CHAPTER 1
Black and white, black or white. For me, those were never options. In the summer of 1795, in Georgetown, South Carolina, a baby girl was born to Monifa Akisha, or as she was now called Sally, and Master David Tupper. That baby was me, the product of a relationship that no man would ever dare to even think of lest he desired a breathless end in a poplar tree. My parents didn't fear the consequences as much as they feared the judgement. My mother was a traitor to her own kind, my father a disgrace to his. Little did they know that all of that was nothing compared to the judgement I faced growing up. I was too dark to belong to one side or too light to belong to the other. The others forbid their children to even come near me. I was impure. I wasn't completely alone though. Master David and his wife, Lady Mariam, had a son, …show more content…
The saddest day of her life. She described the excitement of the morning, finally being able to emerge from the bridal hut after three days of isolation with her brides maids. The man she was to marry was named Manu and she was madly in love with him. She was being escorted to him by the village elders when they came. The pale faces. “Beasts told of in horror stories come to life” is what she called them. At this point I would squeeze her tightly as if to say she need not continue. Tears would begin to slide down her cheeks and I could almost see the flames that devoured her village in her eyes. I always wondered what life would be like if she hadn't been taken. If she had married Manu that day, and stayed in the Ashanti Empire. Manu would have been my father, and he would have loved me and not be ashamed for all the empire to see. Instead I had a father who could only show his love for me through sneaking me bread at night on his way to the stables. I envied the other children for this reason. They had a constant source of fatherly affection that was not affected by our
Black and white, black or white. For me, those were never options. In the summer of 1795, in Georgetown, South Carolina, a baby girl was born to Monifa Akisha, or as she was now called Sally, and Master David Tupper. That baby was me, the product of a relationship that no man would ever dare to even think of lest he desired a breathless end in a poplar tree. My parents didn't fear the consequences as much as they feared the judgement. My mother was a traitor to her own kind, my father a disgrace to his. Little did they know that all of that was nothing compared to the judgement I faced growing up. I was too dark to belong to one side or too light to belong to the other. The others forbid their children to even come near me. I was impure. I wasn't completely alone though. Master David and his wife, Lady Mariam, had a son, …show more content…
The saddest day of her life. She described the excitement of the morning, finally being able to emerge from the bridal hut after three days of isolation with her brides maids. The man she was to marry was named Manu and she was madly in love with him. She was being escorted to him by the village elders when they came. The pale faces. “Beasts told of in horror stories come to life” is what she called them. At this point I would squeeze her tightly as if to say she need not continue. Tears would begin to slide down her cheeks and I could almost see the flames that devoured her village in her eyes. I always wondered what life would be like if she hadn't been taken. If she had married Manu that day, and stayed in the Ashanti Empire. Manu would have been my father, and he would have loved me and not be ashamed for all the empire to see. Instead I had a father who could only show his love for me through sneaking me bread at night on his way to the stables. I envied the other children for this reason. They had a constant source of fatherly affection that was not affected by our