The Sound of What's Not Said
When a descendant of an enslaved person reaches out to the family of the enslaver and receives no reply, what does that silence mean?
Is the descendant of the enslaver obligated to respond—and if so, how?
Does silence protect, deny, or refuse?
Can healing happen without acknowledgment?
The Sound of What’s Not Said invites us to confront the weight of silence between descendants of the enslaved and enslavers—and to consider what reconciliation requires when one side chooses not to speak.
Charles F. Holman, III has been a genealogist for more than half a century. Genetic Genealogist CeCe Moore from the show “Finding Your Roots,” has called Charles “a pioneer among Black Americans researching their family ties to before the Civil War.”
He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, and became one of the youngest lawyers in the history of Michigan. His choice of law as a profession was rooted in the path chosen by his maternal great grandfather, a formerly enslaved man who became one of the first lawyers of color in his state.
As an Assistant United States Attorney Charles won national recognition from the US Attorney General and the Director of the FBI for successfully prosecuting persons who burned black churches in the South.
Charles' work in civil rights has been fueled by his interest in uncovering his ancestors' lives in early America. He views himself as standing on the shoulders of those who came before him. He has reunited with long-lost cousins whose families were separated due to slavery. In addition, he met white cousins who descend from those who enslaved his black ancestors.
In the summer of 2024, the Washington Post featured Charles in a front-page article highlighting his groundbreaking research which proved that before his paternal great-great-grandfather became a conductor on the Underground Railroad, he and his family had been enslaved by the ancestors of Presidents Bush.
Charles is a member of the National Genealogical Society, the Sons and Daughters of the United States Middle Passage and the Sons of the American Revolution.
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