Reflecting on Our Past While Building Our Future

What if you could preserve your family's legacy while honoring the powerful women who shaped history? Join me, Carmen Cauthen, as I share my ambitious vision for 2025, where we celebrate the influential Black women of Raleigh, North Carolina, through extraordinary initiatives like the "Woman of Substance, Strong and Beautiful Dinner Event." 

This episode is a heartfelt tribute to these remarkable individuals, including my mother, and introduces my upcoming book projects and classes on creating family histories through written memories. Together, we'll explore the stories of the Black community that built Raleigh, delve into a personal connection with WWII veteran Millie Dunn Vesey of the 6888th Battalion, and embark on a journey from the legislature to preserve history through storytelling.

Forging strong relationships and a supportive network is key to embracing the future with optimism and gratitude. Whether you're envisioning a new invention, launching a business, or nurturing your family, personal growth stems from being present, open, and connected. As we anticipate the possibilities of 2025, let’s reflect on our shared aspirations, break free from the mundane, and ensure our stories are told for generations to come. Tune in to Quiet, No More, and let's navigate this journey together, leaving no one behind as we honor the past and build a brighter future.

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Carmen Wimberley Cauthen is an author, speaker, and lover of history, Black history in particular. As a truth teller, she delights in finding the hidden truths about the lives of people who made a difference - whether they were unknown icons or regular everyday people.

To Learn more of Carmen:
www.carmencauthen.com
www.researchandresource.com

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Unseen, unheard.
We've lived like that far toolong.
I'm Carmen Coffin and this isQuiet, no More.
What does 2025 look like foryou?
I am amazed at the things thatI have planned to do this year.

(00:28):
I probably will have to take abreak somewhere in July and just
breathe deeply, go somewhereand smell some salt water or go
somewhere and smell somemountain air, because I am going
to push myself this year.
I'm not only doing the podcast,which I love doing because I

(00:52):
love to talk, but I am hosting adinner in April called the
Woman of Substance, strong andBeautiful Dinner Event, and it
is to honor my mother and blackwomen in the Raleigh, north
Carolina area for the amazingthings they have done Probably
about 250 women we are honoringfrom the 1800s forward, and I'm

(01:18):
just really excited about that,about the process, about the
fact that I am trying to havemen to do the honoring of the
women, because I think it'simportant for us to make sure
that our young people see menhonor women for the work that

(01:38):
they do.
I am working on a book for that, so the women who are being
honored there will be a bookthat I'm writing and publishing
about that.
I am teaching classes this yearabout creating your family
history through memories.

(01:58):
It's a six-month class and atthe end of the class you will
have written your own familymemories.
You will have written a bookthat will be.
You can have published copiesof that for yourself to give to
your family.
I'm also going to be working.

(02:20):
I have another book contractedthat will be about Mount Hope
Cemetery and the Black peoplewho were buried in the cemetery
who helped to build the city ofRaleigh.
I'm doing that in collaborationwith a gentleman who researches
the WPA slave narratives, andso there will be information

(02:40):
about those families as well.
I'm really excited.
If you have seen the movie 6888,talking about the Women's Army
Corps, the 6888 Battalion.
That was the only Blackall-female battalion that went
to England during World War II.
One of the women who was partof that battalion was a person I

(03:04):
had known all my life anddidn't know that about her, and
her name was Millie Dunn Vesey.
She was a Raleigh native.
Her grandparents were writtentheir narratives are in the
slave narratives Essex andMillie Henry.
Her family was close to myfamily.

(03:25):
In fact I have found out thather family lived next door to my
grandparents, and so I'm reallyexcited to dig into her history
a little bit more, having grownup with her and her nephews.
And just, you know, sometimeswe just don't know.
You know, we're kids, we don'treally care about all that

(03:47):
history stuff, we just want toplay.
So I'll be doing that and I'malso going to write, I guess,
kind of an autobiography aboutQuiet no More and who I've been,
who's made me quiet, no more.
So that's the first half of theyear and I've got some other
things going on, but 2025 isgoing to be a busy year for me

(04:12):
and, of course, I'm alwaysavailable to speak, to come and
talk to organizations and talkabout using your voice and
talking about things that areimportant, talking about history
and Black history and thehistory of our country, and so
feel free to reach out to me forany of those kinds of things.

(04:35):
You can email me at carmen, atresearchandresourcecom, and ask
me about my availability tospeak.
But what do you have planned for2025 for yourself?
Are you just going to get upand go to work every day, or get
up and go to school every dayand come back home and do the

(04:57):
same old, same old all the time?
Does that ever get boring toyou.
One of the reasons I loved myjob when I worked at the
legislature was because therewere no two days alike While I
had the same sort of structure.
There was nothing about eachday that was the same.

(05:17):
It was exciting because I neverknew what was coming, who was
going to be there, what kinds ofimportant discussions would be
had on the floor of the house,what kind of legislation we
would pass.
And, believe me, some of it Ididn't like, and I don't fix my
face very well.

(05:38):
So I'm sure there were membersof the legislature who saw that
I didn't like some of thedecisions that they were making,
but that wasn't my job.
It wasn't my job.
It was just my job to make arecord of what they were doing,
and I enjoyed doing that.
What are you going to do?
Do you have plans?
I don't mean vacation plans.
Are you going to learnsomething new this year?

(06:00):
Are you going to help somebodyout this year?
Are you going to?
Are you going to write a book?
Are you going to write somepoetry?
Are you going to write somefamily memories and legacy?
Are you going to put somethings down so that you have a
history to leave that's not inyour head, for your family to

(06:25):
know things that happened beforeyou, happened with you and will
happen after you.
It's so important to make surethat we put those family
memories on paper that we besure that we have, even if we've
just journaled in a scrapbookwhere we're keeping pictures,

(06:47):
because I've seen way too manyboxes of pictures for sale at a
flea market or you know, justthrown out because people didn't
know who they were, and wedon't want that to happen
anymore.
I just want to say when I beforeI knew what path my life was

(07:07):
going to take after retirement,I was always doing something
extra.
So I sold Tupperware for awhile.
I had a little boutique nextdoor to my dad's drugstore.
I made jewelry for a goodlittle while and would sell it,
travel the state and go to craftfairs and sell.

(07:32):
I sold creative memoriesproducts.
I taught people how to putthings into scrapbooks and that
has changed over to this.
Create your family memories,because that's just as important
as anything else I find today.
I think now about questionsthat I wish I had asked my

(07:55):
parents about family history andthings that they may not have
known, but at least I would havebeen able to ask questions, had
I considered it.
So what are you going to do in2025?
Are you going to inventsomething new?
Are you going to start a newbusiness?

(08:17):
Are you going to start a newfamily?
Are you getting married ordivorced, or are you going to
have children?
What are you going to do?
Reach out and let me know so Ican be excited along with you,
because it's good to havesomebody having your back and to

(08:39):
know that you're not in it byyourself, and I'm thankful that
I've not ever been in anythingby myself, even when I was
struggling.
I've never been all by myself.
I've been fortunate to have acrew around me of friends and
people that I have spent timebuilding relationships with, and

(09:02):
so I want that for you too, andit's important when we do those
things to know that if we'requiet, it's kind of hard to
build the relationships.
You've got to ask questions andyou've got to be willing to
hear what other people have tosay, so let's work on those

(09:22):
things.
This year, 2025, will be aspecial year for us all, just
because we're here, and so Iwant you to remember that and to
be quiet.
No more this year You've beenlistening to Quiet no More,

(09:45):
where I share my journey so youcan be quiet no more.