Meet my ancestors!

Friday, April 29, 2022

Meet my ancestors! The first picture is of my grandfather and his second wife in 1912 in Suriname. Izaak Gustaaf Plet was born in slavery and was eight years old at the time of Emancipation. His wife was also a former slave. It was important to them to marry whoever they wanted and she is wearing a traditional wedding headress. Typically headresses were tied to convey messages among enslaved women.

In the second picture are my grandparents, my mom and her two older siblings. My grandfather was born in 1887 and went from the plantation, to city hall where he worked as a clerk. He was also a musician and a music teacher. His brother, Martin Plet, became a well-known high-school teacher and there is a school named after him in Suriname.

People find it unbelievable when I say that I am the third generation after slavery. This shows that slavery was not that long ago.