{"id":17432,"date":"2026-03-10T14:18:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T14:18:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:03:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:03:39","slug":"how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/inspiring-stories\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\/","title":{"rendered":"How Two Women Found Healing from Their Family’s Difficult Legacy of Slavery"},"content":{"rendered":"

Betty Kilby Fisher Baldwin<\/strong>
\nThere I was, coming up on my sixty-second birthday. God had helped bring me to a good stage in my life. I\u2019d retired from my career as an ex\u00adecutive. I had raised four children and was helping raise two of my nine grandchildren. And I thought I\u2019d made peace with the past.<\/p>\n

Then I received an e-mail from a stranger:<\/p>\n

My name is Phoebe Kilby, and I am white. My father grew up in Rappahannock County, Virginia, near where your father grew up. I have been doing some research on my family. I suspect that our families had some kind of relationship in the past. <\/em><\/p>\n

What did that mean?<\/p>\n

There was a follow-up e-mail too. Phoebe\u2014whose last name was the same as my maiden name\u2014said she had been doing genealogical research<\/a> and discovered that her ancestors might have enslaved my ancestors.<\/p>\n

White slave owners often fathered children with the African-American women they owned. It was possible that Phoebe and I were not just con\u00adnected but related.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel shame that my family once owned slaves and by that very fact trau\u00admatized and mistreated them,\u201d she wrote. \u201cSomeone in the Kilby family needs to apologize for this injustice<\/a>, and perhaps that person should be me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those e-mails stirred the past up again, stirred up a storm of feelings inside me too.<\/p>\n

Let me tell you my story. Maybe then you\u2019ll understand why Phoebe\u2019s words felt like a message from God<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Wind the clock back to 1958, the year my name appeared on a lawsuit filed by the NAACP against the school district of Warren County, Virginia. I was 13 years old and one of 22 African- American children seeking the right to attend the whites-only schools where I lived. At that time, Black students had to leave the county to get an edu\u00adcation beyond seventh grade.<\/p>\n

The school district and even the governor fought us. Finally a judge or\u00addered the district to comply with the landmark 1954 Supreme Court deci\u00adsion<\/a> outlawing school segregation.<\/p>\n

The NAACP gave me and other stu\u00addents nonviolence training and told us we were soldiers in God\u2019s army, fight\u00ading for justice. I was proud to be part of such a historic struggle for equality<\/a>.<\/p>\n

My faith began to erode in the face of vicious opposition from white stu\u00addents and their parents. Before we had even set foot in school, someone shot at the windows of my family\u2019s house. The day we arrived, grown-ups lined the streets and threatened to kill us.<\/p>\n

Other students called us despicable names. Threw spitballs at us. When I asked the teacher for help, I <\/em>got in trouble.<\/p>\n

My daddy, James Wilson Kilby, was a man of strong conviction and even stronger faith. He was a driving force behind the lawsuit. He also insisted that our family join hands and pray for our enemies each night before din\u00adner. \u201cJesus commanded us to pray for those who persecute us<\/a>,\u201d he told us.<\/p>\n

I made sure never to sit next to Daddy. If I wasn\u2019t holding his hand, he wouldn\u2019t know I wasn\u2019t praying for those white students.<\/p>\n

Everything culminated one day in 1963, my senior year, when I gambled on taking a shortcut to class by walk\u00ading alone through the auditorium. We Black students had learned the hard way that it was always safer to travel in larger numbers.<\/p>\n

A group of boys found me. They grabbed me, pinned me down and raped me.<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t tell Daddy<\/a> because he\u2019d go to the authorities, and then it would be the testimony of one Black girl versus a group of white boys. Our family would be destroyed.<\/p>\n

I became cripplingly depressed. I stopped eating. I wound up in the hospital.<\/p>\n

An orderly who went to our church came to offer comfort. I told him I wanted to die. He asked how long un\u00adtil I graduated. A few months, I said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod gave you a big job,\u201d he said. \u201cYou did good. It\u2019s almost over. The best part of your life<\/a> is just ahead of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

For decades after that, my spiritual life ricocheted between those two ex\u00adtremes: resisting Daddy\u2019s prayer for the people who oppressed us and hold\u00ading on to those words spoken by that orderly, who was like an angel to me.<\/p>\n

I graduated, went to college and found work in corporate America. I rose to become an executive at Ameri\u00adcan Airlines. I did everything with a determination to prove that I was bet\u00adter than the hateful names I had been called in school.<\/p>\n

I wrote a book about my family\u2019s civil rights<\/a> struggle, entitled Wit, Will & Walls<\/em>. I gave talks at schools and historical societies. My book was made into a short documentary.<\/p>\n

Phoebe\u2019s e-mail took me right back to my childhood dinner table. Here was a hand held out by a white per\u00adson apologizing for injustice against people like me.<\/p>\n

All my life, I believed God had helped me overcome challenges, succeed and become a voice speaking out against racism<\/a>. Was I prepared to take this outstretched hand?<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope to hear that you are inter\u00adested in conversing with me,\u201d Phoebe wrote.<\/p>\n

