Daughter Dialogues
Listen to real-life stories from women with African American lineage who honor their ancestors' fight to achieve independence for the United States of America and are members of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). The host, Reisha Raney, a black leader in the DAR and a direct descendant of President Thomas Jefferson's grandfather, is conducting independent research as a Harvard University non-resident fellow, under the direction of Henry Louis Gates, Jr, host of the PBS Special "Finding Your Roots", exploring the lives of DAR members of color and their ancestry which includes men and women of American Indian, black or African descent, and white or European descent who contributed to the founding of the USA. Who are these descendants? What challenges did they overcome researching their genealogy? Visit DaughterDialogues.com to subscribe to the newsletter and meet more members of color. Follow us @DaughterDialogs on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube. This is not an official podcast of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR). This podcast is independent and does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the NSDAR. The President General is the official spokesperson of NSDAR.
Daughter Dialogues
Leslie McKesson: Equity Professor. Theodosia’s two Revolutionary War husbands.
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Leslie talks about Theodosia, who ran off with cousin and Leslie’s Revolutionary War patriot, William Dula (Dooley) of Irish descent, leaving her first husband, Revolutionary War patriot John Patrick McMullan, and their children without divorcing; the McMullan family being told that Theodosia died; learning her long-time white friend and colleague descended from McMullan and they are both Theodosia’s 4th great granddaughters, then joining the same DAR chapter; William’s grandson James “Alfred” Dula having eight black children with great-great-grandmother Harriet Harshaw who was enslaved by him and kidnapped by his family; and a white Daughters of the American Revolution Dula descendant attending black Dula family reunions and suggesting Leslie join the DAR. Leslie discusses growing up in Lenoir, North Carolina; framing her mother's letter denying her a teaching job since she was Negro and hanging it beside her own doctorate degree; earning a bachelor's in Criminal Justice from UNC; completing a master's and doctorate in education over 12 years while working full time and raising a family; journey from working as a paralegal to becoming an instructor at Appalachian State and Lenoir-Rhyne University; teaching educators how to be more inclusive and leadership philosophy; impact of going from segregated to integrated schools as a child; bringing more diversity into positions of leadership; working as a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) consultant; giving a TEDx talk on gRaCE (Growing Racial and Cultural Empathy); serving as a commissioner of the NC African American Heritage Commission; singing in an award winning gospel recording group; Alfred having six white children with his first wife who died, leaving all of his 2,000 acres- “Dulatown”- to his black children with Harriet, and leaving homes to his white sons; her father becoming the historian for both black and white Dulas after white cousin James Dula died; the “Dulatown” documentary; the annual Theodosia descendants' day at her gravesite with white and black descendants embracing each other but other relatives not wanting to hear it; reconciling slave owning ancestry and Harriet's French father Jacob Harshaw's reputation for being cruel to slaves; father encouraging her to write a family book; Harriet's child with a black man outside of her connection with Alfred, who ran the man off with a shotgun, and the child dying in infancy; Harriet's two children from prior slave master coming with her to Alfred’s, leaving a third behind as "property"; Alfred's family kidnapping Harriet because she was living in the house with him; William being the cousin of the infamous "Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley", executed for the murder of Laura Foster; having measured pride knowing her ancestor fought for American freedom since slavery was a component of the Revolutionary War; being totally against joining the DAR until a chapter reached out and encouraged her to join; joining to make a path for cousins to join DAR; serving as chapter vice regent; the DAR still being open and welcoming despite the recent climate in community; being “proud to open a door for other women like me to have access to the DAR... as a point of progress for a group of women who have been marginalized in the past”. Read Leslie’s biography at www.daughterdialogues.com/daughters
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