Customer Reviews

The Melungeions: The Resurrection of a Proud People

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book, and the theories included, is being
proved by growing archival evidence and, just as
importantly, new DNA research. The Melungeons do not
deny their multi-racial composition and, in fact,
have all races represented on their leadership Board
(MHA). But in addition to English, African, and
Native American, their long-standing claims of
Portuguese, Turkish, East Indian, and Jewish heritage
are finally being proved. As but one example, England
was clearly ridding itself of Ottomans, Gypsies and Jews
by sending them to America as indentured "English" settlers
and servants in the 1600s. It's unfortunate that
some people cannot grasp the reality that all humans
are a wide composite of many races and that to insist
on a simple three race component (tri-racial)
and to ridicule long-standing oral traditions on
origins - is both closed minded and indicative of a
lack of understanding of world population migrations.
Kennedy occasionally goes out on limbs that most scholars
would not, but more often than not he has been right.
His work teaches us that,in essence, no one is who they
think they are and this, I believe, is the first step
toward ending racism. I highly recommend his book
for those who genuinely seek truth and have no
political ax to grind. I applaud the fresh ground that
he has plowed.

Sami Ferliel, Ph.D.
Retired Faculty
Yuzuncu Yil University
Van, Turkey

This is a fascinating look at a relatively unknown ethnic group that first hit the American shores in the 1500s, settling eventually in Appalachia, and taking on new ethnic strands through the centuries. Influences in the Melungeon ethnic make-up include possible Moorish, Iberian, Turkish, Anglo-Irish, American Indian, and others, resulting in an ethnic group that is just now becoming fully conscious of its roots. In addition to the human interest of the book, I found it fascinating from historical, cultural, and spiritual perspectives- I was reminded that we are all pretty mixed up from an ethnic perspective and yet we all come from the same Source. Mr. Kennedy, who is Melungeon, has done his own people a great service with this book, but also a great service for all Americans, who can learn a little more about their history, including the not-so-pleasant side. Highly recommended for anyone interested in U.S. history, the history of ethnic groups in America, the culture of Appalachia, or the history of a very interesting people, the Melungeons.

The traditional picture of the peoples of early America, white, black, and red, is an inaccurate one. This country is dotted with hundreds of peoples who may be closer to one or the other of the above three categories, but who don't really fit in any of them. These include the Ramapo Mountain People of New York and New Jersey, the Brass Ankles of South Carolina, the Redbones of Louisiana and numerous other groups, some of whom are completely unknown outside of their regions.

The most celebrated of these peoples are the Melungeons of western Virgina, eastern Kentucky, and eastern Tennessee and this book is an attempt to write their history. I say "attempt" because until fairly recently, one did not describe oneself as a Melungeon or a Brass Ankle; these were perjorative terms used by outsiders and were strenously and sometimes violently objected to. Consequently, America is filled with people whose families moved around a lot, whose genealogies are muddled if they have one at all and whose family stories are non-existent. People like me(I've pretty much decided that I'm a member of one of these groups, although I have no definite idea which one).

According to Dr. Kennedy, the Melungeons may be the descendents of shipwrecked Spaniards, with Portuguese and even Turkish elements, who intermarried with Indians, escaped slaves and poorer whites. Indeed, when they were first encountered, they called themselves Portuguese even though they spoke English. As might be expected, documentation is sparse. Dr. Kennedy, a Melungeon, makes excellent use of his own family's history and genealogy. Some of his conclusions don't, it seems to me, seem completely warranted by what facts there are. But, all in all, this is fascinating book and an excellent beginning to in-depth research on these peoples. One can only hope that members of other such groups will follow Dr. Kennedy's lead. In the meantime, I cannot recommend this book too highly.

I grew up with Melungeon classmates in southeastern OH and picked this up out of curiosity. What a fascinating story! The subtitle is perhaps a little misleading. I almost avoided the book because it sounded like a diatribe about ethnic massacres; whereas it is really a geneaological journey that weaves in the Melungeon experience in America. At first it comes off as an esoteric delving into the author's geneaology; but as the story unfolds, the reader becomes sucked into the fascinating story of Kennedy's family and their colorful Melungeon roots.
A downside is that he is quick to take scientists to task for their hesitancy about alternative views on Melungeon origins. He seems not to be aware that researchers, in ANY scientific field, need to exercise caution and cannot advocate new hypotheses without data. Meanwhile, he exercises no such caution about his ideas -- speculation on everything from lost colonies, to some really far-fetched word origins -- runs rampant. If not for this I'd give it 5 stars. That being said, this is a fun and fascinating book, and the author's enthusiasm really comes through; a great introduction to a fascinating people.

The author's attempt to get to the bottom of a genetic disease/condition leads him to dig into his genealogy and ethnic and racial origins, trying to find out why he has a disease that primarily afflicts people of Middle Eastern descent, when he has roots that go back hundreds of years in the southern hill country. He discovers and uncovers a group of people that really don't fit any of our traditional racial groupings, people that are bi-racial and tri-racial.

As we learn more about human DNA, the author's many theories about where the Melungeon blood comes from will be strenghened or cast aside by the genetic evidence.

But it looks like the immigration from the Old World to North America was not just the pale-faced English, but people from all over Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East who brought their genes here, in bigger quantities and earlier than originally thought.

Kennedy often ends up on a fishing expedition, and supposition too often replaces fact. But his theories are interesting, and entertaining. For example, he tells us the Turkish word for "hell" sounds an awful lot like "Alabama."

