Reconciling Our Roots

My name is Emily Vincent.

I am a White mom of three living in Colorado on unceded Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute), hinono’eino’ biito’owu’ (Arapaho), Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, and Tséstho’e (Cheyenne) lands. My ancestors hail mostly from England, Scotland, and Germany and those who immigrated to what is now the United States include enslavers, colonizers, and frontier rangers as well as resisters, advocates, and non-conformists.

When my European ancestors opted into the privilege of assimilating into Whiteness, they gave up their ancestral cultures and traditions, unrooting themselves and future generations from their ethnic identities. I am working to reclaim the identities I have been separated from, the traditions, stories, recipes, and culture that was sacrificed.

We have the opportunity to take steps towards repair and healing, both personally in our own identities and cultural connections, and in our communities in addressing systemic ancestral harm. While we did not design the oppressive systems we live under, we have choices about what we do in response to them.

My Experience

I have a Masters degree in History and a Certificate in Public History from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. I have engaged in my own anti-oppression work since 2014, including coordinating local advocacy groups around education equity and community organizing. Anti-oppression work is life-long and I am dedicated to organizing White people to engage with their family histories, their identities, and their capacity for action to build the world we want to live in.

I have several years of genealogy research experience with my own family tree and others. I have also engaged in training programs with White Awake, The Barnraisers Project, Service Never Sleeps, the DC Peace Team, and Reclamation Ventures, each of which I highly recommend. These organizations have grown my listening skills and my compassion, supported my anti-oppression education, and have inspired me to find a way to continue to organize White people in taking healing and reparative actions in their lives and in their communities.

My experiences and learning allow me to deeply empathize with and validate individuals I work with. That said, this work may bring up trauma and/or challenging content for you. Therefore, I strongly encourage every client to work with a trained therapist to address these concerns as needed.

If you are interested in learning more about me through my writing, check out my newsletter, Rooted in Change, Together.