The coming of summer heralds cook-outs, line dancing, and brightly colored t-shirts iconic of Black family reunions. These events serve as important rituals in African American families that are heavily enmeshed in centuries of American slavery. During these times enslaved families were often broken apart as slave owners sold children, siblings and even married off individuals as chattel.  

As waves of emancipation swept through the country, coinciding with the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment guaranteeing enslaved individuals their freedom, many African Americans sought to reunite with lost family members and to define family roles and responsibilities in ways they believed best suited their new circumstances. Their efforts highlighted the importance of family as foundational to their status as free people. 

Searching for Family

With the end of slavery, searching for family members who had been separated or sold away became the focus of many formerly enslaved individuals. The number of years of separation did not deter people from hoping to reunite with lost loved ones. Newspaper advertisements, letters, and word of mouth all were employed as part of the search. The hope was that a positive response might lead to a reunion with family members.    

However, the transition to a freedman was not an easy one. Enslaved individuals had been stripped of their names, rights, and identity. This created numerous challenges as families, married couples, parents and children attempted to locate one another.  

Names 

Enslaved individuals often had their names selected for them by their enslaver. Freedom provided the opportunity to make a choice: pick a new name or retain their previous one. Many individuals chose to adopt a new name that represented their new status and desire to control how others addressed them. 

Marriage

Formal marriage ceremonies were not encouraged by slaveholders and were a rarity for the enslaved. With freedom, many formerly enslaved men and women participated in official ceremonies to reinforce their commitment to one another or for legal purposes. As husbands and wives, they also renegotiated their roles together as free people. 

Women   

African American women faced a struggle to gain respect for their rights as wives, mothers, and women. Both within and outside their communities, their quest for equal status was questioned. Among other things, they were denied the right to vote, scrutinized if they chose not to work, and subjected to harassment and physical abuse. Defining and defending their place within American society remained a challenge throughout the years after the end of slavery. 

Born enslaved in North Carolina, Anna Julia Cooper (1858–1964) was a writer, organizer, and advocate for women’s education and civil rights. She received a mathematics degree from Oberlin College in Ohio and a Ph.D. from the University of Paris. In 1892 she published her acclaimed book, A Voice from the South, which expressed her belief that African American women had a central role to play in the struggle for racial equality. 

Children  

Enslaved parents had no legal rights to their children. Their offspring could be taken away or expected to obey the orders of others, despite the preferences of their parents. As free people, African Americans resisted outside efforts to undermine their parental authority or to take their children away through court-ordered apprenticeships to a white person. They wanted to ensure their influence and love were the most important factors in their children’s lives.    

A white farmer in Tennessee filed the court document above in 1867 stating that a freedwoman named Harriet wanted her three young children bound to him as indentured workers. Courts often accepted the word of white landowners, even when African American parents protested that they had not given consent to indenture their children.

Records of our Roots 

While newly freed endeavored to reunite with their loved ones despite these challenges, in many cases, newspapers and letters weren’t enough to prompt a reunion. Ultimately, the separation of family proved to be so effective a tool of oppression to disempower African Americans, that its legacy persisted long after the abolishment of slavery.   

However, public interest in family reunification was revived in 1976 after the publication of Alex Haley’s book “Roots: The Saga of an American Family.” The book told the story of Kunta Kinte, an 18th-century African, captured as an adolescent, sold into slavery in Africa, and transported to North America, and follows his life and the lives of his descendants in the United States down to Haley, the book’s author. The release of the novel, combined with its hugely popular television adaptation, Roots in 1977, led to a cultural sensation in the United States. 

The powerful story encouraged many previously splintered African American families to search and document for their own family genealogy. Utilizing a variety of tools such as publicly available archives, slave sale records, family Bibles and blood tests many attempted to trace their ancestral roots to slavery and African villages. However, even with the advantages of modern technology, many today must still grapple with incomplete family histories as a direct result of their ancestors being defined, by law, as little more than property.  

Modern Family Reunions 

The drive to discover and reinforce family connections has continued to guide the African American community through the tradition of family reunions. At these celebratory events, family history is recounted, traditions are taught, and bonds are strengthened through shared memories. Reunions are often held in significant places, where a family has historical roots, or where new generations have moved and thrived. Many include a visit to NMAAHC, where families gather to reinforce their connection to the broader narrative of African American history.   

Another hallmark of the modern African American family reunion are commemorative items such as a program, group photo, and T-shirt that put a tangible stamp on the importance of family ties. The Jones-Walker family reunion logo uses the adinkra symbol of Sankofa, meaning “go back and get it,” evoking the idea of reflecting on the past.