Grateful, Thankful & Blessed

Pictured L to R: Council Rudolph, Sr. and our father, J.C. Smith and Grandfather Walker Smith. In front, our Houston family, cousin Aunt Maggie, Lois Smith (Aunt Polly), and our sweet Grandmother Lula B. Patillo Smith (circa Summer, 1970).

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The photo above is one of my all-time favorites: Members of our Smith Family at the home of Uncle Council Rudolph Sr. and Aunt Agnes Smith Rudolph in Anniston, Alabama. Their home was a place of refuge and countless cherished memories. Notice that the feast is in the foreground as the family stands behind. This exemplifies our Johnson-Smith Family relationship with food, family fun and entertaining. It brings a mouth-watering smile!

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Grateful for my family, the one my love and I created and are blessed to watch flourish. A

resilient legacy of love.

Thankful to you, our extended family, listeners, subscribers, supporters and loyal friends.

Blessed by the opportunity to share our family legacy, I am often asked about the

motivation behind what has been described as my passion for the Charity’s Children

Project. My responses have varied but when choosing this family picture, I was compelled

to ponder an answer I had not yet considered.

That is, I know these people. I have held their hands, heard and felt this history; stories of purpose and determination from the voices of people who knew, loved and respected these ancestors. Living lives that were not flawless yet still representing the courage of those who came before.

Our Grandchild communing with the Ancestors: In the photo is my mother Emma Johnson Smith with her sisters Patricia, Charlest and Eliza.

This is not abstract or fantasy for me, it is neither distant nor non figurative, but a very

present charge. So, pardon me when I take too much time to get it right, when I obsess

over the last word, note or fact. Our goal is to present something worthy of the ancestors

and that respects their journey. It was a lit torch that was passed to me and that I will pass

to the grand child I am privileged to often care for.

With that in mind, we present a Season Two episode from our award-winning podcast The

Legacy of Charity’s Children: The Long Goodbye (Part One). “He vowed he would not stay in a place that used his people that way and she would not go. The Long Goodbye of John and

Charity.”

Please listen, like and share with your family and friends this Holiday season. Go to

charityschildren.org or wherever you get your podcast.

Grateful, Thankful & Blessed!

Patricia Smith Griffin