Our Juneteenth Story

Happy Juneteenth! Amplifying my sister, Malaika Marable Serrano's LinkedIn post about our great-great grandfather, Morris Marable.

Our Juneteenth story:

Morris Robinson was born around 1839 and had sandy blond hair, blue-green eyes and fair skin. His father was a plantation owner in West Georgia and his bi-racial mother worked in the house.

Morris was a slave.

When Morris was about 8 years old, his own father sold him to an Alabama planter named Marable for $500. That day, Morris Robinson became Morris Marable and he never saw his mother again.

During the Civil War, he ran away with his sweetheart and about $40 worth of gold. Together, Morris and his wife created a new life for themselves and raised their children to be compassionate, God-fearing, entrepreneurial, and civic-minded members of society.

I'm proud to be the great-great granddaughter of slaves. On this special day in U.S. history, I encourage all of us to celebrate the creativity, innovation, and contributions of African-Americans throughout U.S. history and around the world.