HUMAN INTEREST

After slavery was abolished, there was still a need for people to work the fields Black people were offered a share of the profits from the fields and a house to rent. In our family, the house was outside of the town of Hempstead, in a place called Racoon Bend.

What they weren’t told was, what the rent on the house would be or how much the profit was. With few other options, people accepted these terms, only to find out the rent for the house usually exceeded any profits (as they were told). Essentially keeping them as slaves. The white landowners continued to live well, while the black people did not.

The story continued. Even in Lisa’s family there are different shades of black. Her grandfather, Levy, was very noticeably light skinned and could pass as white This of course was not allowed He was a very brave man, who, when in other towns would “pass”. He was discovered doing this and turned in. He was murdered, being stabbed in the neck and bleeding out. This happened on the sidewalk in front of where we slowed to look at the storefront. No one offered him any help.

“The story in our family goes that his blood stained the sidewalk in front of that store, not for days or weeks, but years. Finally, the concrete was torn out and removed.” Lisa said

Following the murder, which no one was ever charged for, trucks descended on the home with the white landowners demanding $1600 in rent. “My grandmother, Ruth, didn’t have that kind of money nor could she understand why they were asking her.”

This is when she was told that her husband was dead and if she couldn’t come up with that money, they’d take what they could In shock from discovering her husband’s death, her farm was ransacked, taking most of her livestock, leaving her with minimal resources to feed her family of 12 children.

Later that day, the KKK showed up and took all photos of Levy and burned them. There is no remaining evidence that he ever existed

In Racoon Bend, Lisa found the house where her grandmother lived It is now a pile of rubble but her family still owns the land.

Hearing this story was heartbreaking for me What an evil thing slavery was. I will be always grateful that Lisa trusted me enough to share this story and this part of her life.

Heading back towards Houston, Lisa knew I wanted to sample “real” Texas BBQ. Sure, enough she knew the perfect spot, Waller County Line, Pit BBQ We shared a Three Meat meal, which included sausage, beef and turkey, as well as a side of homemade BBQ baked beans each. My mouth still waters when I think of that meal.

Returning to Lisa’s, she was promptly swallowed up in work. Lisa is a USA Today listed bestselling author, under the pen name of Mariah Kingsley Her books are sold through Amazon. As she describes her writing, “It’s Sex, Love and Murder” I was privileged to be gifted with many of her books. Some of which came with a parental warning! I have my reading list for the foreseeable future.

For my last night, we all went out for dinner. There were 12 of us in total and Olive Garden was able to accommodate us all. It was truly a family meal!

On Tuesday morning, Lisa dropped me off at the airport, with big hugs and a promise to do it all again next year!