Chapter 3: Leveraging Talent Development in The United States: The African American Perspective

My paternal grandparents, R. J. and Madie Wilson, were married in 1938 and reared 13 children in segregated Mississippi in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. R. J. and Madie worked hard as sharecroppers. While they never amassed a lot of material possessions, they left a legacy of love and hard work to their children and their 45 grandchildren. Anyone who knows the Wilson family knows that R. J. and Madie built a very tight-knit family who take pride in being Wilsons. They have taught their family to value hard work and to have little tolerance for poor work ethic. R. J. passed away in 1991, and Madie passed away in 2005. Of the many stories that Wilson family members still tell, the favorite memories are of R. J. and Madie assigning household chores to anyone who crossed the threshold of their home, especially their grandchildren. At any given time during a family reunion, there is discussion over R. J.’s belief that if you don’t work, you will steal; and Madie’s paraphrase of 2 Thessalonians 3:10, which also suggests the necessity of working.