Generational Archives

What do you really know about your own grandparents? In this episode, we learn that Eddie Thomas was a saint, a mechanic, a stubborn man, a loving husband, hoarder, a DJ, a puzzler, and a beloved father and grandfather and other things. Join us, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas as we share how we learned about him, through lived experience, stories, documents, photographs, and more ... an...

Do you know where your people are buried? When was the last time you attended to the graves there? How you attend to the departed is a reflection of your attention to yourself, your own body, your people and your future. In this episode, we, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas, talk about the Black cemeteries of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, emphasizing the Thomas Family Cemetery and the Cle...

In this episode, we, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas, share our own birth and birthing stories. Do you know yours? If you have children, have you shared their beginnings? Who was there to welcome them into the world? How have you maintained relationships in community? In our cases, we were both impacted by medicalized racism and had severe health impacts as many black mothers do. Black m...

In this episode, we, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas, begin our check in talking about music, before going into a discussion of the siblings and beginnings of Dr. Norma D. Thomas. Do you know your siblings? Do you really? It took decades for Dr. Thomas to learn fuller stories about hers in some cases and she shares some of what she has done to document their lives and celebrate all of wh...

In this episode, we, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas, start with the check in question "Were you spoiled as a child?" and what that even means before sharing Dr. Thomas's process in starting her ancestral research with herself.  She talks about the baby pictures that she has, her origins in Fayette County, PA (Uniontown) and all the documents that inform her self-discovery.  Sh...

In this episode, we, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas, share with you, as a continuation of our South Carolina story, information about Harry Logan, blacksmith, church trustee, and community institution builder.  We share what we have learned about his history (perhaps with Boston connection), his determination and resolve to be free in all ways (including in love), his resistance an...

In this episode, we, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas, welcome you on our journey to South Carolina, the discoveries (SO MANY) that we make along the way with records, interviews, documents that appear from a trunk, ancestral answers through wind and dust, a car whipping around on the road, and so much more.   Cover photo from Rohan DaCosta Cover art from Dr. Raina J. León Theme song, Fun...

In this episode, we, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas, share with you information on Fayette County in Western Pennsylvania and Black History.  Black History should be taught every day, not just during the month of February.  In this episode, we talk about the importance of learning your history to support the development of community and cultural pride, how teachers and young p...

In this episode, we, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas, introduce you to Queen Ester, whose voice, after decades lost, appeared in a previously lost cassette tape.  Dr. Thomas shares a poem written for her mother, "Images".  We talk about preserving letters and the reliability of records (birth certificates and death certificates).  Cover photo from Rohan DaCosta Cover art f...

In this episode, we, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas, introduce you to Grannie, who lived a COLORFUL life.  She went to danced on the Apollo stage as Princess Olga, was a cigarette girl with Billie Holiday, a leader of the Evening Star, traveling widely.  She also also suffered the loss of her first son during a TB epidemic in 1947, while pregnant, an epidemic which ultimately...

In this episode, we, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas, introduce ourselves as collaborative creatives, scholars, and archivists through our continued consideration of talent.  We share an introduction to Aunt Doris through a discussion of the documents and methods we've used to learn more about her.  She was an adventurous vocalist who performed across genres, known for for sing...

In this episode, we, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas, introduce ourselves as collaborative creatives, scholars, and archivists.  We share an introduction to Uncle Francis through a discussion of the documents and methods we've used to learn more about him.  He was a poet, musician, and vocalist, like his mother, aunt, sister and many others in the family, but he died young duri...

In this episode, we, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas, introduce ourselves as collaborative creatives, scholars, and archivists... and you get a sense of who we are as a duo.   Cover photo from Rohan DaCosta Cover art from Dr. Raina J. León Theme song, Funky Percussions, from AudioCoffee on Pixabay Transcript supported by Descript