Woman's future rooted in digging up her past

James B. Meadow, Rocky Mountain News

Published February 21, 2007 at midnight

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FOURTH IN A SIX-DAY SERIES

A number of Denver blacks had their cheeks swabbed and their DNA collected last year to trace their lineages back to Africa. Then they waited for their pasts to emerge.

Here is another in a series of sketches that recounts the personal discoveries made by eight Denver residents, a celebration of Black History Month.

Back in the turbulent 1960s, when racial tensions were running high, Gin Butler remembers occasionally hearing some bigoted imbecile snarl, "I'd like to send you back to Africa!"

As she tried to let the wave of anger roll off her, Butler also remembers thinking, "Well, just where in the hell in Africa is that? You know something I don't know? Come on - tell me where you'd send me back to. I just might want to go there!"

Although no one has had the guts to confront Butler like this in quite some time, if they did, at least the 64-year-old no-nonsense grandmother of three would be able to consult a map to find directions home.

Discovering her link to the Mende and Temne in Sierra Leone and the Kru in Liberia was like finding "the last piece of the puzzle," said the woman who works as a part-time diversity facilitator. "If I was looking for a place to call home, I know where home is now. Or at least I have a good idea. . . . That report just defines another part of who I am."

It's a much better idea than she ever had years ago when she was serving as deputy director of economic development and international trade for then-Gov. Bill Owens, visiting Africa four times.

"I'm in Africa, and as I'm staring at the faces of these different tribes. I'm wondering, 'And so do I belong to you? Do I belong to someone else,' " recalls Butler, who traveled to countries such as Botswana, Namibia and South Africa but never to the continent's western coast, where her ancestors lived.

Her disappointment in realizing she had never been to her homeland was matched by her chagrin at discovering that the Mende were among the African people who "actually captured (African) folks themselves and sold them into slavery."

But her dissatisfaction soon melted to excitement about contemporary Africa. Fascinated by the link, she "sat down and read everything I could get my hands on" about the two countries. Today, she is excited about Liberia, which, in 2005, became the first African country to elect a woman as president when it chose Ellen Johnson- Sirleaf.

"Right now, Liberia is where I'd really like to visit," Butler said. "They seem to be a little more progressive there."

Being retired, however, means it will take her a while to save for the trip. Right now, she's shooting for 2010, when the World Cup is being played in South Africa and she can visit the continent with a joint purpose.

"I'm trying to contact people who can put me in contact with the president there," said Butler, not one to ever think small.

In the meantime, she continues reading up on her two possible "homes," discussing matters with her children and her grandchildren, especially the one who's 16.

"It's exciting for all of us," she said. "We figure, let's dig further."

She's already gone past her Canton, Miss., roots. Past the fact that blacks couldn't go to the local white high school and her mother moved five daughters into Iowa so they could. She's gone past all that so she can keep moving back. Back to the future via a past she's only just discovered.

Profiles in the series

Saturday: donnie l. betts, filmmaker, and Landri Taylor, Forest City Stapleton vice president

Monday: Dianne Reeves, Grammy-winning singer

Tuesday:Wil and Roz Alston, Denver politicos

Thursday: Gloria Neal, Sassy 107.1 FM radio personality

Friday: Wellington Webb, former Denver mayor

meadowj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2606

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