Grandma's Tales and Travails (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780996968492)

Grandma begins with a childhood image of an imaginary "haint" (ghost) streaking into her garage under a full moon-a story that got her chastised for telling tales. She then goes on to reveal actual stories of her family's and Black people's hardships through the years: the history she heard about Great Grandma Hanna and the Great Depression; the arrest and beating of two Black boys, seven and nine years old, who were kissed by a little White girl; the weaponization of Black farmers against White mobs-and her own past travails with white lightning, juke joints, and cotton picking, not to mention her particular brush with Jim Crow, a ghost that still haunts the present.

I created Grandma's Tales and Travails to inform my grandchildren and family members about events that occurred in the 1900s. These events, which weren't that long ago, have lingering effects today. Escaping death while skirting the Jim Crow laws captures the essence of those times.

My purpose is to educate all families about the events of the past that still haunt us in the present. Knowing our history grounds us and shines a light on new journeys that keep us from repeating the past.

I call on the ancestors to spiritually support the progressive positive growth and forward thinking of our families of the current and next generations. I, Grandma, state that all forward movements' foundation is LOVE.

Joyce Green is a grandma in her late 70's. She is a retired professor of Hospitality and Business Management, an author who writes cultural-heritage books for her grandchildren. She has studied under indigenous peoples and enjoys hosting family and friends' gatherings.