Dear Aniya & Sean children of Treye Jenkins Smith, grandkids of Karen Marie Jenkins
Dear Aniyah & Sean,
I leaving you a digital legacy that I hope you find one day. As you are still young, and who knows how long grandma will be around, I want to be able to share at least some of my family, the other half of your family with you. It dawned on me one day to do this as I was writing a testimony of my dad and his life for Father's Day. I thought, while that may not be the beginning, I can start somewhere. So the letters/blogs I leave you will not be in any chronological order it will serve as more of content you will have about where you come from. I hope leaving you these letter blogs you will find strength in knowing the other side of your family in terms of how we tried to live our lives and what we stood for.
Again, I'm staring with my dad, which would be your greatgrandfather. LOL, I'm starting with him cause i have ready information, I've already written.
This letter blog is about your great grandfather Herbert Jenkins. He was the son of Mozelle Faust. He never knew his biological father. His stepfather was Eddie Faust. His wife, your great grandmother is Bertha Jean Jenkins. They married when she was 18 and he was 17. Mom was pregrant a few months or so with me. You can see a young picture of her and Herbert her husband with my mother's mother. Her name was Tiny Bell Sutton Love. She became to be known as socialite in Cincy. She was married to Reuben Sutton, and honey I have one picture of him. You can see he was handsome and sharp. You will be able to tell quickly, that looking good, working hard, education and playing hard are family features on our side.
So here is the entry to my beloved father's day wish. My dad, your great grandfather died Nov 4th 2004. My mother, your great grandmother died June 21, 2001
Happy heavenly Father's Day to my dad! I'm not gonna lie, my father gave our family an economically stable loving life filled with strong foundation of perseverance, education, a strong black family, a strong work ethic, play as hard, driven ambition, learn to take care of self. He wrote a poem while in college called I will achieve...a self-prophecy...he did.
As I write this, I get teary because I truly understand what my dad was trying to do and achieved in securing a legacy of a black man beating the odds against to come out winning against all stereotypes against black men and black families of the time. He believed education was the answer.
My dad came from Nutbush nothing a high school dropout, shoe shine boy, mother who was a domestic for a white family, a dad he never knew, a stepfather who was loving but harsh. He married at 17 marrying my mom who came from black socialite family of a single mother also an anomaly whose mother was also driven.
My dad dropped out of high school married my mom, worked as a porter/janitor according to my birth certificate. I know he went back to school and got his GED, went to work for the Post Office. He could've stayed, but I know from his drive he wanted more, he then pursued an engineering degree in evening college was told his math was weak, and then chose accounting...basic math skills needed. He became a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with only a two-year degree unheard of then. He worked hard, securing associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees.
He was at every one of my graduations and gave me a party for my master's degree, graduating from the same university with his master's also. We were both nontraditional students. He loved what education could do for your life. My dad worked very hard, I saw my dad go to our basement many days and literally stay hours studying. I always thought how can he stay down there that long...but I knew...
He was always on the grind. So much so he put his family on that grind too by putting us to work as bookkeepers me and my mom (my sister was too young at the time) when he began his career as an IRS agent. He couldn't have his own tax business... a conflict of interest so Mom and I held down the bookkeeping for his clients for years. The government tried to sue him for this later but they didn't win..his ducks were in a row. That lawsuit is actually still on the web.
He was proud of being a federal agent, especially a tax agent he would always laugh at commercials that showed referred to IRS agents. His career afforded him and our family economic stability and a life not so prevalent in the 60's through the 90's. He retired from the IRS and began his own accounting and real estate business owning property until his death. As you can see, he loved having pictures taken of himself and the joys of his life. He loved dressing well, and he knew he looked good because he used to tell me while looking in the mirror lol! He loved cars, having luxury sporty cars, and his three-way white leather cougar and his prized loud orange Corvette both of which I loved driving, and the police often stopped him as he drove through their communities on black man driving 'that car profile.' They never let me drive my mother's cara though...they were huge cars back in the day.
Excellent dad, you worked, played and loved hard there was not always good days, but you gave us values of no excuse for not making it even in a world against a black man and his family! I'm proud of you and what you accomplished, happy heavenly Father's Day!
