From Roots to Roof: Navigating Ancestral Trauma in the Quest for Home
An Ancestral Longing For Home Neither my maternal nor paternal Jamaican grandmothers experienced the fullness of a wholesome, healthy, and abundant home. Born into intergenerational poverty on the island of Jamaica, they inherited the hardships and scars of their ancestors who grappled with identity and freedom in the aftermath of slavery. Jamaica's history of slavery and colonization deeply impacted the origin stories of its people, often characterized by a profound sense of 'homelessness'. Our black ancestors were forcibly taken from Africa to the West as chattel slaves, planting the seeds of a new home in unfamiliar soil. However, building a true home, fueled by love, proved challenging amidst the shadows of trauma and exploitation. The acts of romance, union, and family-building, essential to nurturing divine love, were often tainted by the legacies of slavery and colonial oppression. For many displaced and impoverished ancestors, these acts were performed amid broken...
