Voices Unheard: A Mission to Amplify Untold Black Stories
“Knowing the past opens the door to the future.”
Carter G. Woodson was in the future when he uttered those words and today those words resonate as a stepping stone for me to discover my past as I look forward to my future.
John Moses Bonner and Laura Mae Jones Bonner were my great-grandparents and I do not take for granted the blessing of knowing them throughout most of my childhood as Grandpa Moses and Grandma Laur.
Today, I am proud , delighted and honored to share their humble beginnings with you through the lens of six of their eight children and memories of their two deceased daughters, Gladys and Charlene.
The Bonner bunch has always been a lively bunch throughout my 28 years of life and my introduction to the family stems from my father, Dominick Oneal Yates. He is the son of Sharon Diana Bonner Yates(John) which makes him the grandson of John Moses & Laura Mae Jones Bonner.
As Sharecroppers in the rural area of Dinwiddie County and housed just miles away from the courthouse where many of our ancestors were sold and traded during the vicious, violent times of slavery, the Bonners have created a legacy shrouded in dignity, strength, faith, servitude, and most importantly, love.
It is my vision to share how their children, Dorothy, Emma Jane, Evelyn, John, Lester and my grandmother Sharon continue their parent’s legacy with lives that are as revolutionary as the home that they were raised in, built in the 1700s just before America would go on to win the Revolutionary war against Great Britain.
A vision to tell a history within my backyard has inspired me to tell the John and Laura Bonner story. It is a story of my ancestors ignited by my inquisitive spirit and longing to know, trace and document the history and struggles and survival of Black families in Black America.
My grandmother and great aunts and uncles have accomplished many feats from serving in Vietnam to integrating the public schools in Dinwiddie County the place that raised them — all with the spirit of love and integrity that is their birthright thanks to their parents who were their primary role models.
“Voices Unheard” is a collection of their stories, experiences and memories some good and some not so good.It is my desire that the docuseries with more stories to follow serve as a model for other Black families to be motivated to cultivate and share the rich deep history that quite often we are not afforded the opportunity to study in our school systems and other educational facilities. Knowing one’s history is a privilege; therefore, it is my goal to help end this wrong but I need your support and assistance. For more on “ Voices Unheard” and how you can help us share this story and many like them in the years to come, visit the fundraising link here: http://kck.st/2LaDJkj .
