I am using Women’s History Month (which is every month) to create digital collages with Canva tools that celebrate my womanline ancestors.
Since the month started, I have created five collages that honor the journey from girlhood to womanhood of my Daniel, Thomas, and Roberts womanline on my dad’s side.
I call their names and use this creative process to pour libations and give thanks for their ancestral love, power, presence, wisdom, and protection.
-All African, Indigenous, and European Womanline Ancestors I don’t know by name
-Great-Great-Great Grandmother Ann Daniel
-Great-Great-Grandmother Francis “Fannie” Daniel Thomas
-Great-Grandmother Eunice Ann Thomas Roberts
-Grandaunt Mabel Roberts
-Grandaunt Paulyne Roberts
-Grandmother Frederica Stanley Roberts Leeke
Although I do not have any photos of my great-great-great-grandmother Ann Daniel and other womanline ancestors, their spirits are woven into each of the collages.
My paternal grandmother Frederica Stanley Roberts Leeke was the daughter of a powerful, creative, and entreprenurial woman and community leader named Eunice Thomas Roberts, the daughter of Francis “Fannie” Daniel Thomas, a force of nature who came from the womb of Ann Daniel, a courageous woman of African descent who forged a life and created a family with her husband Hence Daniel, an Indigenous man, after being enslaved in Kentucky.
My grandmother Freddie was the youngest daughter of Eunice and Henry O. Roberts. Her older sisters, Mabel and Paulyne Roberts were much older than her and proudly took on the role of being big sisters to her.
I decided to create collages that honored their journey from girlhood to young womanhood. Although I do not have any photos of my great-great-great-grandmother Ann Daniel, her spirit is woven into each of the collages.
I added the Nyame Dua Ghanaian Adinkra symbol to the collage. Nyame Dua means “Tree of God” and reminds of the Divine’s presence and protection. The symbol is also used as a divine and ancestral altar. Each collage functions as an ancestral altar.
I invite you to listen to my spoken word song, “Ancestral Medicine” (click on the video) as you check them out below. “Ancestral Medicine is featured on my debut album, Thriving Mindfully As Theresa’s Daughter. Go here to get more information on how you can buy and download the album for $9.
Collage Order
#1: Great-Great-Grandmother Francis “Fannie” Daniel Thomas
#2: Great-Grandmother Eunice Ann Thomas Roberts
#3: Grandaunt Mabel Roberts
#4: Grandaunt Paulyne Roberts
#5: Grandmother Frederica Stanley Roberts Leeke
I am still marinating on titles for each collage.
Ananda Leeke 