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Stories in Families that you’ll love, handpicked by our team.

Black Joy- Soul of an Artist
Let me start by giving my team their flowers. Photographer and Filmmaker Tyre Mills, @millsuave44 on instagram. Model, Actor and aspiring Fitness Coach, Abijola who goes by Prince @princejibbz on instagram. Prince and I met 2 years ago, on set of a tv show. Tyre and I met a year ago on an independent, web series project. This team helped me bring my vision of Black Love to life with this photoshoot. We were on the beach, at night, in Malibu California. Everything seemed to go wrong that day but as soon as we met and got down to work, the beauty of the finished product was worth every stressful delay that caused us to miss capturing the sunset. Tyre was in the sand with a light box, the night was pitch black and the ocean was steps away from our feet. The energy to create art that night was strong and steady. I wanted to celebrate body positivity as my body has changed during the quarantine. I also wanted to celebrate us as a melanated people, from Afro-Caribbean and Pan-African descent. The complexities of our stories are in our culture, in our skin, in our hair and the varying shades of our complexions. There are 55 nations in Africa, we can safely say that every human being has been birthed from the Motherland. I have embraced this notion and the world is also coming around to it.
By Leah Ella5 years ago in Families
Who We Are
The Part Where I Was Taught to Be Proud of Where I Come From My mom imagined my grandfather was asking me, “What’s your name,” for the hundredth time with a grin on his face.
By Cree5 years ago in Families
Switching Lenses
"Grab the tea & have a seat next to me, you see this picture right here?" "Let me see." My niece said as she sat down to take a look at what I was holding. "That's the good ole country baby. Now, most folks 'round the world think when you're from Louisiana you're automatically from the big Easy or New Orleans, and that just ain't whats all to the "boot". You see there's a lot of culture, knowledge, and hidden gems, from the pull-strap of the boot all the way down to the heel, crawling over to the toe, and back up the vamp of the boot! Louisiana has a lot of trees and a lot of land with roots going all the way back since before the purchase!".
By Delexia White5 years ago in Families
What Black Excellence Means To Me
The portrayal of Black excellence very often includes an immaculate, fashionable, well-off Black couple that takes trips, runs a multi-million dollar company, have amazing educational accomplishments and raise beautiful children that dress like mini fashion models. While all those things are incredible and I manifest that more brothers and sisters of color will get to experience similar accomplishments; I must state my point that Black Excellence is so much more than those things alone.
By M. McFadden5 years ago in Families
Sepia-Stained Memories
Summers at the Jersey seashore were my lifeline as a girl in the 1980s, especially after my parents’ divorce that brought uncertainty and instability into my adolescent universe. Before I was born, my paternal grandparents purchased a seasonal house in Ocean City, making “America’s Greatest Family Resort” the backdrop of the best moments of my childhood. My younger sister Becky and I spent lengthy, sun-drenched summers with my father and grandmother on this island well-known for Blue Laws – meaning it was not just a “dry” town, but on Sundays you could only purchase necessities. Ocean City was known for being tame and family-friendly, especially when compared with nearby Wildwood and Atlantic City.
By Jennifer Christiansen5 years ago in Families
The Last Inheritance
Sheer pastel curtains swayed behind a man who had only known business and death. An over iced drink, half-melted, pooled close to a large stack of disheveled manilla folders. Smoke from his final cigarette bloomed thinly from a cracked ashtray. He understood his chaos, filing through unmarked binders, not tipping over his several cups of pens as he reached across for a stapler. He scratched his smooth head. The light shining behind him exposed the dry skin that fell. This was the kind of man people only met once, and he liked it that way.
By VKT5 years ago in Families
Snowman
PART I The last time Silas remembered it snowing this much, he was barely five. That was a lifetime ago, but if he concentrated very hard, he could stir up fuzzy memories of backyard snowball fights and snow angels with his dad. Like most of his childhood memories, these came with a soundtrack: His mother, a concert pianist, was not a fan of the cold—it interfered with her playing—so while Silas romped in the snow with his dad and their dog Oboe, his mom remained inside practicing some Chopin nocturne or other. And while he had plenty of happy memories of playing and laughing with his mom, it struck him now, these many years later, that very few were in the winter, and none were in the snow.
By Damon Tabb5 years ago in Families
Love Letters from Heather
To my youngest daughter: Your brother might have caught my attention, but you sealed the deal. I knew the second I spotted your freckles, curly hair, and impish smile. You stole my heart instantly.
By Heather Down5 years ago in Families
The Perception of Wealth
Every morning the traffic on her route to work was awful. It was a slow, torturous crawl through the suburbs while under the constant torment of nagging car horns. To Adeline, it felt like a great trek through the wilderness each day to find food for her family. Day after day, the other mammals left their homes, herded together, and trod towards the concrete jungle where they could gather the resources they needed to feed their families. She used to laugh at the idea of being stuck in that routine. Working a nine-to-three job at the supermarket was not at all what she had in mind for her career. She wanted to study nursing when she was younger. Instead, she ended up giving birth to a beautiful, although unplanned, baby boy. Now, she spends her days working at a supermarket in the city so they can get by.
By J. R. Lowe5 years ago in Families
Black Joy
We can collectively agree that 2020 was a challenging year. People were losing jobs, losing family members to COVID, and children not able to play outside. Racism was a topic over the summer; Breonna Taylor and George Floyd's deaths sparked protests and boycotts. Last year reminded me why I write—it's because I want to remind people that my history doesn't start with slavery and that African Americans aren't monolithic. To continually tell my story about my black experience. I am happy to see that Vocal is allowing us to tell our stories about the black experience. The media continually bombarded us with information about the pandemic and created a ton of anxiety. After turning off my phone, I quickly realized what mattered to me the most. Being with family. After reading the prompt, two remarkable people popped up in my head. They are my nieces Islah, age three, and her sister Nylah 3 mos. These two beauties have two fantastic aunts that love both of them very much. I'm labeled the funtie.
By teisha leshea5 years ago in Families
Birth of an NYC Street Musician
So my mom had married a loser, or had gotten matched to one, then married him. It's a long story, but in the church I grew up in, people are matched; meaning voluntary arranged marriages. Sometimes it works out, but in my mother's case, among others, it did not.
By Marlena Nkene5 years ago in Families
Farewell My Father: Walking the Trail of Beauty in Old Age
In his last few years, he sat the entire day in his chair by the big picture window. From this vantage point, dad could survey most of the comings and goings of the ranch. He could watch the majestic Arabian stallion, Axum gallop through the pine trees, his tail, and mane flying.
By Talia Meadows5 years ago in Families