6 minute read
Tony Watkins
Shackled Again
By Natalie Downey
Telling stories has always been an important part of understanding the human experience. Stories are relatable and can help build empathy and inspire change. But sometimes, stories are suppressed, buried beneath the dusty pages of time and the burden of responsibility and injustice. Sometimes the ones we need to hear most are never recovered.
The work of author Tony Watkins is a storytelling mission, an effort to search far and wide for the lost stories of African Americans and ensure they’re told as many times as we need to hear them, until we resolve to never return to the ways of the past.
Originally from the Fort Benning (now Fort Moore) area, Tony Watkins remembers his grandmother asking him to clean up an area on her property that was known as “The Shack,” a stable of sorts for the cows. As Tony was cleaning, his pitchfork hit something and he heard a clanging sound. Tony continued digging, and as he brought up his pitchfork, he noticed something shining on the end. He took a closer look and saw that he had uncovered a pair of shackles.
When Tony brought the shackles inside to show his grandmother, she became uneasy and told him to go bury them again. “At that time, our people did not tell stories,” Tony recalls, “They took their stories to the grave.”
But that day, Tony’s persistence led to his grandmother agreeing to tell a story - the story of her own grandmother whose hands were mutilated in fire simply because, as a slave girl, she looked in a book at a young age. And though Tony did not yet know it, his grandmother’s tragic story would be a catalyst toward his mission: the mission of inspiring change through storytelling.
“We were cheated,” Tony realized as he listened to his grandmother’s revelation. “All we know is what they told us.” As Tony realized the importance of the stories not yet been told, he began working to uncover more stories of Civil War-era African Americans, and realized that so many painful details had been buried just like the shackles in his grandmother’s barn.
Tony began the work of collecting stories, and he quickly realized that in order to get people to share the stories they had so long kept hidden, he’d have to gain their trust. “People were reluctant to tell their stories out of fear,” Tony recalls.
He built trust over time. “When they see someone who looks like them who wants to keep their stories alive, they begin talking. Once one or two started talking, then the word spread.” Tony listened to many stories around the dinner table, and gave people the safe space they needed to finally reveal their truths.
As Tony’s reputation grew, more stories poured out. He interviewed over eighty Freedom Riders, many whose stories were at risk of being forever lost: one interviewee was 115 years old. “It’s been tricky getting these stories before they pass,” Tony admits, adding, “Once they go away, they’re gone. When they’re gone, what’s next?” This realization only served to inspire a deeper commitment to his mission: “My job is to make sure there’s a legacy, and to educate.”
As Tony’s collection of stories grew, he sent them to retired General Colin Powell who was impressed with the work Tony was doing and agreed to have an interview with him.
Tony eventually collected enough stories to write a book, so that’s what he did. His book, Shackled Again, released in 2013, featured stories of the injustices so many African Americans faced, and tales of their fight for equality. The work gave a voice to so many who spent so many years with their stories hidden away.
With more stories than he could tell in one book, Tony realized he would need to expand his book to be a series. His second volume, “Shackled Again: The Women’s Fight,” recounts tales of African American women involved in the Civil Rights movement, highlighting the challenges and triumphs these women faced. “These stories are not just history,” Tony explains, “They are a blueprint for resilience and courage. It’s time for the world to recognize their impeccable contributions to our nation’s progress.”
Tony anticipates his collection to a total of five volumes when he is finished writing them, with his third planned for release in August. His book Shackled Again was adapted into Morgan State University curriculum as part of their required reading.
For Tony, the stories are a way to raise awareness and inspire change. He hopes that in hearing them, the American people will commit to making changes to ensure we don’t repeat history. With his storytelling comes questions: “Are we repeating ourselves? What are we doing about inclusion? Can we stop the racism?” And, while telling stories long suppressed gives the storytellers a much-deserved voice, for Tony, the other side of the coin is that they make people aware of certain truths. This, he hopes, will be a catalyst for compassion and change.
“What can I do to contribute?” Tony asks himself, when he hears the stories. “I’m hoping this is one way I can do it. We remember the past so we won’t have to repeat it.”
Tony’s books can be ordered online on Amazon and Kindle, and through other major bookstores.
