Shake the Table: Learning What It Means to Live My Ancestors' Wildest Dreams

The constant conversation surrounding race in America was deafeningly loud this week as many Americans lashed out calling Juneteenth a made-up holiday. I will save you the play-by-play of hate I saw this week to ask the question, “What are we going to do about it” while also offering a solution through a quote we are all familiar with, “living my ancestors’ wildest dreams.”

I feel like we have overcomplicated the phrase, equating it with grandiose ambitions and endless hustling. However, this past year with Roe v Wade being overturned, Affirmative Action being repealed, and the threat of Project 2025 looming over our heads, I have done a lot of thinking about what life might have been like for my great-great-grandmother who was born an enslaved woman. What would she say about the world as it is? Then I thought about my great grandfather, a sharecropper who instilled in his children the importance of understanding what is happening in the world. I thought about my paternal grandmother and what it was like to be an Indigenous Black woman growing up in the 1930s and 1940s. One thing I quickly realized was that their wildest dreams were likely much simpler than anything I had dreamed of: the freedom to live a life they chose. 

This got me thinking about the two people I miss having in human form the most. My dad and my grandmother. 

The “soft life” trend everyone seems to embrace today has always resonated with me. I was raised to work smarter, not harder, take mental health days, and outsource tasks to reclaim my time. My father’s playful comparison of me to Hillary Banks from “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” now makes perfect sense. It was never about extravagance or thinking I was ditzy, but about seeing how I valued my well-being and time, even as a kid.

My maternal grandmother, who played a pivotal role in shaping who I am instilled in me a love for Christ, and a passion for media, politics, and writing. And when any of these interests merge when I sit down to write, it is a level of fun and fulfillment I can’t quite put into words.

Similarly, my relationship with my dad introduced me to basketball, spades, crab legs, and the art of dreaming fiercely. He taught me to be a competitor and to articulate myself with confidence. These lessons transcended the court and kitchen table, influencing how I approach every aspect of my life, including my writing. 

Reflecting on these influences, motivates me to use my gifts boldly. It encourages me to write, pray, show up, and love passionately. It reminds me to use the rights and freedoms my ancestors were denied to create a world they could only dream of. 

Living our ancestors’ wildest dreams is about more than achieving personal success; it’s about using our freedoms and privileges to inspire change. It’s about showing up authentically, challenging the status quo, and living a life filled with purpose, joy, and love. In doing so, we honor the sacrifices of those who came before us and pave the way for those who will follow.