Every summer, hundreds of thousands of Black families across the United States gather for reunions, a tradition rooted in the post-emancipation search for loved ones torn apart by slavery. These events often feature traditional foods, matching T-shirts, and opportunities to learn about family ancestry.
After emancipation, formerly enslaved people like Jack Johnson made it their mission to reunite their families. Johnson, who had been enslaved across several states, fathered 20 children. He managed to find nine of the ten children from his first marriage, but his son Rufus had been sold to a plantation in Texas. To this day, Johnson's descendants continue searching for Rufus's living relatives.
Ashanté Reese, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin, has studied Black gatherings for two and a half years. She notes that Black families gathering in large numbers in public parks is a 'radical act,' given the historical weaponization of public space against Black people. 'It never stopped being amazing to me that 200 or 300 folks would get together and take over a park for a day,' she said.
Nearly two centuries after Jack Johnson began reuniting his family, his descendants met in New Orleans, Louisiana, for a reunion. Organiser Christina McField said relatives from across the country travelled south to unite. 'All of us are still coming together for this family reunion and we’re still finding out about more and more family members,' she said. The family maintains a website dedicated to preserving their history.
For many families, returning to ancestral lands is a poignant part of the reunion. After the New Orleans gathering, several Johnson family members drove to Mississippi, 'to the land where it all started,' McField said. Her art, now displayed at the Mississippi Museum of Art, draws from the land and stories passed down through generations.
