Holly Henderson: Autism Advocate. Ancestors’ genetic morse code.

Holly discusses raising three Uniquely Special children on the Autism Spectrum, each with accompanying health challenges, after leaving her position as a gubernatorial appointee working as the Deputy Director of Communications for BWI Airport and subsequently being selected to be the Director of Communications for the Maryland Transit Administration.  She tells her story of flying to Munich, Germany to search for her German grandmother at the age of 14 as her German-born father, who was legally adopted by his black birth father to come to the United States, had lost contact with his mother for 42 years; studying journalism at the University of North Florida; working as a flight attendant, beginning her career with landing gear failure; ending her airline career after a possible encounter with 9/11 terrorists; earning a M.S. in Transportation Management at Morgan State University; leaving the workforce to care and advocate for children with special needs who often end up incarcerated at higher rates; her third great grandfather Peter G. Morgan, who was born into slavery, was selected to write the new Virginia state constitution, was one of first blacks in the Virginia House of Delegates, and was a Presidential appointee working as a Postmaster in Richmond; solving the mystery of who is the father of family patriarch Preston Riley, descendant of Revolutionary War patriot Jacob Riley; learning that Preston’s father was T.J. Riley, a white man who had a relationship with a slave named Sally, petitioned the court to take care of their sons, and left land to her; feeling a deeper sense of patriotism and loyalty to her country because of her ancestors' fight for freedom for the United States; finding her place in history; deciding to follow Marian Anderson's lead of moving toward forgiveness by joining the Daughters of the American Revolution and representing women of color because "these are our ancestors too"; authoring the book Riley Road: Navigating the Path to Discover My 6th Great Grandfather, Jacob Riley, detailing her genealogy research methodology. Read Holly’s biography at www.daughterdialogues.com/daughters

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Chapters

• 0:25 Born in MD, moving to Jacksonville, FL
• 1:16 Mother from VA, father from Germany, legally adopted by own birth father to come to U.S.
• 2:55 German grandmother, black U.S. military grandfather, father losing contact with German mother for 42 years, flying to Munich to search for grandmother, meeting her at age of 20
• 9:48 Attending high school in Jacksonville, FL; mission trip to Jamaica; road trips instilling love of travel
• 12:19 Going from studying journalism at Univ. of N. FL to working as a flight attendant, beginning career with landing gear failure
• 18:18 Ending airline career after possible encounter with 9/11 terrorists
• 21:55 Being a gubernatorial appointee to work as deputy director of communications for BWI airport
• 24:39 Being selected to be director of communications for the Maryland Transit Administration
• 27:42 Earning M.S. in Transportation Management at Morgan State University, intense program as part of engineering school
• 29:43 Leaving workforce in response to bond with baby while in utero; raising three Uniquely Special children on autism spectrum with comorbidities
• 37:09 Being an advocate for children with special needs who often end up incarcerated at higher rates
• 39:10 Enjoying researching, genealogy, swimming, traveling in "spare time"
• 40:18 Third great grandfather Peter G. Morgan, born into slavery, selected to write new VA state constitution, one of first blacks in VA house of delegates, presidential appointee to be postmaster in Richmond
• 42:07 Solving mystery of who is the father of family patriarch Preston Riley, descendant of Revolutionary War patriot Jacob Riley
• 44:14 Employed teams who helped find white "Judge" T.J. Riley's bible listing Preston's mom as a Riley family slave
• 45:11 Applying to the Daughters of the American Revolution; finding Freedman's Bureau listing Preston's father T.J. and mother Sally, T.J. Riley's political prominence
• 47:30 Feeling about descending from an ancestor who contributed to the Revolutionary War
• 50:24 T.J. Riley's relationship with slave Sally, his petition to court to take care of his sons and leaving land to Sally
• 53:14 Deeper sense of patriotism and loyalty because of ancestors' fight for freedom; finding place in history
• 55:46 Deciding to follow Marian Anderson's lead of moving toward forgiveness by joining the DAR, representing women of color because "these are our ancestors too"
• 58:56 Feeling valued, sense of identity and purpose from American Revolution lineage
• 1:02:21 Other family members joining lineage societies, being of service in the DAR
• 1:06:35 Authoring book "Riley Road" detailing genealogy research methodology