Mildred Smith-Gatewood could not help but smile Friday after a decade-long dream became a reality.
After years of work and investing nearly $20,000 of her own money, four small buildings in her backyard were finally transformed into the Echoes of Time Museum, a journey through her family’s history.
The work was also completed in time for the Wicks family to be the first attendees during their 51st family reunion this weekend, Smith-Gatewood said.
“I feel blessed,” Smith-Gatewood said regarding the museum opening Friday. “I feel like it’s my history that has caused me to be the person I am. It’s my heritage that has empowered me. … We know education means a lot, and you just have to be empowered. And once you have knowledge (of your history and) once you’re educated, no one can take that away from you.”
Every 10 years since the Wicks’ first family gathering in 1975, a reunion has been hosted in Lowndes County focused on celebrating and honoring the family history and its importance to the family and community.
This week, more than 300 Wicks relatives returned to celebrate by touring the new museum in Smith-Gatewood’s backyard, taking a trip through the R.E. Hunt Cultural Museum and Cultural Center, and touring the Wicks Memorial Gardens, where dozens of family members are buried.
Remembering history
The Wicks family history traces back to the late 1700s when Ned Wicks was brought to Lowndes County from Georgia on one of 40 wagons carrying 100 enslaved people by a slave owner named Richardson, the Wicks family website reads.
Wicks was then sold to a slave owner in Artesia before eventually becoming a local preacher at New Zion Baptist Church.
Wicks died an enslaved man, but he had six children who purchased roughly 330 acres in the area, which were partially donated to become instrumental parts of the community like the Wicks Memorial Gardens, a watering pond and a school.
Those contributions were recognized in a resolution in 2016 by the Lowndes Board of Supervisors alongside historic markers for the children of Ned Wicks, which were installed by the Wicks family that same year.
On Wicks Road, there are also historic markers for the Wicks Community, Ned Wicks and the Wicks Community Garden.
Smith-Gatewood, the president of the Wicks Family Organization, a group founded after the first reunion to organize subsequent gatherings every two years, said while she enjoys seeing family in other cities, there’s something extra special when the reunion returns to Lowndes County.
She said that is especially true for those family members like her who grew up in the area.
“We had a community, a village that helped us and actually molded us,” Smith-Gatewood said. “… That village instilled education, empowerment, motivation (and) self-motivation. … If you talk to (my family), we’re from all over the United States, and we have been empowered because of our ancestors.”
Sharron Harris Coleman, the family’s historian, said family members now live in more than 20 states across the country because several left during the Great Migration to northern states, in part to escape Jim Crow laws.
Harris Coleman said she’s worked for decades to catalogue as much of the family genealogy as she has been able to find and has built a family tree that includes more than 4,000 descendants and spans eight generations.
“(By keeping up with family) we show them that we care about them, and I think that’s one of the most important things,” Harris Coleman said. “… I’m 72. I find people my age say, ‘ Nobody cares about me.’ … (But) we’re here for you, and I find that (relatives) just want the confidence and the encouragement more than anything else.”
‘Hold onto your history’
Every reunion, Harris Coleman said she looks forward to seeing not only the familiar faces but also the family members who are coming for the first time.
Neil Cringler, a sixth-generation relative of Wicks, brought his daughter and granddaughter to this weekend’s reunion for the first time to hopefully inspire them with the stories of their relatives and their family history.
“It’s very significant,” Cringler said. “One thing that I believe is it’s very hard to know where you’re going if you don’t know where you come from. And this is a good opportunity for us to see our roots and some of the history that has formed us into the people we have become.”
Shirlean Smith said her hope for the family in hosting these reunions and sharing their stories with the younger relatives is to showcase the importance of reuniting with family and preserving their history by continuing to prioritize reunions for years to come.
“To see that you can create a legend, a legacy (and) you can remain attached (to your home),” Smith said. “… You don’t have to throw things away because they’re old. They meant something to the people before you, your parents and your grandparents. Hold on to that. Hold on to your history. Know who you are. Don’t cast that aside to pick up something else because there’s so much value in your history.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 31 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
