Code Switch co-host B.A. Parker's family comes from Somerset Plantation in Creswell, N.C. It's a site she passes every summer when she goes to visit her family farm nearby, but for years she's avoided going in. As she navigates honoring the life of her Grandma Doris since her death a couple of years ago, Parker's been asking herself an even bigger question: How are descendants of slavery supposed to maintain the legacy of their ancestors?
In part one of two episodes, Parker is invited to a symposium at the National Museum of African American History and Culture for "descendants of slavery who are stakeholders of culturally significant historic places." She meets people who, like her, are grappling with how to honor their enslaved ancestors. She asks herself: what kind of descendent does she want to be?