Mary Bunce Benson,
Lufkin, TX.
My maiden name is BUNCE, because of which on my wall beside my bed hangs a tapestry with the words of “Amazing Grace.” Pride in the family stories of, several great grandfathers back, New England sea captain Harvey Bunce turned to horror when I learned that slaves were his homeward bound cargo, and even more horror as I read in Caryl Phillips Color Me English of our family’s Sierra Leone Bunce Island legacy. Amnesia, Michele, has ALSO been MY family’s coping skill, as our family secret has been kept tucked back under generations of family rugs. None of us can rid ourselves of our genetic heritage including our birthnames, so maybe forgiveness of one another in the here and now is the only propitiation. I beg for yours.
