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My Alabama Shaw Family on My Father’s Side From 1861-2014

It was Granddaddy who set the work standard for Grand Mama and my daddy, uncles, and aunts and was a smart businessman, in all areas of his life, who obtained the right pay for his work, gambling, and farm products

Posted Sept 23, 2016

Annie Shaw-Barnes, Ph.D.
Author and Speaker
Cultural Anthropologist
Family Specialist
Family Education Specialist
Spousal Abuse Specialist
Christian Church Specialist
Racism Specialist

Hi everyone,

Granddaddy took the lead in working hard, gambling, and showing money-making acumen in our family.

Even in his youth, while living in Cohassett, Alabama, when Granddaddy was fourteen years old, he worked on farms, saved his money, and bought an acre of land in Evergreen, Alabama, the county seat in Conecuh County, where Great Grandmother Julie was freed from slavery.

In 2016, this is a good lesson for all black families, that is, work hard on every job, seek promotions through work excellence, and employ a positive, respectful, and warm personality to get what you earn. If you have not done so, practice those characteristics, like you practice duplicate bridge or basketball, until you play the game of work, like a champion, and always know when you do not work hard every day, you are cheating yourself. Only the weekend is yours to play and not even drink and get tired. Stay refreshed. Yes, be the best at work, set the pace, and seek the right way, and get what you deserved. My Beloved Young Women, I am holding this conversation with you, too. Carry yourself in a respectful way and never hold up a man, while resting on your back to get a job, promotion, or invitation to a party. Men should not ask for this kind of exchange, but they do. When everyone stops this “owe me one,” they will show men integrity and they will reward all us women with equal pay for equal work.

I set the work pace at the University of Virginia, where I earned my Ph.D. and neither my professors, nor fellow students ever hinted at me laying on my back for them. You can do it, too, and remember, when you do, the aftermath is unhappiness. Now, don’t forget to set the work pace and get the wages you earn, like my granddaddy did, who was born in 1870. Though the techniques you use will be different from his, find the ones that work for you today and receive what you earn. Do not forget you cannot take it—it’s the right kind of relationship that gets you what you earn.

Study yourself, summarize yourself in one paragraph, set the work pace, and bring home all the bacon you earn, even if you have not yet married.

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