Devon Blackwell’s short documentary explores how her great-grandparents lost the house they had owned since 1892, and the impact of that loss on generations of her family.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:301950s, blacks could not advance because this thumb was always on their neck.
00:44It broke my mom's heart that on her watch she lost her property.
01:00Of all the hurts that I have in my life, that is probably the biggest one.
01:30So we got, we're gonna have some tilapia with beans and rice and a salad, huh?
01:45I know, but you'll have leftovers.
01:47Oh, hell yeah.
01:48Come on, what glasses you want to use?
01:53I got some cream curry, baby.
01:56You like that, right?
01:57Well, that's not wine, but yeah, that's fine.
02:02Why ain't it wine?
02:03Because that's not, that's sherry.
02:04That's a whole different, that's a whole different species.
02:06Oh, sherry is wine, man.
02:07What you talking about?
02:09Yeah, I guess.
02:10I gain a way, I guess to it.
02:12All right, mama.
02:14In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
02:16Amen.
02:17Blessed are you, Lord, for these are our gifts, which we are about to receive from
02:21the alabaster crowned son of the Lord.
02:24Amen.
02:25All right, let's eat.
02:27So that's...
02:36That's your great...
02:38Great-grandpa, and that's great-grandma, and that's Alice.
02:48This is Alice Marshall, and her husband, Wilson Marshall.
02:58My mom was a secretary, and my father was a treasurer for the St. Joseph's housing project.
03:10It provided homes for blacks who needed homes.
03:15This is a home of Mrs. Annie Bankins.
03:17This is one of the first homes to be built in the area.
03:21Come on in.
03:22Well, thank you.
03:24Go right ahead, go right.
03:26My parents knew that having a house, a home, was very, very important.
03:34And they dedicated an awful lot of time and energy to making sure that those homes were built.
03:44Black people didn't take leadership roles like that.
03:51I mean, they did everything.
03:53You can see pictures of my mother at a home that's being built.
03:58Was quite unique.
04:03They changed quite a few lives.
04:11See, and she always had her face.
04:16She knew her angles.
04:19That's the best side.
04:20That's her side.
04:21She worked her angles.
04:22Every picture.
04:23See, the same one.
04:25Alice and Wilson Marshall are my grandparents.
04:29They lived in Morganza, Maryland.
04:32There was a room where they just kept things.
04:36Just a lot of things.
04:37There was lots of cigar boxes with just knickknacks.
04:43For a time, it felt like we went down there every weekend.
04:46You could just explore.
04:49You could hear all the crickets were chirping.
04:52And it was just very peaceful.
04:56As a family, we lived in a home that was loving, with loving parents.
05:05They did all the things that they were supposed to do.
05:11It was just the White House among the trees, and it was just a piece of heaven.
05:22The way we lost a property, it's too painful to think about.
05:53There were some taxes that were due, and mom and dad didn't have the wherewithal to pay it.
06:13And so she approached a gentleman who helped her out financially
06:18with the proviso that he would sell her back the house.
06:23But that didn't happen.
06:27He said he was going to keep it, and that's what he did.
06:33Mom and dad paid rent.
06:35He said he was going to keep it, and that's what he did.
06:41Mom and dad paid rent up until they died in 1992, 1998.
06:51Eventually, my sisters and I just moved from the house.
06:56We had to pack up everything, and then we put it in storage.
07:04It was really, really, really bittersweet, especially for my mom,
07:11because it had been in her family for years.
07:17Hello? How are you?
07:25Ah, Mokie-Dokie, I'm calling to see if you're gonna be joining me for dinner tonight.
07:34I'm calling to see if my sister's coming.
07:38I'm calling to see if my sister's coming.
07:41Ah, Mokey Dokey. I'm calling to see if you're going to be joining us tomorrow.
07:47Okay? So, I'll be you.
07:50Okay, well, you can just mention to her, please, about tomorrow.
07:56Have some idea of what you want.
07:58No, no. But, is the family doing okay?
08:02Okay, good. I'll see you tomorrow, here.
08:06Okay, bye-bye.
08:12Yo!
08:13Well, let's see what they're going to do, see.
08:15Yeah, no mama.
08:16Yeah.
08:17All right, bring this up, mama.
08:18You ready to work? You got your gloves?
08:20How you doing?
08:22How you doing?
08:25What did he say?
08:31It's amazing how you can reduce a whole house to two storage areas.
08:39There's Morganza.
08:42That's a high chair.
08:45Is it?
08:46It sure is.
08:47That is a high chair. Oh, no.
08:48Oh, it's a chair chair.
08:50Oh, it's a chair chair.
08:51Oh, how adorable is that?
08:52I like that.
08:53That's cute.
08:54That's a step stool and a chair.
08:57You want to shut the front door?
09:00Hey, hey, Dave. Come here. Look at this, man.
09:03Come on around here. Look at this.
09:06Oh, she's your turntable.
09:08Get out of here. That's old control, man.
09:11Get out of here.
09:14What y'all find over there?
09:16Wonder does she grieve every lovely evening
09:25In a little Spanish house on a night like this
09:33Hey, guys, we found a treasure chest.
09:38Take the switch from it.
09:40What?
09:41Is it aggressive?
09:42Take the brush.
09:43Oh, the brush.
09:45All these girls have stuff in them.
09:53I was hurting.
09:56I was hurting so much when we were cleaning out the house.
10:01It's taken quite a few years to get over the hurt.
10:08We just ran out of time.
10:14So it's up to me to somehow clear out the storage unit.
10:21Oh, I feel so good in here.
10:25I'm going to do my best with help from my family.
10:31And we'll do it.
10:33Johnny
10:35Paul
10:49Once you have lost something,
10:54you don't want anyone else to have to go through that same thing.
11:01So you strive to make it not happen to someone else.
11:06And I think that's what my mother and father did.
11:19We're driving the wrong way.
11:22Why do you say we? I'm not driving.
11:26Were you with me?
11:31But they didn't do a thing to the church.
11:34They did some things to the church.
11:36Well, they didn't change the front door.
11:41But do you remember that Saturday we got married?
11:47No.
11:48I'm going to go home and look at the pictures.
11:50Well, yeah, because I know.
11:52You don't remember?
11:54Oh, look at that. This is neat.
11:58He's got a pretty good deck up here.
12:02I don't know.
12:04Oh, look at that. This is neat.
12:08He's got a pretty good deck up here.
12:35As it was in the beginning, and there shall be one.
12:45Dad was buried first, because he died first.
12:50And then Mom was buried on top of him.
12:55So that we could keep her in that plot.
13:04I'm going to put it in front of it.
13:06All right, yeah, right in front of it.
13:09But I can't get it in.
13:14In order to acquire a tombstone,
13:19you have to have quite a bit of money.
13:30How about that? Huh?
13:32There you go, baby.
13:35Looks pretty good, doesn't it?
13:40I can feel their presence.
13:43And it's okay.
13:47It's okay.
13:51Amen.
13:52Amen.
13:53Amen and amen.
13:58But it's great to be here with you all,
14:00because it's been a long time.
14:02Very long time.
14:05We wrote a song about it.
14:08Here it goes.
14:15We'll see what the song is about.
14:28Oh baby, oh baby, where'd you go?
14:51Here I am.
14:54Oh baby, oh baby, where'd you go?
15:02I've been looking for you all night.
15:07Where'd you go?
15:11Oh baby, oh baby, where'd you go?
15:19It's a secret!
15:21All right.
15:26Thank you for your participation.
15:28Thank you for your participation.