History Archives | midnight & indigo

Nanny’s Cry For Me

Shonda Smith — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 04:00:58 +0000

I never saw Nanny cry. Not even when her humble, eat-off-the-floor-clean basement apartment flooded repeatedly. Back in those terribly inconvenient days, it was normal for all of us—especially my mom, sister, and me—to worry profusely when the weather forecast called for rain, especially heavy ones. We knew any hint of a deluge meant my poor Nanny was in for a day or two of mopping those black-and-white, faux marble, linoleum floors, along with managing garbage bag after garbage bag of trash removal, and prayers for a dry season. A seamstress by trade, my Nanny knew instinctively how to patch things

The post Nanny’s Cry For Me appeared first on midnight & indigo.

Candles in the Window: A Generational Blessing of Hospitality

Lex Dunbar — Wed, 28 May 2025 04:00:15 +0000

For as long as I can remember, my great-grandmother never let a night go by without turning on the electric candlesticks perfectly placed in each window of our home. MumMum, as she was affectionately called, was about 5 feet and 4 inches tall with the most beautiful blemish-free, deep honey-brown skin and a laugh that enveloped her entire body. The joy in her voice when she was with family, or at church, or visiting neighbors would fill the lonely space in the air. MumMum lived life with her arms, hands, and heart wide open. My mother and I moved into

The post Candles in the Window: A Generational Blessing of Hospitality appeared first on midnight & indigo.

The Last Historian in Winston-Salem

Cameryn Hunter — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 04:00:51 +0000

Visiting my grandfather in North Carolina was nothing short of a civic wonderland. Before my feet had even crossed the flaxen welcome mat, I was being ordered, per our routine, to list each U.S. state and capital in alphabetical order. “Let’s hear it, Cheyenne…” he would govern. And, like a soldier appeasing her Lieutenant, I began to rattle names off. “Alabama, Montgomery. Alaska, Juneau. Arizona…Phoenix.” “Go on…” “Arkansas, Little Rock. California, Sacramento. Colorado…Denver.” “Good.” Though granddad’s figure was long and weathered, his mind was unrivaled. To me, he stood something like the old redwood trees in Downtown Cary, tall and

The post The Last Historian in Winston-Salem appeared first on midnight & indigo.

Carolina Dreaming: Minding My Roots

Regina Cash-Clark — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 04:00:37 +0000

It wasn’t easy growing up so far away from close family. All of my mother’s siblings and her parents lived below the Mason-Dixon line. We’d do our best to stay in touch between the long car rides or flights that brought us closer. But it wasn’t anywhere near the same as living close to them, the way most of my aunts and uncles did in their interconnected and tight-knit community. Over the years, the wires of our old wall-mounted phone became the lifeline, the thread that connected us across the miles, squeezing together the lagging years during calls when my

The post Carolina Dreaming: Minding My Roots appeared first on midnight & indigo.