Summary
Highlights
Viola Davis starts by discussing her deep connection to Singleton Plantation in St. Matthews, South Carolina, where she was born. Despite moving to Rhode Island at two months old, she identifies her birthplace as her true home, feeling a disconnect from Rhode Island's culture as a Black woman.
Viola learns about her maternal grandparents, Henry and Mozell Logan, who were married in St. Matthews, South Carolina, on September 19, 1942. Henry was 22 and Mozell was 15 at the time. They had at least 18 children together over 37 years of marriage.
A discrepancy is found regarding Henry Logan's father. His social security application lists Gable Logan, but his obituary names John Young. Viola expresses surprise, stating her mother never mentioned this.
Records show Henry's mother, Corinne, married Gable Logan in 1912. Further investigation reveals Gable Logan was a Black soldier who returned from World War I in July 1919, arriving at Camp Mills in New York, with no evidence of him returning to South Carolina. This suggests Corrine may have had a relationship with another man while Gable was away.
The 1920 census for South Carolina shows Corinne living with her parents, only four doors away from a married man named John Young, who was a farmer. Viola interprets this as a 'mess of relationships' involving love, sex, and desire.
DNA testing of Viola's mother confirms that Henry was not Gable's son. Through DNA databases, a biological link is established between Viola's mother and John Young, definitively identifying him as Henry Logan's father, and thus Viola's biological great-grandfather. This revelation makes Viola reflect on the 'big old load' of stories and secrets within her family history.
The hidden paternity is attributed to the events that followed: Corinne's death from tuberculosis in 1926 when Henry was six, and John Young's move to Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife Josephine and their sons between 1926 and 1930. Viola speculates that John's move was to 'bury his secrets,' leaving Henry feeling abandoned and unwanted. She concludes that people create idealized pasts to avoid 'messy truths'.