Voices from the African American Village: It Takes a Village to Define a Community

By Charles E. E Becknell Sr. PhD

For many African Americans who grew up in the pre-civil rights era, the segregated community was usually referred to as a village. This was the origination of the phrase, "It takes a village to raise a child." The voices that came out of the village were voices that are now becoming diminished. These voices helped to keep the culture intact. The voices from the elderly, the parents, the church, and the community-provided discipline, hope, pride, and integrity for the inhabitants. Many may feel that some of the messages were crude or inappropriate, but we have to take into account the lack of educational opportunities during this time. This book attempts to capture the messages that we need to not only remember, but respect. These voices helped us to survive racism and discrimination. The voices of the village are still relevant today and should not be forgotten.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 25, 2019
• ISBN: 9781645847526

Book preview

cover.jpg

Voices from the African American Village

It Takes a Village to Define a Community

Charles E. Becknell, Sr., PhD

Copyright © 2019 Charles E. Becknell, Sr., PhD

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

New York, NY

First originally published by Page Publishing, Inc. 2019

ISBN 978-1-64584-753-3 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64584-752-6 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Preface

I believe it was Voltaire that said, "To the living we owe respect, but to the dead we owe the truth. We need to speak the truth for those who went before us; they cannot now speak for themselves, however, their words should not be lost. It is this to which this book is dedicated and to those who went before us we say, Thank you. Thank you for your contributions to this amazing culture. To those amazing mothers and grandmothers who labored to teach and nourish the children and sacrificed to keep the family together, thus preserving the culture, we also say, Thank you."

To the fathers who suffered humiliation, having to say, Yes, sir and No, sir to someone much younger because their skin was white and required to enter the back door, we say, Thank you. We thank you for holding on to your dignity. Your voices deserve to be heard, and your sacrifices need to be appreciated.

To all those who stood on a street corner with your homies, drinking wine from a bottle in a brown paper sack and who went to the barbershop on Saturday talking smack for hours on end, we say, Thank you. Thank you for your contributions to this effort. Your voices have provided valuable contributions to our past and hopefully will influence our future.

Finally to all that have churned butter, turned the handle to make homemade ice cream, planted a garden, sewed quilts, cooked chitlins, went to the club on Saturday nights and put on your Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes and went to church on Sunday morning, we say, Thank you.

To those male role models that educated us on how young boys can become men, we say, Thank you. Your influence is acknowledged in this book.

In conclusion, I thank the entire village. I say to the men who have left home, Brothers, come back. You are needed. When you left home, you left with more than a suitcase. You left your family unprotected, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. You left your children’s future.

To all who read this book, I encourage you to remember that a person over seventy is not a relic of the past but a history book with a story to tell and a testimony to be revealed. To God be the glory!

Introduction

I recently attended a conference in Washington, DC, and I was invited to