Karen Batchelor: First black DAR member. It took a village.

02/18/21 • 98 min

Karen discusses being admitted to the DAR in 1977 as the first known black member by defying resistance within the society; inquiring about admission to the DAR by writing local chapters, upon the suggestion of archivist and friend Margaret Ward; not knowing if there were other black members, reaching out to two Detroit, Michigan chapters, sharing that she was black, but never hearing back; being unable to meet the requirement of attaining the sponsorship of two members since no one would invite her to a chapter; help from James Dent Walker, African-American, head of genealogical services at the National Archives; becoming aware that she was the first known black to apply but would not be the first genetically black member since some white members discovered that their patriots were of color; being the first to say "I am black, I am eligible, I would like to apply”, then President General Baylies reaching out to chapters to ask who would accept her, encouraging that they "would do a great service to the national society"; the Ezra Parker chapter in Royal Oak, Michigan offering to sponsor her; appearing on the front cover of the New York Times, and in over 230 publications in stories about her admission; a California chapter requesting to review her application, not believing a black could be eligible to the join DAR; Mrs. Baylies protecting her by putting the application documents in her desk and closing the file; Mrs. Baylies being recognized, in her obituary, for admitting the first black member; smiling at the portrait of Mrs. Baylies in the DAR headquarters with each visit, "it took a village to get me there and she was part of that village"; learning decades later about having been blackballed by a chapter who voted against sponsoring her, then transferring to that chapter to heal from their rejection and serving as the Regent (leader); Peggy Anderson's 1974 The Daughters account of race in DAR; initiating her application because "I could" and it was a logical conclusion to finding her white Revolutionary War ancestor William Hood, in ten months, a patriot who had never been established with DAR; feeling uncomfortable as the only person of color at her first Continental Congress, her breath being taken away and feeling really American when the flag unfurled from the ceiling in DAR Constitution Hall; being the subject of a Jeopardy television game show final clue; her family joining the DAR; Alex Haley’s Roots, published four months into her research, serving as a major incentive to keep going; later meeting Haley and learning that he was a fan of hers; not being able to find an African forebearer; misconceptions that researchers will never get through slavery to get to a black person's patriot; not all black ancestry traces back to slavery; serving as National Vice Chair of Lineage Research for African American Patriots and Research; Real Daughter Eunice Russ Ames Davis, daughter of African descent Prince Ames, joining the DAR in the 1800's; reconciling the Marian Anderson incident; regretting going inactive for ten years, not finding how DAR was relevant in her life and how she was relevant in the society; "as a black woman, I felt I had to leave myself at the door"; feeling DAR as an organization, "we have made progress but we still have more progress to make"; feeling troubled by the state of racism in America; identifying the opportunity for DAR to educate members about diversity to continue moving forward as a society; rejecting the notion that racism is “political"; the growing number of black members; the need for DAR to be more attractive for black members; "DAR means a sisterhood, a love for history, and being an American".
Read Karen's biography at www.daughterdialogues.com/daughters
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Previous Episode

Karen Batchelor: First black DAR member. Genealogical pioneer.

