BrownSuga's Sweet Spot: We Are Family.....

“It's so nice to see
All the folks you love together
Sittin' and talkin' 'bout
All the things that's been goin' down”

~Family Reunion by the O’Jays

This past weekend, I got the chance to do something I haven’t done in 6 years. I attended our family’s reunion. This was the first one I’ve attended since I finished college, gotten married and started my business. So for me this was a very big deal. I’m not sure how many of other families have reunions, but I’ve learned in the past decade or so that our family tends to do things a bit different, so here is a bit of our reunion history.

In 1972, one of my great-great uncles passed away. And like many funerals in my family, a large number of relatives traveled to be there for support. My great grandmother, affectionately called “Nana” also realized that our family only got together when someone died. So she decided to begin planning a reunion hoping to attracted the same large numbers but for a more joyous occasion. That summer in the city of brotherly love, my hometown of Philadelphia the first bi-annual family reunion was held.

And every other year since then we’ve traveled to the host city for a weekend of fun, family and food. Each reunion is hosted by a different region within the U.S. There is the Southern region, the MACCOO (Mid-Atlantic States including Chicago, California, Ohio and Oregon) group, the CONN artists, and George and Hollie’s Follies. Since 1972 we’ve had reunions in Chicago, New York, Massachusetts, Williamsburg, Connecticut, North Carolina and many other locations with this year’s being held in Atlanta, Georgia hosted by the Southern Crew.

The thing I love most about our reunions is that we are centered on our roots. As many African Americans in this country can understand, it’s almost impossible to trace family history before slavery and because of that, our sense of history is cut short. Our family is no different than the millions of other black families that “don’t exist” pre-Civil War. However, our family takes pride in the history since that time. We tell the story of my great-great-great grandparents and their son William who produced 12 children with 9 of those reproducing. Because of them I am part of a family over 200 deep who get together every two years to spend a weekend together. We grew by leaps and bounds. Today members of my family can be found from the inland of North Carolina, to the deep South, to the Northeast shores of the Atlantic to the cornfields of the Midwest and to the mighty Pacific in the West. We cover at least 18 states and Indonesia.

We are proud of what we’ve set up. We have our own scholarship fund, we give back to the community, we support in all business and educational endeavors and most importantly we love each other unconditionally. I’ve learned through friends and my husband that not all families have what we have. Watching my husband take in the many relatives and all the activities we do together, has made me appreciate the whole concept even more. And all of it came from the mind of my Nana and although she is no longer with us, her memory and legacy still lives on. And we thank her.

You may be thinking, “Wow BrownSuga, a little heavy.” But don’t worry there were many many many laughs this weekend and I’ll give you the whole rundown next week…. *smiles*