Author: Tani Sanchez

Publisher:

Published: 2016-11-15

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9780998320526

Published in 2016, Didn't Come from Nothing is the culmination of decades of interviews, DNA testing and historical research combing through court documents, land deeds, census records, and more. Starting with the passed down oral traditions of black Union War veteran Charles Wright and his wife Mary Ann Moss, the book describes their life as former slaves who became influential members of newly freed communities in Lake Charles, Louisiana. A booming sawmill industry set the background for their lives, and the Wrights would ride its back, when for a brief period after the Civil War, almost everything seemed possible for black Americans. Didn't Come from Nothing also tells the story of their descendants, a part of the wave of the Great Migration of those who left the south looking for better opportunities. This book is a must have for those doing serious research in Wright, Holly, Perkins, Moss and Adams lines. But it is also a must have for those who love a good narrative, who want to appreciate history better and who want to understand what the lives of those who persevere can teach us. Written by Tani Sanchez, a Wright descendant and an Associate Professor in Africana Studies.