Lessons In Legacy

By Kendra Newman

Music, laughter, coordinating t-shirts, tons of barbecue...and a whole lot of love.

Welcome to the black family reunion!

Tailored to join the branches of the family tree together for unforgettable, jam-packed, annual weekend celebrations, while family reunions are fun, they often miss a vital ing

• Language: English
• Publisher: TECHSyours
• Release date: Feb 16, 2021
• ISBN: 9781736257531

Book preview

Lessons in Legacy

The JMc Family Palmetto

Society Blueprint

By Kendra Newman

Written By: Kendra Newman

© 2021

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced in any written, electronic, recording, or photocopying without written permission of the publisher or author. The exception would be in the case of brief quotations embodied in the critical articles or reviews and pages where permission is specifically granted by the publisher or author.

Publishing Services By: Pen Legacy®

Cover & Formatting By: Junnita Jackson 

Edited By: Candice Rigdon

Library of Congress Cataloging – in- Publication Data has been applied for.

ISBN: 9781736257524

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Table of Contents

Foreword - Dr. Lillian Smith

Prologue

Introduction

My drug problem

Who are your people?

Keeper of the flame

JMc Family Organization

While We’re Absent

Plan Your Reunion Using the Blueprint

Dedication

Dedicated to my father - Edward Newman (president of the JMc Family Palmetto Society 1982-2010; Vice President 1978 - 1981 & 2011-2017), who has tirelessly served this family for over seven decades.  Thank you for championing your family, ensuring that I am familiar with the members of almost every branch of your grandparents' rich trees.  You worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that the reunions went off without a hitch, never clamoring for the spotlight. Most will never know all that you’ve done to keep this family intact and the reunions continuing. But I am aware, and I’m grateful.

Although many see you as the jokester you are, I know you as the strong man who’s consistently put your family first, always making the effort to strengthen our bond. To me, you are the engineering scholarship awardee who chose the military over being supported by your parents – because you had five younger siblings in need of their help. You are the one who bragged on your grandmother Carrie Johnson McFarland, citing her love for God, family, and the wisdom that reflects the genius of your people.  You have bragged almost as much about other family members with pride because you love them so.

Thank you for weaving stories of McBee, South Carolina and Mizpah, New Jersey in such a way that I was always proud to be from both places. Thank you for being as close to your second, third, and forth cousins as you were to your siblings and first cousins; the closeness I share with my extended family is because of your tenacity in keeping us together.  I know it was just you being you that made those connections, but it is a network that I treasure and am purposeful in keeping.

Thank you for doing the work no one else wanted to or would do.  Faithfully attending and chairing meetings, paving the way for Auntie to shine - as rightfully she should, arriving hours before the reunion start times to set up, and staying behind to clean long after everyone else had gone home. Your commitment may not have been noticed, but the joy on everyone’s faces when it was all over said it all.

You are my resident historian; I thank God for you daily. Because of you, I can tell our story with confidence.  Because of you, I was present for almost every family gathering and JMc Family Palmetto Society meeting. Although children were not listed in attendance back then, if your name was listed as present, I was there too.

At the risk of sounding precocious, I know that I am your gift - your one and only child who arrived five months before your 38th birthday. In return, you are my gift and I know God chose you as my father because like Abraham, He knew you would teach your children about God and our heritage.

You’ve taught me the spirit of giving and sharing.  If you eat, everyone eats; if you have, everyone around you has it, too.  I used to think you gave to a fault, but now I realize that we are blessed because you gave, and I realize that you learned it from your forefathers and mothers who did the same. Love your girl, Pookie, aka - Pumpskin Headed, aka Ken!!!!

Also dedicated to The Queen Bee! I dubbed my great Aunt Lorraine Sis O’Neil with this term of endearment because she was truly royalty to behold. 

Aunt Sis is my grandmother’s baby sister, merely five years older than my father. We gave her flowers while she could smell them; she deserved them so much.  I am eternally grateful that Aunt Sis delighted in spending time at her mother’s feet from an incredibly young age, soaking up the details of our family’s rich history, which she passed on for later generations to enjoy. Most of all, I am glad that my aunt recognized my zeal for learning more of the history which shaped us, and shared the greatness, the secrets (some of which we may not be so proud), and the importance of knowing whose we are and where we come from. Her fruit continues to bloom till this day.

There’s not enough gratitude I have to express for Aunt Sis taking the time to know ALL her sibling’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren personally, demonstrating the positive power of relationship, and extending the same olive branch to the offspring of her aunts and uncles. Having served as the treasurer and guiding consultant for over 35 years, Aunt Sis is the reason I have a complete understanding of the planning it takes to execute a phenomenal family reunion. Her vast wisdom was immeasurable; I strive to uphold the standard of excellence that she set for such a profound task.   

Auntie lived by example, showing us how to laugh in the face of adversity to overcome. For example, when the treasury fell short on payments such as reunion banquets, my aunt used her personal funds to make up