“Goodbye, Morganza” Follows the Legacy of a Black Family’s Property Loss

The New Yorker

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.

Transcript

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.

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