Julieanne & T.J. Boykin

When he returned from the Civil War he was in very poor physical condition. But I could tell that a transformation had taken place—freedom had brought about a change in his entire demeanor. While living together as slaves, we saw each other only when given the time by our masters. After the war my common-law husband and his former master came to an agreement involving sharing. The Union soldiers had destroyed or taken most of the food and the farm animals. We had to start from the very bottom using our own bodies the way you would hook up an ox or a mule to a plow. After T.J. regained his strength, I was amazed at how he pulled the plow as I guided it through the red soil where furrows of earth revealed many layers of sorrowful acts that took place on this land.