Cousins
Connected through slavery, a Black woman and a White woman discover their past—and each other
What happens when a White woman, Phoebe, contacts a Black woman, Betty, saying she suspects they are connected through slavery? First surprise? Betty responds, “Hello, Cousin.”
Betty had fought for an education and won. She broke through the concrete ceiling in the workplace and succeeded. A documentary of her life was about to debut.
Without thinking, she invites Phoebe to a family dinner and the premiere of the documentary. Second surprise? She forgot to tell her family who was coming to dinner.
Betty finds an activist partner in Phoebe. Cousins indeed, they commit to a path of reconciliation.
In alternating chapters, each tells her dramatic story—from Betty’s experience as one of the first Black children to attend her desegregated school, to Phoebe's eventual question to Betty: “How do I begin to repair the harms?”
Piercingly honest. Includes a working reparations project which the two women conceived together.
Betty and Phoebe have been interviewed on the BBC and were recently featured in a special on Netflix.
Betty Kilby Baldwin entered and graduated from Warren County (VA) High School after suing based on the landmark Brown Supreme Court decision. She started employment as a factory worker, eventually achieving executive management positions.
Phoebe Kilby, a descendant of enslavers, was inspired by the "Coming to the Table" movement to connect with descendants of persons her family enslaved. She is trained in environmental management and in conflict transformation.
