Intergenerationality, family narratives, and black geographic space in rural North Carolina

Abstract

This article questions what of narrative might make it important to black geographic space. Familial intergenerationality is submitted as one important aspect for being critical to the transmission of community and genealogical narratives. Akin to the narratives outlined in black geographic theorization, these passed-on, intergenerational sorts provide critical spatial information about the historic and on-going spatial productions of particular black communities. This article considers oral history interviews with mother-daughter pairs to show how their intergenerational family narratives demarcate the historically black communities in which they live in rural Orange County, North Carolina. Analysis suggests such intergenerational narratives relay how their land-owning families provided space for the establishment of long-standing black communities within and around historic farm space. Specifically, their family narratives detail the ways community space was provided for religious worship and enjoyment of the natural environment. A further aim of this article involves addressing previously published geographic work concerning intergenerationality, which suggests age segregation is detrimental to the well-being of families and communities. Rather than attend to intergenerationality as a matter of well-being, this article considers how intergenerational relations and the narratives they mobilize are critical to the very existence of some communities.