I have a picture of some of the letters between my grandmother and one of her sisters from Virginia. This letter was written after my grandmother had immigrated to New York City after leaving Virginia in the 19060s. My grandmother was born and raised by her family in Virginia but around the 1960s she left Virginia to find work and start a new life. When she was creating a new life for herself she chose to stay in contact with her family in Virginia. My mother and I kept these letters because they show that my grandmother never fully left Virginia. And although she still kept in contact with her family she did not let that stop her from living her own life. In New York, she married my grandfather and had both my mother and aunt, and she raised them in New York. Even after she had my mother and my aunt she still made sure to visit her family and keep them connected to their roots in Virginia. To this day, my mother and I still go to see the rest of our family in Virginia. I love going there and seeing my cousins during the holidays or during the summer. I’m grateful to my grandmother for my mother immigrating to New York and maintaining the traditions she inherited from her family. Overall my grandmother’s story connects to immigration as well as the southern American identity. 

– Madison Green

Relationship:  Grandchild of im/migrant Grandchild of im/migrant