How to plan the best family reunion - Statistical Data Included

Ebony, April, 2002

The Black family reunion movement and family reunions in general have exploded over the past decade or so. Experts have traced this expansion not only to the popularity of Alex Haley's Roots, but also to the increasingly mobile society, genealogist Tony Burroughs of Chicago says.

"African-Americans have probably always had family reunions," says Burroughs, author of Black Roots: A Beginner's Guide to Tracing the African American Family Tree. "Family reunions are natural, particularly in this day and age where it's so economical to get on a plane and travel somewhere ... People have a tendency to be more mobile ... So, when people are dispersed, it's more important to have family reunions."

There are about 200,000 family reunions each year in the United States, with about 8 million people attending them each year. Roughly 45 percent of African-American travel each year is associated with a family reunion, which has blossomed into major socioeconomic events that bring thousands together, particularly during the time from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

For many, these gatherings are eagerly anticipated. Whether it is a cruise to the Bahamas, or a family weekend at the old homestead, reunions have always been celebrations of perseverance, joy, remembrance and freedom.

Take the United Martin family for instance. That family, with its ancestral home in South Carolina, will celebrate its 34th annual reunion in New Orleans this summer, with roughly 300 people in attendance, says Betty Martin of Columbia, S.C., the vice president of the South Carolina chapter of United Martin Family. Last summer, they celebrated the family in Branson, Mo.

"This year, as in previous years, the Martin descendants gather to share and keep in remembrance our knowledge of who we are, our rich heritage, our achievements and the legacy," Martin says.

Planning those reunions can be fun and is often even more important than the reunion itself, experts say. The better the plan for the event, the more smoothly the reunion will go.

Twane Hawkins-McGowan of Chicago knows the importance of planning family reunions down to the greatest detail. She headed the committee that brought roughly 135 participants to Chicago in 1999 and passed on her information to the Seattle committee for the 2001 reunion, which also netted about 100 people. Plans for their next reunion--in Milwaukee next year--are already underway.

"The most important thing is family participation," says Hawkins-McGowan, stressing committee organization and involvement. "If family members get involved, you can have a very successful reunion."

Committees and subcommittees of each host city plan each reunion, Hawkins-McGowan says. Initially, meetings are held monthly, with phone and e-mail contact. And in the three to six months leading up to the event, they hold meetings every two weeks or every week. Participation is always high, with family members wanting to get together and catch up on one another's lives.

Other reunions have the same energy--getting together for the sake of family, to continue tradition. The Wiley Family's annual reunion attracts between 75 and 150 people each year, says Keitha Wiley of Washington, D.C. Their reunions started about 23 years ago. But before then they held their reunions informally.

And in order to guard against what plagues many reunions, a lack of interest as the active planners and participants get older, Wiley has become involved in the planning. "My dad's generation has held it down," Wiley says. "Now a lot more of the younger generation are getting more involved."

Having something for everyone to do is the key to planning a successful reunion and to keeping them going for years to come, says Dr. Ione Vargus, professor emerita and director of Temple University's Family Reunion Institute.

"The key lies in organization," Dr. Vargus says. "It does take a good amount of planning."

You're Invited To A Day of Family Fun!

Don't miss the EBONY Black Family Reunion Tour, beginning April through June 2002

This EBONY Black Family Reunion Tour is presented by Procter & Gamble. Come and enjoy the games, fun and entertainment planned for every member of the family. We're celebrating the Black family, and we're giving gifts and family reunion planning information. We're registering adults, 18 and over, for a chance to win one of the EBONY Black Family Reunion prizes awarded to entrants at the end of the tour.

You will get tips on how to plan a perfect family reunion, enjoy food-tastings and much more. And while you're there, check out the great values from participating sponsors. Look for the EBONY Black Family Reunion Tour truck in these markets: Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Houston, Orlando, Philadelphia, Detroit, Dallas (markets are subject to change).

Look for tips on "How To Plan A Family Reunion" in upcoming issues of EBONY magazine. All families attending the event in each market can register for the opportunity to be selected as the EBONY Black Family Reunion Family of 2002. You can also register to win one of the EBONY Black Family Reunion Sweepstakes prizes that will be given away at the end of the tour.