Philadelphian Sheila Linton and family members were visiting relatives in Newport News, Va., during the summer of 1977 when someone mentioned a family back-yard picnic over in Portsmouth.
“We all decided to go, and I met all those other wonderful family members for the first time,” Linton says. “To be polite, my mother’s cousin, Ernestine, casually commented, `We should do this again. You should come to Philadelphia next year.’ “
The next February, the Virginians called, asking where and when the get-together would be. They were planning to charter a bus and bring 48 people.
The Philadelphians panicked. Then they started planning, and an annual reunion was born.
They found a hotel where the visitors could stay. Somebody knew a caterer. Others found a spot for a Saturday afternoon picnic and organized the recreational activities and a Saturday night banquet and dance. Everyone had such a grand time that the family decided to make it an annual event.
They’re among a whopping 45 percent of African-American travelers who attend at least one family reunion a year, according to a 1993 study by the Travel Industry Association of America. That’s a significantly higher percentage than for white travelers, the TIAA says.
Family reunions are an almost uniquely American phenomenon. U.S. families often scatter more than those in other countries, and when they do, they’re farther apart than they would be in the Ivory Coast or Italy, for example.
Overall, 7 million Americans attend 200,000 family reunions a year, says Edith Wagner, publisher of the quarterly Reunions magazine. Some have been held for more than 100 years.
For most African-American families, however, reunions are a relatively recent development. Many were inspired by the 1977 TV series based on Alex Haley’s book, “Roots.”
“It has become such a popular idea among African-American families that it’s a movement,” says Ione Vargus, retired dean of Temple University’s School of Social Administration and director of the African American Family Reunion Institute in Philadelphia. The institute is a resource for reunion organizers and people tracing their family roots. Vargus sees more first-time African-American reunions every year.
For U.S. family reunions, relatives in their 50s and 60s, usually women, are the primary organizers and regular attendees of the get-togethers, Wagner says.
The senior members of African-American families are honored at reunions as elders, while younger men and women more often take the lead in organizing the event. Often, teenagers and young adults are given active roles in the planning.
African-American reunions frequently get large turnouts too. An average U.S. reunion draws 35 to 40, but many black families attract hundreds.
But the 1978 get-together of the Bullock family, to which Linton belongs, began without a mailing list or family tree.
While her relatives began plans for the impromptu reunion in Philadelphia, Linton, then in her mid-20s, volunteered to develop the invitation list. Beginning with her mother’s eight brothers and sisters and their 25 children, she easily gathered 300 names and addresses. Other family members provided additional names.
From that evolved a family tree with more than 750 entries, leading back to her mother’s grandfather, George Bullock Sr., born into slavery in Edgecomb County, N.C., in 1858. He married Sally Jones and brought up 13 sons and daughters as well as a nephew. An average of 200 of Bullock’s descendants attend the annual reunion each July.
As many as 700 family members have attended the Gaither-Janes reunion. The family reaches back to three Gaither brothers born in Virginia between 1809 and 1820, and to Cato Janes, born in Barbados in 1802. The two families moved to Liberty Hill, S.C., and intermarried, says Warren Gaither, 60, from Detroit.
Reunions can last anywhere from one day to one week, but three- or four-day weekend events are common among African-Americans. The Gaither-Janes family, for example, holds its reunion each July 4 weekend.
Some families travel to locations such as theme parks. Others use state park lodges, church retreats or conference centers. A reunion may be held in conjunction with a church homecoming. An increasing number of hotels, resorts and cruise ships actively seek reunion business.
The Bullock and Gaither-Janes families rotate their sites among cities or regions where large numbers of family members have settled. Each branch takes its turn planning and hosting the event.
Wagner notes that African-American reunions tend to be highly structured and packed with activities.
“They’re pushing the reunion envelope,” she says, “always looking for and developing new ideas.”
The Bullock and Gaither-Janes families begin with a Friday night event such as a reception or talent show. Saturdays often include such activities as picnics or excursions to sightsee, shop or golf. Reunions at or near the family homestead may visit the family cemetery, former plantation or other site important in the family history.
Educational programs are often included. Vargus’ first reunion had workshops exploring what it means to be a black family and whether the family’s background affects members’ everyday lives, she says at the African American Family Reunion Institute. Bullock family teens organized an essay contest. The Gaither-Janes reunions include seminars led by family and guest speakers.
“We’ve had classes on community development, intergenerational living, teen pregnancy and other issues,” Gaither says. “We want to give everyone something substantial and to create activism.”
Sunday morning worship services, often led by a family member, are followed by a business meeting.
“As reunions continue, families begin to think about things they can do to help the family,” Vargus says.
They may raise money for scholarships, invest in the family’s homestead or home community, donate to charitable projects, or establish family credit unions or other programs to help one another economically, Vargus says. Fund-raising events during the year assure all family members can afford to attend.
The main event is a Saturday night banquet and dance, during which family elders are honored, achievements and graduations are recognized and traditions are passed on.
“After emancipation, black people reconstituted their family structures,” Vargus says. “Black families are reaching back to their heritage to ensure that the crucial function of the extended family is revived through family reunions.”
“There’s a wonderful chill that comes over you during a reunion,” Linton says, “a beautiful feeling that you belong to this group, have the same blood. It’s intangible, but it’s who you are.”
DETAILS ON REUNIONS
Reunions magazine is published quarterly and covers military, school and other reunions as well as family get-togethers. The $24 annual subscription includes a 66-page workbook with timetables, checklists, reminders and ideas for reunion organizers. A sample copy of the magazine is $2. Reunions Magazine, P.O. Box 11727, Milwaukee, Wis. 53211-0727; call 414-263-4567; e-mail reunions@execpc.com. Internet World Wide Web address is http://www.execpc.com/(tilde)reunions.
The African-American Family Reunion Institute also sponsors an annual conference, scheduled this year March 22-24 in Philadelphia. Contact Vargus at the institute at the School of Social Administration, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa. 19122; 215-204-6244.