Herb Jenkins as a kid.
Dad and I when we lived at 1611 Grandwood Ave in the early 60's until 1967 in Evanston, a neighhd in Cincy.
From Left to Right...My mother, Bertha Jean, Tiny Bell Sutton her mother and Dad Herb Jenkins
Dad worked for the Post Office...saved to buy house in a better neighborhood and for our education.
He worked very hard.
Dad liked to dress
When dad became an Internal Revenue Tax Auditor for the IRS..Mom did bookkeeping and taught me. After 15 years of working of IRS dad started his own business using the clients my mother held down with bookkeping.
Dad, your grandfather Herbert Jenkins in the class of Internal Revenue Agents. I remembered he studied in our basement of our new home all the time he studied. I learned from him the love of education and learning. He was the 1st black successful black man I knew personally. My first introduction in hindsight to Black Excellence
My parents were gangsta...lol They loved to dress. Black Excellence!
I loved that my parents, especially my dad attended all my graduations. He was proud and I knew it especially when I graduated with my Master's at Xavier university as a nontraditional student and he gave me a formal sit down dinner party with family and friends. He made me give a speech. It was held at what use to be called Alex's in Avondale on Reading Rd.
I learned to love dressing and showing up fly from my parents, especially my mother! She was so fly. Aways dress and would NOT let me go anywhere looking raggedy with her. Her famous line, go back in the house and take that rag off your head. You are going no where with me looking like that. I loved when we use to go shopping as a kid to Shillitos aka Macy's as a kid.
They loved to gamble at Las Vegas and the Bahamas, but one thing about my parents. They were discipined and they were not gonna lose any significant amount of money. Me and my sister never went without. We were never homeless. We always had what we needed and often what we wanted lol within reason. My parents didn't spoil us...they definitely prepared us for the real world as black females in a white world.
My dad just knew he looked good and that he was the man. Well he earned it through hard knocks in life and hard work.
...again my dad celebrating me at my graduation with my Master's Degree in Humanities at Xavier's University. It was at this university where my professor suggested I become a professor. I didn't know what I wanted to be, My dad called me a 'professional student.' He didn't mean it in a nice way, but he was right I was and am a professional student. Always learning and becoming a college professor for over 18 years at Northern Kentucky University. I also taught at Miami Univeristy Oxford, Ohio, Middletown, Ohio and Xavier University. Teaching English, African American Studies and becoming a academic support coordinator at NKU for 18 years. Retired in March 2016 and I continue to love the idea of education and what it can do for you.
Playtime with my parents friends...they traveled at lot with friends. did a lot of social events with their friends.
Playtime with my parents friends...they traveled at lot with friends..and did a lot of social events with their friends.
Again, I'm staring with my dad, which would be your greatgrandfather. LOL, I'm starting with him cause i have ready information, I've already written.
This letter blog is about your great grandfather Herbert Jenkins. He was the son of Mozelle Faust. He never knew his biological father. His stepfather was Eddie Faust. His wife, your great grandmother is Bertha Jean Jenkins. They married when she was 18 and he was 17. Mom was pregrant a few months or so with me. You can see a young picture of her and Herbert her husband with my mother's mother. Her name was Tiny Bell Sutton Love. She became to be known as socialite in Cincy. She was married to Reuben Sutton, and honey I have one picture of him. You can see he was handsome and sharp. You will be able to tell quickly, that looking good, working hard, education and playing hard are family features on our side.
So here is the entry to my beloved father's day wish. My dad, your great grandfather died Nov 4th 2004. My mother, your great grandmother died June 21, 2001
Happy heavenly Father's Day to my dad! I'm not gonna lie, my father gave our family an economically stable loving life filled with strong foundation of perseverance, education, a strong black family, a strong work ethic, play as hard, driven ambition, learn to take care of self. He wrote a poem while in college called I will achieve...a self-prophecy...he did.
As I write this, I get teary because I truly understand what my dad was trying to do and achieved in securing a legacy of a black man beating the odds against to come out winning against all stereotypes against black men and black families of the time. He believed education was the answer.
