Grandparents Day is especially meaningful for me because I was raised by my grandmother, Ellen “Olive” King, until I was age 13. My grandmother was born in 1912 in the South Bronx, part of the first generation of African Americans born in NYC after the Great Migration from the South after Reconstruction. “Ollie” or “Mrs. King” (as the neighbors called her) was wildly popular. My most vivid memories of my grandmother consist of accompanying her on various errands during the day, stopping almost every hour to talk to one of her many friends in the neighborhood. Throughout her life she worked as a seamstress, a housekeeper, and ran a laundromat for over 20 years. She even had a small part (along with her siblings) in a silent movie. Reflecting on her life and work, the most important lesson that I learned is the interrelatedness of work and community. You see, my grandmother’s work, in the laundromat and as a domestic worker, was how she participated in the community. Before the internet and the 24 hour news cycle, discussions about current events, politics, music, art, etc., took place in the laundromat, or the corner store, or anywhere else where neighbors could gather. While today, the “gathering place” may be different, like my grandmother, I strive to have my community inform my work.
