As part of the MBE journey, I have decided to find out who I am and where I come from.
Ancestry.co.uk have agreed to do the investigations and let me know, LIVE on my BBC Radio London Drivetime show.
I am petrified.
I know several mates who have changed their names after embarking on such a journey and who now have a real sense of belonging.
I am not saying that’s what will happen to me but I now know that what mum says is true.
“Everything happens for a reason”. You may not know what it is at the time but “everything that happens in the dark will, one day, come to light”.
The cancer, the deal to raise money, the happiness, the award, belonging.
I’ve seen “Who do you think you are”, I’ve seen what happens to them when they imagine what their ancestors went through. I am terrified I am going to start blubbering on air.
But…. it has to be done. Africans were not indigenous to the Caribbean. Someway, somehow, my ancestors were slaves. They built America and they built and added to the wealth of Britain. I know that, we ALL know that. What is going to be interesting for me and my kids is feeling it because as mum says “Who feels it, knows it”.