My dad came from Nutbush nothing a high school dropout, shoe shine boy, mother who was a domestic for a white family, a dad he never knew, a stepfather who was loving but harsh. He married at 17 marrying my mom who came from black socialite family of a single mother also an anomaly whose mother was also driven.
My dad dropped out of high school married my mom, worked as a porter/janitor according to my birth certificate. I know he went back to school and got his GED, went to work for the Post Office. He could've stayed, but I know from his drive he wanted more, he then pursued an engineering degree in evening college was told his math was weak, and then chose accounting...basic math skills needed. He became a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with only a two-year degree unheard of then. He worked hard, securing associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees.
He was at every one of my graduations and gave me a party for my master's degree, graduating from the same university with his master's also. We were both nontraditional students. He loved what education could do for your life. My dad worked very hard, I saw my dad go to our basement many days and literally stay hours studying. I always thought how can he stay down there that long...but I knew...
He was always on the grind. So much so he put his family on that grind too by putting us to work as bookkeepers me and my mom (my sister was too young at the time) when he began his career as an IRS agent. He couldn't have his own tax business... a conflict of interest so Mom and I held down the bookkeeping for his clients for years. The government tried to sue him for this later but they didn't win..his ducks were in a row. That lawsuit is actually still on the web.
He was proud of being a federal agent, especially a tax agent he would always laugh at commercials that showed referred to IRS agents. His career afforded him and our family economic stability and a life not so prevalent in the 60's through the 90's. He retired from the IRS and began his own accounting and real estate business owning property until his death. As you can see, he loved having pictures taken of himself and the joys of his life. He loved dressing well, and he knew he looked good because he used to tell me while looking in the mirror lol! He loved cars, having luxury sporty cars, and his three-way white leather cougar and his prized loud orange Corvette both of which I loved driving, and the police often stopped him as he drove through their communities on black man driving 'that car profile.' They never let me drive my mother's cara though...they were huge cars back in the day.
Excellent dad, you worked, played and loved hard there was not always good days, but you gave us values of no excuse for not making it even in a world against a black man and his family! I'm proud of you and what you accomplished, happy heavenly Father's Day!
Herb Jenkins as a kid.
Dad and I when we lived at 1611 Grandwood Ave in the early 60's until 1967 in Evanston, a neighhd in Cincy.
From Left to Right...My mother, Bertha Jean, Tiny Bell Sutton her mother and Dad Herb Jenkins
Dad worked for the Post Office...saved to buy house in a better neighborhood and for our education.
He worked very hard.
Dad liked to dress
When dad became an Internal Revenue Tax Auditor for the IRS..Mom did bookkeeping and taught me. After 15 years of working of IRS dad started his own business using the clients my mother held down with bookkeping.
Dad, your grandfather Herbert Jenkins in the class of Internal Revenue Agents. I remembered he studied in our basement of our new home all the time he studied. I learned from him the love of education and learning. He was the 1st black successful black man I knew personally. My first introduction in hindsight to Black Excellence
My parents were gangsta...lol They loved to dress. Black Excellence!
I loved that my parents, especially my dad attended all my graduations. He was proud and I knew it especially when I graduated with my Master's at Xavier university as a nontraditional student and he gave me a formal sit down dinner party with family and friends. He made me give a speech. It was held at what use to be called Alex's in Avondale on Reading Rd.
I learned to love dressing and showing up fly from my parents, especially my mother! She was so fly. Aways dress and would NOT let me go anywhere looking raggedy with her. Her famous line, go back in the house and take that rag off your head. You are going no where with me looking like that. I loved when we use to go shopping as a kid to Shillitos aka Macy's as a kid.
They loved to gamble at Las Vegas and the Bahamas, but one thing about my parents. They were discipined and they were not gonna lose any significant amount of money. Me and my sister never went without. We were never homeless. We always had what we needed and often what we wanted lol within reason. My parents didn't spoil us...they definitely prepared us for the real world as black females in a white world.
My dad just knew he looked good and that he was the man. Well he earned it through hard knocks in life and hard work.
Playtime with my parents friends...they traveled at lot with friends. did a lot of social events with their friends.
Playtime with my parents friends...they traveled at lot with friends..and did a lot of social events with their friends.
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