Lacretia Johnson Flashs Ancestral Journey Is a Call to Stay Connected to History Featured on Reuters and NBCs Nightly News, the Berklee senior vice president reckons with how her ancestors were enslaved by a family whose descendants include a current U.S. congressman.
By
Bryan Parys
October 6, 2023
Image by Sasha Pedro
Keep in touch.
It's a common phrase, something often rattled off at the end of a phone call or a quick coffee with an old friend.
Flash looks through photos that trace her ancestry from Linden, Tennessee.
Image by Sasha Pedro
For Lacretia Johnson Flash, senior vice president for DEI, community, and campus culture and climate at Berklee, the implications of that phrase have a deep personal significance and, as a recent series by Reuters shows, a significance that's woven into the fabric of U.S. history. In the four-part series, Reuters takes a long, hard look at the ancestry of enslaved Black people and those of their enslavers with a political lens, finding that a fifth of U.S. congressmen, living presidents, Supreme Court justices and governors have direct ancestors who enslaved Black people, the report says.
Part four of the series opens with a focus on Flash's experience reconnecting 20 years ago with her heritage in Perry County, Tennessee, and how she recently learned that the descendants of her enslaved ancestors owners include U.S. congressman Representative Brett Guthrie of Kentucky. It has been illuminating to learn about how my familys story intersects with one of this nations leaders, Flash said.
NBC's Nightly News with Lester Holt also reported on the Reuters story and included a feature interview segment between Flash and NBC correspondent Blayne Alexander.
This story gives the world a vivid example of the intergenerational consequences of systemic racism carried out through routine policies and practices.
- Lacretia Johnson Flash
The coverage follows generations of inequity, going beyond the stats to give names and faces to the untold stories of formerly enslaved Black people struggling to establish themselves with land, commerce, an education, and a sense of safety in an area where lynchings, unjust land seizures, and other such practices were common. Reflecting on the experience, Flash said that This story gives the world a vivid example of the intergenerational consequences of systemic racism carried out through routine policies and practices.
Flash's journey to reconnect with her lineage began in 2001 when her mother, Alma Craig Johnson, who had been diagnosed with cancer, wrote this note before her death, saying Keep in touch with family. Flash's story from that moment is a sobering, moving reminder of how keeping in touch is as much about family as it is about survival in the face of great adversity.
Watch the NBC Nightly News interview segment featuring Lacretia Johnson Flash:
Related Categories
News
Most Popular
Elena Pinderhughes
Image courtesy of the artist
Berklee Announces 2023 Fall Signature Series Lineup This years series will feature Elena Pinderhughes, Braxton Cook, Pavel N ez, and the Pletenitsa Balkan Choir, as well as a career-spanning tribute to Madonna.
Latest
Image by Solen Feyissa/Upsplash
TikTok Is Changing the DNA of Hit Songs, and Artists Are Taking Note Berklee songwriters explain how the smallest details of a song's structure and themes can help musicians connect with users on the career-launching app.
Taylor Deneen performs onstage during season 24 of The Voice.
Image by Greg Gayne/NBC
Four Berklee Artists Move to Battle Round on The Voice With two vocalists on Team Legend and one each on Team Gwen and Team Reba, Berklee talent is set to heat up the competition.
The Berklee Indian Ensemble
Image by Holy Smoke Photography
Berklee Indian Ensemble Presents the Shuruaat Tour Reloaded The Grammy-nominated ensemble will perform in several U.S. cities this December.
Read All
Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Zero in on one that says yes (and no)
Andy Marken May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image courtesy of Deposit Photos
For content creators the most difficu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
29/05/2026
Binaural monitoring application improved
Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...
29/05/2026
6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK
IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality
Kate Luvis May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Digitizing VHS, MiniDV, and other legacy formats doe...
29/05/2026
Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Workflow replaces a patchwork of legacy tools...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration Boston Conservatory musicians and dancers found creative parallels in their recent performance o...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
Latino Film Institute Fellows Screen Their Short Films at the Egyptian Theatre
The Inclusion Fellowship and Spark Animation Grant uplifts 15 ...
29/05/2026
GLOOKAST LAUNCHES CINNAFILM TACHYON PLUGIN FOR MEDIA PRODUCER AND MEDIA SERVICES
This release first appeared here.
Visit our Tachyon product page or contact...
29/05/2026
May 29 2026, 09:00 (PDT) Dolby and rednote Bring More Immersive Storytelling to...
29/05/2026
Something fundamental has shifted in how people consume media. Audiences aren't abandoning television or radio content; they're just expanding how, wher...
29/05/2026
Youtube exclusive special drops today
Watch now
UKTV today announces another e...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
The Official Trailer of Physical 100 Italy, on Netflix From Se...
Lacretia Johnson Flashs Ancestral Journey Is a Call to Stay Connected to History Featured on Reuters and NBCs Nightly News, the Berklee senior vice president reckons with how her ancestors were enslaved by a family whose descendants include a current U.S. congressman.
