We Call Each Other Cousin

Dr. Lisa Bratton, a historian at Tuskegee University and a 2023 Berlin Fellow with Widen the Circle, is the great-great-granddaughter of people enslaved at the Historic Brattonsville Plantation in York County, South Carolina. In recent years, Lisa has convened regular virtual meetings with descendants of the white enslavers at the plantation. They eventually took DNA tests that confirmed that they are all related by blood. Now they call each other cousin, and have developed the kind of deep bonds that family members have. Together, they are working on many projects, including the restoration of the enslaved cemetery and the creation of a memory quilt. Our panel will include Lisa and two of her family members, Margaret Willens and Dr. Sarah Spratt. May 27, 2025