I enjoyed the book very much. My family "The Thompson" was from Knox Co. Kentucky. My greatgrandmother was Katherine Wells. They left Kentucky and came to Oklahoma where there my father Robert Thompson married Clara James. So many people in Oklahoma have some Indian blood. I remember well people asking my grandfather Robert Wilson Thompson what tribe he was from. He would tell them he was "Black Dutch". I never knew where "Black Dutch" cames from. My mother's grandfather was Thomas L. Rowland. She had heard her mother say he was "Black Dutch". We have the black hair and very blue eyes. This help me to understand the term better and I want to looking in more. Wanda Thompson Hines- McKinney, Texas .

According to the website Tennessee Online "They are considered one of the world's greatest anthropological mysteries--a tribe of "natives" twice discovered in the Appalachian mountains prior to early settlement of the region, but, other than their Mediterranean skin tones, bore strikingly European features and conducted themselves in a fashion strange to the American Indian tribes which surrounded them. As far as anyone knew, there had never been any conflict between this group of people and the sometimes territorial tribes." So just who were these strange looking people and what in the world were they doing there? Conventional wisdom and the history books tell us that it was Caucasians who discovered America. But substantial and convincing new evidence would indicate otherwise and what has been discovered over the past quarter century certainly turns the generally accepted history of the origins of this nation upside down.

Author N. Brent Kennedy had always wondered about the odd-looking, dark-skinned people he had encountered while growing up. And when in 1988 he was diagnosed with the debilitating condition known as "sarcoidosis" he learned that this was a disease that afflicted primarily people of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean origins. As his last name would surely indicate Kennedy always thought he was primarily of Scotch-Irish origins. Something was amiss here and the more research he did the more he realized that his family was actually linked to a group of people known as the Melungeons. Never heard of them? Neither had I. In his fascinating book "The Melungeons: The Resurrection of A Proud People An Untold Story of Ethnic Cleansing In America" N. Brent Kennedy introduces us to this multi-racial group of people and pieces together as best he can their long and checkered history. You will discover that The Melungeons are actually a "tri-racial" race thought to be of mixed European, sub-Saharan African and Native American ancestry. Melungeon people can be found primarily in the mountains of Western North Carolina, Eastern Tennessee, Southwest Virginia and in Eastern Kentucky. How and when these people arrived in these locations is the subject of a great deal of speculation and is the one of the primary topics Kennedy covers in his book. This is a positively fascinating read.

In the first several chapters of "The Melungeons: The Resurrection of A Proud People" Kennedy traces his own family roots. This can be a bit dry at times but is absolutely necessary as Kennedy pieces together the puzzle that is the Melungeons. I thought the second half of the book was much more interesting as the author presents important evidence that explains when and how many of these people arrived on this continent and why they migrated to the places that they did. It seems that the although the Melungeons were declared "free persons of color" in the late 1700's they were frequently driven off their lands and denied education, voting rights and due process under the law. Melungeons were truly treated as second-class citizens which would seem to explain why so many of them went out of their way to mask who they truly were and where they came from.

N. Brent Kennedy published "The Melungeons: The Resurrection of A Proud People An Untold Story of Ethnic Cleansing In America" back in 1997. Kennedy was very careful to point out that his book was hardly the final word on the Melungeon question and that the research was ongoing. The author has definitely managed to pique my curiosity on this subject and I am highly motivated to seek out more information. In my view this was an extraordinarily worthwhile project and I can highly recommend this book to both history buffs and general readers alike.

Saying N. Brent Kennedy is a very important person is something of an understatement. Through his work and collaboration with many others he has come forward to put a face on the contemporary inquiry into mixed race and multiethnic cultures in the United States. Designed for the lay person, "The Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People," is a brave book written by Melungeon authors the Kennedy's, that sparks thoughts, heated debate, as you can see from these reviews, and most importantly, action. As a combination of Brent Kennedy's many years of online projects and this book *many* people have looked into their ethnic backgrounds using some of the newly available DNA testing. Apart from my general appreciation for what Kennedy as an individual(working in collobation with others) has done for the conversation around ethnicity I really enjoyed the tone, voice, pace and even the historical photographs in "The Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People." Kennedy is a gifted stortyteller and you will feel privy to his thoughts, research, investigations and theory upon reading his book. I highly recommend this title to anyone studying the complexities of race and ethnicity in the southeastern United States and those particularly interested in southeastern US cultural history. Apart from those folk, "The Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People," has much to offer the general readership, particularly those interested in geneology. A must read--three or four thumbs up!

A very interesting book and Kennedy raises some great questions and offers possible answers. The book is interesting along with his quest for a true medical diagnosis of his medical condition, that comes from his Mulungeon ancestry. I do fault the book in that Kennedy does make some big leaps in his assumptions without backing them up. But it is well worth the read and remember that this is the book that started the other books about the Mulungeons.

I found this book to be very informative. Finally, telling more of the true American History, that our school history books "overlooked". Some of the information is just theory, but still very thought provoking! I even found mention of several of my own ancestors! I highly recommend this book as reading, to everyone, even if your families are not from Appalachia, as mine are. What occurred in the past must never be allowed to happen again!!!! NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Read this and you will find mention of the paper genocide perpetrated by a racist named Pleckar and the 1924 so called "Racial Integrity Act" of Virginia. It is revolting, and yet still today, there are Native American Tribes in VA that are not recognized by our government, because of Pleckar's actions!!!!