Next thing you know, we'll learn that there were also (a few) free Irishmen here back then

Black man traces his roots and discovers his ancestors were free blacks in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Huldah Peck, my great-great-great-great-grandmother — on my father’s side — was born free in Greenwich, Conn., in 1836. Her parents, George Peck, a stonemason and Nancy Felmetta, were also free; as were Nancy’s parents, York and Tamar, the latter born in 1773, three years before the US Revolution. It’s striking to think that my father’s ancestors were free for nearly a century before the Civil War.

While most of my mother’s family were enslaved on South Carolina plantations at this time, learning about this other side — this free side — made me realize that slavery does not fully define my past.

Huldah’s children also illustrate the importance of self-reliance and entrepreneurship in my family. Her son Edward B. Merritt, born in 1871, worked in real estate at a time when the majority of blacks in much of the nation labored as farmers or domestics. His son, John Sherman Merritt, was a homeowner in Greenwich, Conn., who worked four jobs to support his young family. John’s daughter, Adele Matilda Merritt, enjoyed a privileged Greenwich childhood complete with charm school, a penchant for photography, and later- international travel. And Adele’s daughter — my grandmother, Joyce Marie Watkins — was a small business owner who settled in Yonkers, NY.

Black children grow up believing that their only history is a history of slavery. Nikole Hannah-Jones and The New York Times’s 1619 Project, argued that America’s entire history is founded on slavery. The truth is more complicated, interesting, and nuanced than that.

Researching my family’s past has given me a sense of belonging to this nation. I am part of the large story of striving and success that has built the American dream. All this has empowered me to walk with my head held high, and I hope it inspires others to look beyond the stock narratives of the present and find their own lessons from the past.

(Not necessarily) related, but fun: Trending on Twitter: people are “crashing” their bicycles where Biden fell, and posting their pictures on the net.