America at 250: Black DAR Legends and the Short Film She Walked Through

Featuring the legendary Black women central to the history of African American members of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the history of the Forgotten Patriots and Daughters of Color Luncheon, and the short film created in that room for America’s 250th anniversary, produced by Memoirize.

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In this special America at 250 episode of Daughter Dialogues, Reisha L. Raney brings listeners inside the twentieth-anniversary Forgotten Patriots and Daughters of Color Luncheon, held in Washington, D.C., on June 26, 2026.

The episode opens with actual audio from the luncheon, including the fife and drum procession led by Don Francisco, an African American musician, historian, living-history interpreter, and resident fifer at George Washington’s Mount Vernon. That sound — one of the sounds most closely associated with the American Revolution — entered a room filled with women of color who had proven their descent from Revolutionary War patriots and become members of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

The luncheon also became the setting for Reisha’s short film, She Walked Through: 250 Years Later, created for America’s 250th anniversary. The film follows women of African American lineage who are members of the Daughters of the American Revolution and asks what happens after lineage is proven, the door opens, and women decide what to do with the history they inherit.

This episode explores the twenty-year history of the Forgotten Patriots and Daughters of Color Luncheon, founded in 2004 by Maria Williams Cole, Dr. Marion T. Lane, and Dr. Karen E. Sutton. It honors the tradition of gathering Black Daughters and Daughters of Color to celebrate ancestors, build community, and make visible the Revolutionary contributions of African American, American Indian, mixed-race, and other overlooked patriots.

For the twentieth anniversary, Brandi Jones helped restore the luncheon’s original spirit of generosity. Brandi, an African American Daughter of the American Revolution who had joined only four years earlier, secured sponsorship through her Secure Families Initiative so that every guest could attend at no cost. The organization supports military families and veterans in using their voices on issues of foreign policy, national security, and democracy. Her sponsorship covered the entire luncheon, which had grown to more than one hundred people in attendance.

Listeners will hear about Pamela Simonson Parker, a lyric soprano and African American Daughter of the American Revolution whose Revolutionary patriot, William Stives, was a Black fifer who served under General George Washington. Pamela’s story also carries a connection to Marian Anderson, whose 1939 Lincoln Memorial concert changed American history and forced the DAR to confront part of its own. The episode includes audio from Pamela’s full performance of the national anthem.

The episode also reflects on Black women’s leadership in the DAR, including the three Black women who have served as State Regents: Wilhelmena Rhodes Kelly of New York, Yvonne Liser of the District of Columbia, and Dymond Bush of Rhode Island.

Reisha then turns to the Black DAR legends whose stories are central to this history, including Karen Batchelor, the first known Black member admitted to the DAR in 1977; Eunice Russ Ames Davis, remembered as the first African American and Indigenous Real Daughter of the American Revolution; Joan Cornwall Murphy, one of the first known women of African descent in the contemporary era approved through an African patriot; and Lena Santos Ferguson, whose struggle helped lead to institutional change and the Forgotten Patriots publication,

The episode also includes mentions of A’Lelia Bundles, journalist, author, archivist, and descendant of Madam C. J. Walker, honoree, and of Ann L. Chinn, keynote speaker and founder of the Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project, along with the America 250 commemorative brooch and the Daughters of Color quilt project, Remembering Their Names.

Through narration, live audio, and clips from Brandi Jones and Dr. Marion T. Lane, this episode asks a larger question: What do we do with the history we inherit?

A painful past should never be forgotten. But it should not be the end of the story.

Watch and share the short film She Walked Through: 250 Years Later at DaughterDialogues.com.

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