黑人历史. 我的历史. 美国的历史.

Juneteenth honors the end of slavery in the United States. It’s the second Independence Day for the nation, a reminder of the price and sacrifice Americans have paid for freedom. A reminder of the immeasurable value of faith and hope.

As we celebrate Juneteenth, I can't help but think about my personal history.

当我们回顾早期的美国, we imagine a time when our country was divided between white people who were free and Black people who were slaves. But things were not that simple—there were indentured white people who worked as servants, as well as free whites who didn't own any slaves. There were even a few Black people who were free.

In the 1700s, my family was part of a vibrant free Black community in Williamsburg, Virginia. 我的祖先, 马修·阿什比, was born in 1727 to a Black West African father and a white British indentured servant. Biracial children born of white women and Black men were required to be indentured to another family as an apprentice for thirty-one years. At the age of thirty-one, Matthew gained his freedom.

马修娶了安, an enslaved woman owned by bricklayer Samuel Spurr, 他们有两个孩子. Marriage was prohibited for slaves because they were legally considered property, so obtaining a legal marriage meant that Matthew had to accomplish two important tasks: First, he had to purchase Ann and their children. Then, he had to petition the authorities for their freedom.

Matthew was able to accomplish both of these tasks and free his family from slavery for a cost of £150. 之后, 他向总督会议请愿, which officially granted his family their freedom on November 27, 1769.

Unfortunately, Matthew became ill and died two years later.

Education was important in the free Black community—and particularly so to Matthew and Ann, who sacrificed so that their children, 约翰和玛丽, were able to attend the Bray School at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. Financed by an English philanthropist, Dr. Thomas Bray, the Williamsburg Bray School is the oldest institution in the U.S. dedicated to educating young Black children. 从1760到1774年, over 300 enslaved and free children were taught a curriculum that emphasized catechism, 说话, 清洁, 和顺从, 还有阅读和写作. The girls were also taught knitting and sewing.

As if freeing his family was not enough, Matthew also may have been part of a secret network of free Blacks that provided refuge for runaway slaves in Williamsburg. It makes me proud to think that he was willing to jeopardize his own status as a free man to assist others.

I am a descendant of Matthew's son, John Ashby. Although I am part of the branch of the family that moved north during the Great Migration, many of us continue to live and work in Virginia today.

回顾我的家族历史, I’m struck by not only my family’s hard work and resilience, but also by the established people and organizations that helped them. Matthew and Ann Ashby’s quest to educate their children was enabled, 在某种程度上, by one of America’s oldest universities working with an English philanthropist. 我想的是我自己的公司, 最大的之一, 世界上最成熟的银行, continues to invest in the Black community through its Advancing Black Pathways initiative. As our society continues to struggle with an economic gap created through historic inequity, 公司给我留下了深刻的印象, 和我的一样, that seek to move forward with a commitment to integrity, 公平与责任.

The story of my family is truly remarkable. It’s 黑人历史, it’s my history, and it’s 美国的历史. It is a story of perseverance, strength and courage. 马修·阿什比是我的英雄. Whenever I need inspiration or encouragement I don’t have to look far, 我可以在我的家谱里找到它.