Archive | Participants

FOUND-COUSINS_Parker_Wesley.01_35_36_22.Still020

Solidarity Means Rising Up Against Fear

Written by Darriel McBride Growing up as a bi-racial woman, during the early 2000s to present, has come with its own set of challenges. Despite growing up in New York, one of the most diverse cities in the world, I was born into a mixed family and culture that struggles with anti-Blackness. While being half […]

Continue Reading

Giving Thanks For The Power of Community Kinship

Written by Darriel McBride With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it’s an opportunity for us to not only be thankful for the food we eat, but our families as we celebrate with one another. Growing up on a farm, in North Carolina, has taught the Starling family the importance of knowing exactly where their food […]

Continue Reading

One Man’s Impact on Four Generations

Written by Darriel McBride Every year, International Men’s Day is commemorated on November 19th to celebrate the positive that value men bring to the world, their families, and their communities. One of our very own Family Pictures USA participants, Leonardo Gonzalez, is quite literally the embodiment of a man who has brought significant positivity and […]

Continue Reading

NOTABLE VETERANS OF 2019

Written by Darriel McBride Today, according to the most recent statistics from the US Census, there are roughly 20.4 million veterans in the United States, yet among those who have served, The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates that 40,056 veterans are homeless on any given night. Gulf War veterans face unrelenting barriers […]

Continue Reading

Rising Scholars of Immokalee

Zulaika Quintero, Jose Quintero and Elva Quintero We had the opportunity to meet Zulaika Quintero through our photo-share in Southwest Florida. As the principal of a local public charter school, she has tailored the school’s curriculum to meet the needs of the children in her community. “Everything is taught in both languages and that enables […]

Continue Reading
(r to l) Annette Baka, Maryanne Porzondek (mother), and Nancy Taylor (sister).

From Farm to Table

The Life of a 107-year-old Detroit Home (r to l) Annette Baka, Maryanne Porzondek (mother), and Nancy Taylor (sister). I wanted to be involved in Family Pictures USA in order to show how a 107-year-old home survived, transformed, and brought two families together that will be bonded forever. The house at 5528 Moran Street has survived […]

Continue Reading
THE OCCANEECHI BAND

The Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation

MATRIARCHAL CULTURE The Occaneechi Band is a small Indian community located in North Carolina. It is one of the only First Nation’s in the state to reclaim their ancestral home. It’s just a beautiful thing when you see all the colors and the people dancing and having a good time. You can just feel the […]

Continue Reading
Two girls holding a fish

Estero Bay Heroes

‘Heroic’ Bill and Pat Mellor were titled the “world’s earliest environmentalist” by Cynthia Williams, the daughter of a developer who nearly destroyed Estero Bay’s fragile ecosystem. View at Estero Bay from the Mellor family lot on the Bay (c.a.1960) Fort Myers is home to Estero Bay, a beautiful piece of paradise on the west coast […]

Continue Reading
Barthwell Family Photo

Distinguished Detroiters

The Barthwell Family History Dr. Akosua Barthwell Evans shared with us the many accomplishments of her family members despite the racial adversity they faced. Read her story below. Gladys and Sidney Barthwell with Akosua and Sid as children My family has always been a very important part of me. I was fortunate to grow up […]

Continue Reading
Ausby Family pose and hold golden frame

A Look Back in Time

My Halifax Family Story We traveled to the historic Rocky Mount Mills in North Carolina to collect local family photographs and stories with our local partner UNC-TV for our new PBS television series, Family Pictures USA. Through our photo-shares, we uncovered fascinating stories about the people and places that make up their community. We met one family – the Ausby […]

Continue Reading
Chantel Henry and her Grams

Before You Came, We Were Here

An Ojibway Family & The Making of Detroit Chantel Henry (Ginew Kwe or “Golden Eagle Woman”) became aware of her and her family’s deep connection to the city of Detroit about four years ago. We are so honored that she decided to share with us the story of how her grandparents, Arnold and Freda Henry, came to Detroit and her […]

Continue Reading
Mark Lee presenting a photograph of his father on his phone.

Small Talk with Mark S. Lee with Guest Don Perry

On Sunday January 14, my Executive Producer/writer of Family Pictures USA, Don Perry joined the weekly CBS Radio podcast, “Small Talk with Mark S. Lee” along with other guests: Kurt Rankin, Senior Economist, PNC Bank, Dana White, Founder and Owner, Paralee Boyd, and Karen Hudson Samuels, Executive Director, WGPR TV Historical Society.  The podcast covered various topics concerning the state of Detroit’s economy, including […]

Continue Reading