The annual events serve as a celebration of familial culture, yet they also serve as a reminder of the painful history endured by many families during slavery. Lifestyle blog Sassy Plum and the National Park Service mentioned how Black Americans witnessed their loved ones being taken away from them.

They later became part of the “Triangle Trade,” where merchants transported millions of enslaved people to Europe, Africa and the Americas. In 1865, Congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution to end slavery, which The National Museum of African American History & Culture cited as motivation for many following their freedom to reunite with family members.

Black family reunions

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