I grew up in a household that focused on learning about Black history. We played Black History Bingo, had Black History Trivia games and my parents made sure we visited museums to learn about our history and took trips to expose us to famous people and locations. My siblings and I, all attended a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) where we learned even more history and built upon the pride that we have about being Black Americans. Lastly, to help with our learning process, we spent every Sunday with our grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and other family members and friends that happened to stop by 'The Farm' in the country for that good fellowship and good food.

'The Farm' was my grandparents place on Martinsville Rd in New Boston Michigan. I didn't know it then, but those discussions and lessons helped us to learn our family history. Not only did we learn our history, we used those days to learn how to be a family and learned to love more than ourselves. We had responsibilities too. Not only was their home called 'The Farm', it was a farm. It was complete with chickens, pigs, cows, turkeys and other farm animals (for eating and for sale) It also had rows of string beans, tomatoes, corn, etc. that we had to harvest during the summer months.

As I look back at my grandparents life. They were similar to the Kennedy's. The Farm was the Bates Compound. They were from River Rouge, but I guess they had some country inside of them. The acreage included the Bates home/grandparents, two Covingtons' homes/great grandparents and uncle, and there was a family home for whoever needed a place to stay for a while. And right in the middle of that was the chicken coop to the side (close to get the eggs out daily or a few chickens for dinner). In the back was the area for animals; pig pen, cows. Yep, complete with a water well, that you had to prime to get water to feed the animals.

What stories all of us have from the many days and nights we spent together out there. Those experiences have helped to mold us into the people that we are today. The family values that we garnered for years are now being passed on to our children as part of our history. They may not have been able to personally experience 'The Farm', but because they are a part of us, through osmosis or history lessons, we are passing that history on to them.

Think about your family, what are you passing on to your children and grandchildren. History is to be passed on, nurtured and shared with the next generation. We talk about 'Generational Curses', but what about 'Generational Blessings'. I challenge the readers of the Telegram to think about your life and upbringing and decide to pass on some history to the next generations to bless their lives and the future.

Gina Wilson Steward

CEO/Publisher