A Family Revealed


Musician, storyteller and advocate Reggie Harris will dive into his family history during a story/concert presentation, Sunday, April 16. The program, sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Bennington, begins at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults and $8 for t hose 18 and younger.

In A Family Revealed Reggie Harris, a descendant of an enslaved woman Bibhanna, and Confederate General Williams Carter Wickham will share the journey that he has undertaken since meeting with his white cousins in 2012.

“America resembles a tapestry quilt,” says Harris, “with our various cultures and ethnic backgrounds mixed and mingled on the multicolored field of life. Our shared history, too often unknown, ignored or still hidden is filled with stories that can offer context and solutions for us as we try to tackle present day issues of race and inclusion.” Reggie has a unique and yet, very American story to share that started on the Hickory Hill Plantation in Ashland, VA.

That story, now highlighted in a N.Y Times article “When the Toppled Statue is Your Great-Great Grandfather and on CNN’s Silence is Not an Option”, extends to include the blossoming relationship with his white Wickham cousins: all sharing a history as descendants of the master. The light of this story is their use of this narrative window to redefine their relationship from past to present in ways that give example to the conversations that we as a nation must have if we hope to shape a more unified and hope-based future.