Shining a light on our past

Both in the past and the present, harmonious voices sang lyrics of pain, fear, and hope to call out injustices and discrimination. During the Civil Rights Movement, tears and blood were shed at the hands of oppressors who denied the fact that Black people deserved to have the same rights as them. To not only sit at the front of the bus comfortably, be taught in the best schools, vote proudly, live freely in the skin they’re in, be treated as a human being, but to also love wholeheartedly without fear or judgment. 

Indiana and Napoleon Edwards were an impoverished black couple from the early 1900s. They faced many difficulties because of the color of their skin. They were like night and day not only in temperament but in skin color as well. Indiana was a dark-skinned woman and Napoleon was the son of a white man and a black woman, a mulatto. Indiana was originally from Autauga County, Alabama, while Napoleon was originally from Perry County, Alabama. They met. They fell in love. Together they moved back to the South where a generation of Edwards would be created. Despite their poverty, the struggles that an unforgiving South would put them through, and the normal ups and downs of life, they worked together to raise a family of nine: Spencer, Roosevelt, Joseph, Armster, Willie Dean, Mattie, Julia Mae, Annette, and Betty. After the Civil Rights Movement, many members of the Edwards family moved to the North while some remained in the South. 

Egyptians had a tendency to scratch out hieroglyphs of bad times in their history so that they would not be remembered. This was a way of only recalling the good times, the best times, the times when their people were at their strongest. This was true of the enslaved and American descendants of slaves. There were things and events that were not simply mentioned because they only brought shame and heartache. Events that occurred in the Edwards line, like many other black families, and like the Egyptians are no longer mentioned. Unfortunately, this is true about the Civil Rights Movement too. As the years have passed many parents do not talk to their children about the Civil Rights Movement. In the midst of all of the turmoil and upheaval, as the United States struggled to become a nation where Black Men and Women became recognized as equals, history was made. However, the tendency to not speak of the atrocities they faced daily (even while it was happening) was deeply ingrained. Because of this, the knowledge of these times continues to decrease from generation to generation, as those with the knowledge pass on. 

Today, many children and their parents of the Edwards family have never been to Alabama, and therefore have not met their extended family members. The reason why the Edwards Family Empowerment is so important is that it was made specifically to help those within our family to learn not only our history but how to build a better future while we exist in the present. We want to shed light on our family name and create new ways to connect with one another. Despite how painful it may seem to go back to the past, we must shine a light on the darkness in order to see the full picture. We must dig down into the dirt in order to reach our roots and our hope is that we can do it together. Edwards Family Empowerment is a means whereby we can fight systemic oppression with systemic uplift. We can do this together. Iron sharpens iron. 

By: Kamela Miles Special thanks to Dalphenia Allen for sharing her knowledge during this interview.