Karen talks about discovering her white Revolutionary War patriot William Hood, who earned her place as the first black woman to be admitted to the DAR; her white maternal great grandmother Jennie Daisy Hood marrying black Prince Albert Weaver, in 1889 Ohio; Jennie’s mother not allowing her to bring her children with her to visit because they were showing their colored heritage; her paternal ancestor Isaiah Parker buying enslaved Charity Ann from his father's estate, living with her, and purchasing some of the 17 children he had with her, in Harris County, Georgia; Charity Ann being referred to as Mrs. Parker although they were not legally allowed to marry; Isaiah having no relationship with a white woman; her feelings about having slave owning ancestry; oral history passed down from her grandmother about Charity Ann being bought by her third great grandfather in Virginia, taken away in a wagon with two black horses; Charity's mother running after wagon saying "Bye bye my babies, I will see you in the by-and-by"; grandmother "Gram" (Beatrice Parker) being estranged from her father Thomas, son of Charity Ann and Isaiah, who is lost after the 1900 census, leaving his black wife and kids and possibly changing his name to pass for white; Gram's stories about growing up in Georgia always ending with "I saw colored folks hanging from a tree"; Gram marrying at fifteen with only an eighth grade education and not attending her own graduation because she didn't have money for a white dress which girls were wearing for the ceremony; mother not talking about her maternal family because the white side did not want anything to do with them and forging relationships with white relatives later in life; her mother's black father Frederick, of Bermuda, who in 1917 married Hazel, daughter of Jennie and Prince Albert, who lost her U.S. citizenship because of her marrying an “alien"; discovering mother's unknown half siblings while on a family vacation to Bermuda when she was twelve; Jennie meeting and deciding to marry Prince Albert in 1889; Jennie teaching Prince to read and him building a house for them; discovering Prince Albert's mother Cornelia, a free woman of color in 1860, and father Nathaniel, a U.S. Colored Troops soldier, both in Washington, D.C.; her lineage through Jennie to patriot William Hood; William arriving on a rescue mission at Fort Freeland, which was under attack by British and American Indians near the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, unaware that the settlers had surrendered and surviving the ensuing battle; William later marrying Rebecca Lee and settling in New York; visiting the house Prince Albert built in 1810, having present-day occupants allowing her inside, the locals remembering Jennie, and her white cousins being accepting; feeling incredulous when she discovered that she had a Revolutionary War ancestor who helped fight for the America we hold dear today since she always felt “a little short of American” because of the color of her skin; feeling sad that Aunt Clara passed just prior to the patriot discovery and not being able to share in joining the DAR together so Aunt Clara could feel accepted instead of rejected because of heritage.
This is the second in a series of three episodes.
In the first episode, Karen shares stories about how her childhood shaped her into a pioneer.
In the next episode, Karen discusses being admitted to the DAR in 1977 as the first black member.
Read Karen's biography at www.daughterdialogues.com/daughters
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Next Episode

Leslie McKesson: Equity Professor. Theodosia’s two Revolutionary War husbands.

Leslie talks about Theodosia, who ran off with cousin and Leslie’s Revolutionary War patriot, William Dula (Dooley) of Irish descent, leaving her first husband, Revolutionary War patriot John Patrick McMullan, and their children without divorcing; the McMullan family being told that Theodosia died; learning her long-time white friend and colleague descended from McMullan and they are both Theodosia’s 4th great granddaughters, then joining the same DAR chapter; William’s grandson James “Alfred” Dula having eight black children with great-great-grandmother Harriet Harshaw who was enslaved by him and kidnapped by his family; and a white Daughters of the American Revolution Dula descendant attending black Dula family reunions and suggesting Leslie join the DAR. Leslie discusses growing up in Lenoir, North Carolina; framing her mother's letter denying her a teaching job since she was Negro and hanging it beside her own doctorate degree; earning a bachelor's in Criminal Justice from UNC; completing a master's and doctorate in education over 12 years while working full time and raising a family; journey from working as a paralegal to becoming an instructor at Appalachian State and Lenoir-Rhyne University; teaching educators how to be more inclusive and leadership philosophy; impact of going from segregated to integrated schools as a child; bringing more diversity into positions of leadership; working as a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) consultant; giving a TEDx talk on gRaCE (Growing Racial and Cultural Empathy); serving as a commissioner of the NC African American Heritage Commission; singing in an award winning gospel recording group; Alfred having six white children with his first wife who died, leaving all of his 2,000 acres- “Dulatown”- to his black children with Harriet, and leaving homes to his white sons; her father becoming the historian for both black and white Dulas after white cousin James Dula died; the “Dulatown” documentary; the annual Theodosia descendants' day at her gravesite with white and black descendants embracing each other but other relatives not wanting to hear it; reconciling slave owning ancestry and Harriet's French father Jacob Harshaw's reputation for being cruel to slaves; father encouraging her to write a family book; Harriet's child with a black man outside of her connection with Alfred, who ran the man off with a shotgun, and the child dying in infancy; Harriet's two children from prior slave master coming with her to Alfred’s, leaving a third behind as "property"; Alfred's family kidnapping Harriet because she was living in the house with him; William being the cousin of the infamous "Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley", executed for the murder of Laura Foster; having measured pride knowing her ancestor fought for American freedom since slavery was a component of the Revolutionary War; being totally against joining the DAR until a chapter reached out and encouraged her to join; joining to make a path for cousins to join DAR; serving as chapter vice regent; the DAR still being open and welcoming despite the recent climate in community; being “proud to open a door for other women like me to have access to the DAR... as a point of progress for a group of women who have been marginalized in the past”. Read Leslie’s biography at www.daughterdialogues.com/daughters
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