Proud of Our African American Heritage

Our historical roots are diverse spreading through many different cultures within the African diaspora yet coming back together under one beautiful and magnificent family tree. We will begin with my wife Rita’s side of the family.

Rita’s mother is Pamela and her grandmother is Connie Williams. They are the descendants of slaves originating in North Carolina. Reverend Daniel Authur Williams, and his wife Addie Williams, pictured with their children are the great-great-great-grandparents of our children.

The Williams family have played an active role in local government and the civil rights movement in the Carolinas and throughout African American history.

Robert F. Williams, during the civil rights era, was the President of the NAACP in Monroe, North Carolina. Connie Williams a prolific author, professor and family matriarch, tells his story in her book Green, of the fight for justice and dignity.

Rita’s father Lance is the son of David and Jeannette Roberts who migrated from Panama to the United States in 1956. David was a phenomenal young baseball player who was recruited to train and play in the United States. He was drafted to play in two Major League organizations, the Houston Colts (now Astros) and the Pittsburgh Pirates in the late ’50s and early ’60s. Playing during the civil rights era was not always a pleasant experience as you can imagine, however, Dave and Jeannette Roberts always seem to retell the most captivating stories.

I remember when Jeannette casually told the story of how Malcolm X’s wife Betty Shabazz did her hair a few times. While she was there, Malcolm would have lively discussions trying to convert her to Islam. David joined in the conversation and told the story of his encounter with Mahalia Jackson when they both happened to be in Japan. While dining in a restaurant many reporters surrounded her trying to get pictures and a statement.

At this point, David, who was living in Japan having transferred from the American Major League to the Japanese League, walked in the same restaurant. Since he was quite the baseball superstar at the time, when he walked into the restaurant all the reporters rushed towards him. At that point Mahalia sent one of her representatives to inquire who was this Black man in Japan that was creating such an excitement.

On my side of the family both of my parents come from Jamaica. In fact, they both grew up in the same small district called Aboukir, St. Ann. My mother’s maiden name is Dorreth Finnegan. While her mother was a Jamaican native and a descendant from the African slave trade to the Caribbean, her father and his family were Irish immigrants.

Patrick Finnegan traveled from Ireland in the 1800s with his wife and family. He had several sons and grandsons who married native Jamaicans, where now the Finnegan name and heritage is fully connected to Jamaican life and culture. One of the Finnegan brothers married a woman named Rebecca and had a son named Earnest, who is my grandfather. Another brother married a woman named Iris and they had a daughter named Beryl.

Beryl Finnegan is the grandmother of the very first female, first Black, and first Indian Vice President of the United States of America, Kamala Harris. Mirthell’s mother Dorreth shares fond memories of her and her father Earnest visiting his cousin Beryl in the town of Inverness, just a few miles from Aboukir, St. Ann. Us being related to Kamala Harris, made our involvement in the Presidential Inauguration service that much more special.

Whether descendants of slaves, directly connected to leaders in the civil rights movement, having an African American sports icon in the family, or relative to someone in the White House, we’re proud to be a part of our rich African American history and heritage.