It was an intimate -- but fascinated -- group of attendees who came out March 8 to hear Millie McGhee Morris speak.
Morris, who learned through genetics that she's a relative of the late FBI head J. Edgar Hoover and is author of Shocking Truth/Lies, appeared at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock. The Women's History Month event was sponsored by the Arkansas Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society.
Morris discussed her years of research that resulted in the book, which combines an intricate family history with modern genealogical data to tell the story of her discovery at age 10 that she was related to Hoover, who was rumored to have a black father. Known for his racial bias, Hoover chose to pass for white after being told of his heritage as a young adult. Morris was told that "her family could be killed in their sleep" if she ever revealed the family secret.
Morris also spoke of growing up in McComb, Miss., in poverty and being unable to read until she was 47. She overcame those obstacles to become an author, speaker, philanthropist and documentary producer/director (What's Done in the Dark: The Millie McGhee Story).
Afterward, attendees partook of heavy hors d'oeuvres and bought copies of Morris' book, which she autographed.
High Profile on 03/17/2019