The Blood Running Through My Veins
The Story of the Burns Family From the Slave Plantations of Autauga County Alabama until Today
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The search for my family’s story began around 1999 after I returned home from being stationed with the United States Army in Germany for the second time. By this time I had been married for 10 years, and my wife Valerie Michelle Harris and I had three children: Ashley, Blake, and Tierra, who were quickly growing up. We realized we could not give them any history beyond the names of their great grandparents, so my wife Valerie and I decided that we would begin the quest in search for our history to pass down to our children. What we did not know was how difficult the process of tracing our family’s story would be. It has taken us from 1999 until today to uncover and reconnect my family tree to this point, and even now we continue the process of reconnecting the branches. William Faulkner once wrote “The Past is not dead and buried; in fact it is not even the Past”. As I began this journey I knew as Mr. Henry Gates the author of “Finding Oprah’s Roots” stated, “We would have to start in the present and move back through time to the past.” I soon realized many older African Americans do not like to talk about the past, as one of my distant relatives put it during a discussion with my mother concerning the white blood of former slave owners that ran through our veins. “We know that we are connected; we just don’t stand on the roof top screaming it,” she said.
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About the Book
The Blood Running Through my Veins began as a quest to discover the family roots of Elvin and his Wife Valerie, but soon blossomed into a rich discovery of a family’s roots that would reveal family connections that extended all the way back to the days of slavery. The book takes you on a journey from the small town of Montevallo Alabama where the author was born and raised to the Plantation fields of Autauga County Alabama where his family roots began. The reader will discover strong family bonds in the worst conditions, black homeownership in a time when it was not popular, and Blood that runs through the veins of the author that are both Slave and Slave Owner. This book is a must for anyone interested in family history and will serve as a guide for those wishing to trace their own family roots.
About the Author
Elvin B. Thompson Sr. has served for over 20 years in the United States Army deploying to Operations Desert Storm/Shield and Operation Iraqi Freedom, and he has served in every enlisted leadership position from Team Leader to First Sergeant. He and his wife Valerie have been married for over 21 years and have three children Ashley, Blake and Tierra. Elvin is the Senior Pastor of Riverside Christian Worship Center located in Augusta Georgia. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Human Resource Management "Corporate Track" from Baker College. He is a graduate of the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute’s Equal Opportunity Advisor program and was recognized as the Distinguish Graduate graduating number 2 out of a class 100. He is a certified mediator in work place disputes and is the former Chair of Human Relations day for Leadership Augusta and co-chair for Youth Leadership Richmond County. Elvin was Nominated by the FT Gordon, Georgia Senior Mission Commander for the 2004 Federal Asian Pacific American Council Meritorious Service Award for significant contributions to the advacement of Asian Pacific Americans (APA's) and the promotion of diversity and equal employment opportunity in the Federal workplace and the APA community. In 2005 he was nominated for the NAACP Roy L. Wilkins Award for embodying the spirit of equality and human rights and in 2005 Elvin was recognized as the FT Gordon, Georgia Outstanding Equal opportunity Advisor of the year.