From the moment that Africans were captured and forced into slavery, their captors used a number of methods to completely remove every bit of their native languages, culture, African names, social connections and native pride. What was left was a set of people who had no idea how they got here, no sense of community, no nationalism, and no way to form any type of resistance against their captors. Their only bond was their skin color. Over time, and centuries of persistent brainwashing, that state of mind became the norm and to even suggest that any black person living in America had roots going back to Africa was considered stupid and dangerous. This book was written with the specific purpose of removing that "Veil" that has so many Blacks in America living out their lives with no idea where their families came from or who they really are. To accomplish this very difficult task, all available historical records were used to collect enough information to develop a complete history of each of 13 black families from as far back as the first members born in America. The family genealogy is combined with vivid stories and pictures to put together a collection that is expected to become the historical foundation of each of the families studied. Along the way, important information such as how those families began, where they were held on local plantations, who some of their slave holders were, were there local mixed-race slave holders, etc. was obtained. Although this work focuses on a relatively small area of America, the tools and methodology make it possible for this to be done in any part of the country, by anyone with the motivation to learn about themselves.
About the Author: Donald Gregory Prier was born in Mansura, Louisiana. He graduated from Southern University with a BS in Chemistry and from LSU with a PhD in Chemistry. He retired from the Dow Chemical Company as a Senior R&D Leader in 2009 after 28 years of service. Since his retirement, Donald served as an organic chemistry process consultant, represented Nu Boule' of Sigma Pi Phi fraternity as the mentoring coordinator in the Texas Southern JHJ School of Business and, now, trying his luck as a Black History writer. Donald has been married to Mary Bernell Augustine of Mansura for 46 years. They have three children and four grandchildren.