Description: "A mysterious name initiates a journey to discover one family's past, and reveals more than was expected. It began with a name. Sancho. Gleaned from the memory of his oldest living relative, that name set author Keith Rushing on a quest to recover his family's story. Rushing came to learn that Sancho was an African name, a common practice among the Gullah-Geechee communities of the South Carolina and Georgia Sea Islands. He found that Sancho had been born into slavery on Hilton Head Island and later fought as a soldier in a war for self-emancipation. Rushing learned that after that war Sancho had become a small landowner. Above all, he discovered that his family's story was richer than he had ever imagined. In Descended, Rushing recounts his own journey of discovery, and in the process unfurls a dramatic story about the transformation of Hilton Head. Descended is a story about family, place, and the desire to understand where we have been and where we are going"--
Review Quotes:
This deeply personal memoir is both a genealogical odyssey and a powerful reckoning with the past....A profound family journey into Black American history, from enslavement to empowerment....Blends personal revelation with searing historical clarity, a poignant tribute to identity, legacy, and the pursuit of justice.
-- "PW Booklife"