew I was poor until someone told me I was,
because my mother made a way and made sure there was always something to eat and a warm place to sleep.
That speaks volumes about your mother. Thank you for sharing that
I am so thankful to my great grandparents and grandparents parents, both from Iberian peninsula, and later my grandparents settled in Puerto Rico...and they are a loving people, kind, generous even if they had little themselves, accepting of all peoples...we are a mixed family of many cultures. I am blessed beyond belief to have so many blends in our family. This happens today. Prejudices and hatred are taught in the home. What a sad pathetic world for those that are full of prejudices and hatred.
This is so true as a young child I remember those little horses 🐎 in front of most grocery stores where young children could ride for a nickel. Well I must have been about 5 years old at the time and a young black boy was riding the horse, as I was waiting patiently for my turn to ride this young child looked right at me and gave me the bird 🖕🏿not understanding what it meant at such a young age and never being taught that from my immigrant parents I just waved back one child to another. Later in life I looked back thinking what a lifetime of hatred that poor black child was given by his parent’s.
She did what she had to do, making sure that her children would have a better chance at life. She scarified a lot. Admirable, strong woman. 💯💜
Linda-- thank you! She did, and Im proud of that. Now it's my job to find out who we really are.
One of my biggest regrets was not asking my grandparents about their childhoods. Unfortunately, my mother forbade me from asking due to the both of them having painful childhoods. My grandfather was supposed to oversee his brother and sister while his mother was at a neighbor's house doing laundry. He found his siblings drowned in a creek. My grandmother was an orphan by age 12. Before my grandmother died, my mother asked her mother about her father. She said he was the best father in the whole world and then broke down and cried.
Oh my goodness, I have the same regret. But I dont know if they would have all talked openly. That was not the way it was. Such a heartbreaking story about your grandfather's family
When my black/white daughter was born some in my family wanted me to say she was Mexican and some just disowned us ....1999/ Alabama
Oh my goodness 😳
That’s terrible. I’m sorry that happened and I’m sorry that people would have such a messed up mindset.
@@nytn my grandmother went through the same thing. having 2 half-black/ white kids. and she was disowned by a few of her brothers and sisters.plus my grandmother kept a lot of secrets that she took to her grave.i never met my grandmother.it was taboo for a white woman to marry a black man.i got really confused growing up.as im part black white indian
With tan skin.but when I lived in New York .I was passed off as Cuban or Hispanic,
@@Chanel8-i1n7n There are so many of us! Glad you found the channel :)
I found out we had a Native American grandmother several generations back. The only picture I have of my great grandmother, she looked very much Native American. It was her grandmother who was said to be Native American. For the most part we are of scots Irish descent. No sign of Native American DNA in my test but she was back there. When I told my mother that great grandmother looked American Indian she said “oh no. They were Irish”. I think it must have had some stigma back in the 1920s and beyond because they never talked about it…that branch of the family was located in Tennessee.
If you have a woman from the family get DNA tested, you can check the haplogroup. Our haplogroup turned out to be C1C through my mom, grammy and her mom Lola-- indigenous to the Americas. It should always show up --even without a large percentage of native DNA
Apart from ethnicity % check your matches especially low % autosomal matches.
Lola's father in law was a horrible person, period. No matter what they were still his family. He let his blood suffer. He gives Irish people a bad name for being such a coward. I understand times were different but that speaks volumes of his character.
That kind of racism still happens today.
Judging events from the past by today’s standards is ignorant
@@judyperri9496 you must be white. Smh that is such a stupid statement! 😒
@@ms.andrea172 You’ve just proved my point
In those days mostly the husbands worked so naturally they would go where his work was headquartered. It was not uncommon for people to try to pass as white. It’s a matter of survival and the ability to obtain employment. She needed to survive and provide. She did what she had to in that day and time to make it happen. Wages were even lower for women back then, let alone being any ethnicity other than white.
If you are born in America you are a native American
This whole thing is not surprising to me considering my grandparents on both sides disapproved of my parent’s marriage and they were only dealing with Austrian vs. Polish. That was common for those times.
Oh Wow. So many comparisons to these stories with me, even now as I'm having hardships and separations. I'm in a moment, questioning, why I should even bother or care, especially when no one else does. Everyone just cares about themselves. My dad, too, is connected with the airlines. We too lived in Louisiana for a time, but family is mainly from NY.
It is not too ethnic, but too much melanin and different phenotype. There are ethnicities in spain, france, england, russia, germany, italy, etc...
Read, "Passing," by Nella Larson.
All human beings should be treated with love and respect. Lola was better than all of these racist people. ( I guess the Irish quickly forgot their ancestors persecution by the British in Ireland and the cause of their starvation and their greetings of racism when when they arrived in the US for a better life ?)
My aunt said the same thing, Elaine! I think it's sometimes the worse part of human nature to try to get a leg up on someone
Thank you for sharing your story.
No us Irish (Celts) aren't truly that way neither are us Germans and Israel and Judea and Juones that do that are the *tares* Matthew 13 and you see the bastardization of Israel is already starting. there you go it's trying to start again that's all because they are trying to prevent Messiah : *READ WE ARE HERE* :
Jeremiah 50:33-34
King James Version
33 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; *The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together* and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go.
34 Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause(Jesus) that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
*promised seed* Abraham/Issac = Israel and Hagar/Ishmael= Judah/Judea :) *there you go the beginning is the end is the beginning*
Indian?
Just came across this channel. It seems like it's just about someone trying to convince everyone that she's not white.
I ONLY identify as white! But Im fascinated by my family's story
Watch from the first part. She and two generations of her family were raised in the white culture. Their great grand mother was part of many cultures, that she is finding. ❤
a nice family and with grit and smiles. winners.
Wait a minute. Was Ms. Lola Native American or Black? Or do I need to keep watching the series to catch up on your journey?
LOL, yah keep watching! There are two more episodes to her story
Excellent documentary! I am just astonished at how America became the powerhouse it is DESPITE the crippling racism that afflicted many. How can one progress in their life if they spend their time on hatred and fear of the other? Blessings to all who read this and understand. We shall overcome.
It's the American history we were not taught. And it's our own!
I see why Lola stayed being eithic in Louisiana was way worse than dealing with racism in New York. It's a different type of hatred. And she wanted her decedent's to have a better life and more of a fair chance at success. If she went back your family would perhaps be darker making circumstances harder for you all
True-- but I am really sad about what we missed out on. So much family history, food, language.... gone
My grandfather was born at Campti Louisiana in 1910, like Lola they moved out of Campti to Monroe Louisiana and lived as white during severe racist times and it wasn't discussed because they broke away from being labeled in Natchitoches Natchitoches
Your grandfather and Lola are almost the same age! (she was born abt 1910). Same story. Id love to hear more about your family. Can you connect with me on facebook? facebook.com/findinglolafilm/
These are really good probing questions; great research and interviews!
Thank you- I appreciated that so much 🥰🥰
So....yall are saying Lola was on Native American descent and that's it? No African American (Creole of Color) heritage?
We are both! Going to share that video next 🥰🥰
Creole doesn’t always have African admixture
Very well done. I'd like to see a second part.
Thank you! There are two more episodes on the channel.
Episode 3:ua-cam.com/video/bLxaTBhCu_Y/v-deo.html and
Episode 4: ua-cam.com/video/WDz6Fgr3qlY/v-deo.html
My kids and my nephews are part of the air force and marine,s ,some are police officers and on there uniform
tags clearly says Martinez, when average people see them they all say thanks for ur service and that's what's all about, no racist has saying against them simple.