The rootedness flag: "with dignity, without shame"
The background of the Rootedness flag features the colors black, blue, and green. Black represents our connection to the African continent as well as the fertile soil of the Black Belt in the American South; blue symbolizes the Atlantic Ocean and the brutal transatlantic crossing of our forebears. Green signifies our ancestors' contributions to this nation’s wealth: working the land and building a country.
Land is closely tied to our identity as Southerners and people of African descent, and that is further exhibited in the crest. The crest’s foreground displays crops associated with the plantation system of the American South: cotton, tobacco, sugar cane, rice, and indigo. They rest behind a stylized rendering of a slave ship, a shield in the center of the crest. In that sense, this symbol—representing every man, woman, and child who were captives—is not a source of our shame; it is a source of our strength.
The artist’s stylized presentation uses rustic imagery because it represents what our ancestors built with their own hands. Her rendering explains, not only the Afro-Southern experience in the United States, but the black experience in the Western Hemisphere. It is, truly, an American experience.
This flag is our affirmation. With it, we honor our ancestors’ sacrifices, beauty, humanity, dignity, talents, and gifts—“without fear or shame.”
Limited Edition: Henry Wright B(l)ack to the Past T-Shirt
Celebrate this historic event, a tribute to our ancestral home on the occasion of the 200th birthday of Tallahassee-Leon County, with a commemorative t-shirt. Use the "Shop" prompt at the top of the website to make your purchase. See details below.
Cotton Boll Collective announces the 2024 Culture Keepers
Join us as we gather to commemorate Emancipation Day, the 20th of May, in the state of Florida. Last weekend, we had the pleasure of hosting the Watching for Freedom Culture Keeper Honorees in Tallahassee, Florida. These venerable culture bearers are leaders in their communities who have been preserving the customs and traditions of our North Florida ancestors' Emancipation Day celebrations, some for almost 160 years. Congratulations to the following 2024 Culture Keepers: John Bailey (Leon County), Rev. Wilbert Austin (Leon County), Essie Norton (Jefferson County), Dorothy Wood (Gadsden County), Herb Donaldson (Wakulla County), Byron Dickens (Jackson County), and Jacqueline Seabrooks (Jefferson County). Not pictured: Donna Mobley (Madison County), Rev. Albert Barfield (Madison County), Tim White (Gadsden County), and Frank Williams (Leon County).
Rootedness is Toni Morrison (1931-2019), prophet and culture bearer. This week, we recognize the anniversary of her passing. Her transformative literary vision is even more significant to us today as we continue to mine her narrative touchstones for meaning and direction, seeking her “benevolent, instructive, and protective“ ancestral voice. The daughter of parents from Georgia and Alabama, Toni Morrison enlivened her art with the spirit of the Afro-South, its rituals, and its traditions. We reflect on her “certain kind of wisdom” as we examine our American experience within the possibilities and frailties of this American experiment.
rootedness: we were here!
Rootedness: With Dignity, without Shame
Rootedness in Barcelona, Spain.
Rootedness on the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy.
Rootedness at the Mary Ellen Pleasant Memorial in San Francisco, CA.
Rootedness at the birthplace of Jackie Robinson in Cairo, GA.
Rootedness at the monument commemorating Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City at San Jose State University in San Jose, CA.
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