Millie

Millie and Mama (2002 - 2012)

Millie is one of the strongest and finest people I know. Millie's grandmother was a slave on my family's farm in Virginia. Her family and mine have gone through some of the most difficult, historical times in America. And yet, as Millie says, "we're family." We are. How did that happen, especially when all one reads about, today, is how much blacks hate whites and whites hate blacks? What had been the influences on Millie? 

How had she evolved into one of the most loved and respected members of both the black and white community? This is what I wanted to know. The photograph of "Mama" is one of a handful, which has been taken over her lifetime of 99 years. "Mama" was 92 in this photograph. Long ago, as a budding photographer, I took this informal portrait of ''Mama," in her house by the railroad tracks, catching what little summer breeze there was, as she sat in the doorway, between the open porch and her kitchen with the wooden stove. 

"Mama" was instrumental in Millie's development and outlook. ''Mama" was the daughter of the slave, who worked on our farm. She, too, had the respect and love of the surrounding community. What did Millie know of her mother's and her grandmother's experiences? What could we learn?