Instagram Post - 7/18

Somewhere off the coast of Ireland...

Mission: Summer 2001 - travel to Ireland with my brother to connect with our Irish heritage.

My father passed away when I was only six years old, thus I was not able to hear about the rich history, culture and traditions of my Irish immigrant grandparents through my father. I do remember the smell of corned beef & cabbage and my parents drinking Irish whiskey on St. Patrick's Day but Irish or not - nearly everyone did that on March 17th. On that day, inevitably every year I recall the looks of disbelief and disregard when I would proudly share that I was half Irish and told often, "You can't be Irish, you're black." Even more painful was the lifetime of rejection, even some hostility my family experienced from our Irish relatives. None of them attended my mother's funeral. That tore my heart into two (one half that hated them for it and one half that felt sorry for them to never have truly known my mother).

Despite that, my passage to Ireland was filled with warmth and welcome from the people of Dublin to County Kerry and to County Cork. It was cathartic as I pushed away the thought that the warmth was for me as a tourist, but there would be no welcome if I were a black family member.

I am not defined by my doubts & fears nor from the ignorance & intolerance of others. The power of my being is grounded in the soil of Irelend and Uganda and in the strength of my spirit.