Clement 1

Alaina Clement
Professor Franklin
ENC 1102
03 December 2014
Paper #3
Shes Got Southern Roots

When I called my mother to ask her about my heritage this weekend I didnt expect
anything much. I asked her about my grandmothers time in the south and what sparked the
move to Michigan. See, I am not from the south. I have never lived in the south, but the south
has still affected me. Over a year ago I moved from Detroit to Tallahassee for college and when
I moved it was difficult because I didnt have anybody; I had to branch out and create my own
life. Here as an out-of-state student in Tallahassee, FL I never considered it the south. In fact
Tallahassee will never be the south to me because I dont see much of a cultural difference than
where I am originally from. However, my family a couple generations back was from Arkansas
on my mothers side. The reason for the move to Michigan was due to an unspeakable event in
the family that caused my great grandmother to flee the south and settle in the North
(elaborate on the importance). My great-grand mother was a rolling stone and she comes from
very strong stock. Although I have never been exposed to the south, the south has still affected
me through history. I dont care if this is a clich, African-American experience; this is how the
south affected me and not you.
When I think of the south, I think of the Antebellum south where King Cotton was
thriving on the backs of black slaves. Yes, I still think of the lynchings and bombings of black

Clement 2
Alaina Clement
Professor Franklin
ENC 1102
03 December 2014
Paper #3
Shes Got Southern Roots
people to this day; I will never forget. When I think about a time in antiquity that I wish could
be replayed I always stutter on history because of the mistreatment of my people. To me there
is no glory to the old south and my mind is waxed gross with stereotypes of the new south.
I will tell you a story about the very real divide that still exists in my family which
stemmed from the south (Use this a a visual journey). My great grandmother was of ebony
skin and she married, what she called a pretty man, he apparently had high cheek bones and
straight black hair. My great grandfather, whom I have never met, was half French, he was the
pretty boy who graced my great grandmother with three beautiful children. Skipping a few
scenes in this tragic story, after the unspeakable event that occurred between my greatgrandparents lets just say that my alcoholic great grandfather wasnt around anymore. So my
great grandmother married another man who was her same complexion and he gave her four
ebony children. My grandmother fled town and came to Michigan during the time of The
Great Migration where many southern blacks moved north for work. The divide in my family is
between the light skin sisters and the dark skin sister. The complexion ridge, stems from
jealousy, where aunts have fought their sisters because of notions of lighter skin. The story goes
that my grandmother would always get paid more money because she was fairer skin than her
sister. My great Aunt would despise my grandmother and she instilled that communal racism

Clement 3
Alaina Clement
Professor Franklin
ENC 1102
03 December 2014
Paper #3
Shes Got Southern Roots
into her children who carry her same disdain. Even to this day, every family reunion usually
turns into a nasty fight. All of this color complexity between family members of the same blood
is rooted in old southern tradition that the fairer your skin then the more desirable one is and
that is exactly what happened. My mother always kept me away from that side of my family
because she didnt want me exposed to hatred. It wasnt until later on in life when I asked her
why I never knew any of my cousins on her side when she told me that they were messed up in
the head. I dont know how my mother did it but she broke away from the family, she only kept
in touch but never intimately. My mother taught us good Christian values and never a day in my
life was I ever subjected to familial racism. Because of the southern reef in my family the way
that I view the south is outdated, outlandish, and grossly stereotypical.
The south has affected me in indirect ways because I am not close to anyone on my
mothers side. My mother excluded us from her family because she wanted to start a new
legacy untainted by murder, jealousy, or revenge. I dont know much else about my family
beyond my great grandmother and that mostly everyone is an alcoholic but I do know that my
great grandmother was a sharecropper in Arkansas and when she moved to Michigan she
became a house servant to support her seven children.

Clement 4
Alaina Clement
Professor Franklin
ENC 1102
03 December 2014
Paper #3
Shes Got Southern Roots
The south has played an indirect role in my life, the old southern values is the reason
that I do not know a particular side of my family to this day but it is the reason that my family
throws down in a kitchen and it is why my mother cannot beat around the bush to save her
life. So in many ways I am thankful for my southern roots but it saddens me that I do not know
the answers. I mean I get so curious about how my great grandparents looked. Everyone older
than sixty always talks about how handsome my great grandfather and uncles were. I wish I
could have met them but they all died in the older times and they took all their experiences
with them. I only know what happened by word of mouth back in Arkansas. I wish I could fully
hear their life experience but it seems like when youre an African-American you dont really
know much about where you come from.
I pray God shows me where I come from, or perhaps it wont even matter by then but
the south has affected me in mysterious ways that I will never know.
Even though I havent met most of my ancestors I still want to make them proud for
some reason. I dont live in the same world they did and I want to take the most advantage of
that. I am grateful that my mother rose from the ashes of her youth and gave me a better life
but Im also saddened about not being close with my family. I am glad that the ugly familial
lineage that I was born from could turn into something so beautiful such as the opportunity to

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Alaina Clement
Professor Franklin
ENC 1102
03 December 2014
Paper #3
Shes Got Southern Roots
go to college. Perhaps if everything was perfect and pretty like some southerners believe the
Antebellum south was then maybe I would be a different person. Perhaps I would be nicer, not
be such a pessimist, or maybe not so critical. Yea, so I got what was handed to me and I just
have to deal my cards right. It would be a shame because I definitely got the better hand than
that of my ancestors. This is how the south affected me, thats my southern background and
how I believe it affected me today.