Something told me I had to say yes.<\/p>\n

Phoebe Kilby<\/strong>
\nMy childhood was the opposite of Betty\u2019s. I grew up in Baltimore. My father was a doctor, and our family was financially comfortable.<\/p>\n

There is no other way to say this: My father was a racist. He had sepa\u00adrate waiting rooms for whites and nonwhites<\/a>, and he made frequent dis\u00adparaging remarks about Black people. His mother said similar things. My mother\u2019s side of the family was not like that, thank goodness. But my mother did not challenge my father\u2019s attitudes. I didn\u2019t either. I assumed what my father said was true.<\/p>\n

Baltimore City public schools inte\u00adgrated in 1954, so when I was ready to go to school, my parents enrolled me in an all-white private school. That backfired because the teachers were broadminded and sympathetic to the civil rights movement<\/a>. They assigned books by Black authors, which I had to hide at home to avoid trouble.<\/p>\n

By the time I graduated, I knew my father\u2019s attitudes and a lot of things were wrong. For a long time, I thought knowing that was enough.<\/p>\n

I married, and my husband and I moved to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, near where ancestors on my father\u2019s side had lived. I got a job at a small Christian college called Eastern Mennonite University. EMU had a program called Coming to the Table, which encourages descendants of en\u00adslaved people and descendants of en\u00adslavers to connect<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The program was started by a man named Will Hairston, whose ances\u00adtors had been one of the largest slave-owning families in Virginia.<\/p>\n

Inspired by Coming to the Table, I researched local archives and census records. I learned not only that my ancestors had owned slaves near War\u00adren County but that descendants of those enslaved people still lived in the area. That\u2019s how I found Betty. Were she and I connected\u2014maybe even re\u00adlated\u2014through the horrors of slavery?<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s only one way to find out,\u201d Will Hairston said. \u201cYou are going to have to contact her.\u201d<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t ready for that! I wrestled with my reluctance. Finally I ran out of excuses. On January 15, 2007\u2014Martin Luther King Jr.<\/a> Day\u2014I e-mailed Betty.<\/p>\n

There was no reply.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve offended her, <\/em>I told myself. Why would she want to talk to you?<\/em><\/p>\n

With Will\u2019s encouragement, I sent a follow-up e-mail explaining more about myself and my reasons for reaching out.<\/p>\n

Betty\u2019s reply came a few hours later. The subject line of her e-mail: \u201cHello Cousin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Betty <\/strong>I had been having computer trouble. By the time I saw Phoebe\u2019s first e-mail, the second one was in my in-box too. I did not hesitate to reply.<\/p>\n

The timing \u201ccould have only been God,\u201d I wrote. \u201cWe are the key to healing<\/a>. Meeting you today is so awe\u00adsome\u2026. I have always known that my family were descendants of slaves, but I couldn\u2019t open that door.\u201d<\/p>\n

My words expressed more certainty than I felt. I think God was guiding my fingers as I typed. In fact, opening that door\u2014taking Phoebe\u2019s outstretched hand\u2014felt scary. Was I ready to con\u00adfront this issue I had worked so hard to put behind me?<\/p>\n

I lived in Texas, but I was coming to Virginia for a screening of the docu\u00admentary about my book. I invited Phoebe to meet. \u201cI thank God for bringing you into my life,\u201d I wrote.<\/p>\n

Phoebe <\/strong>Betty and I met at a restaurant in Front Royal, Virginia. Any fears I had evaporated when I met Betty. She is a positive, can-do person. She gave me a hug. She introduced me to other mem\u00adbers of her family at the restaurant, in\u00adcluding her two grown daughters.<\/p>\n

At the documentary screening the next day at a church, Betty introduced me to the mostly African-American au\u00addience and quoted Martin Luther King Jr.\u2019s dream that one day \u201cthe sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

The audience erupted in applause.<\/p>\n

Encouraged, I invited Betty to a Coming to the Table workshop, where we could deepen our friendship and learn more about how our families were connected.<\/p>\n

Betty <\/strong>Many of my fears also melted away when I met Phoebe. She had done her homework. She listened as much as she talked.<\/p>\n

I agreed to attend the Coming to the Table workshop. Phoebe and I were among 15 participants. We learned about restorative justice and dis\u00adcussed how it might overcome trauma and achieve reconciliation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There was an activity called Break\u00ading Cycles of Violence\u2014a series of steps designed to help people talk about traumatic incidents and move toward healing.<\/p>\n

The minute the activity started, I knew I was in trouble. I had to talk about the horrible things that had happened to me as a child. Feelings I had spent a lifetime burying rose up and overwhelmed me. Suddenly I was weeping uncontrollably.<\/p>\n

The Black members of our group surrounded me and held me. For a long time, I couldn\u2019t stop crying.<\/p>\n

At last, the room fell silent. I can\u2019t say I miraculously gained a spirit of forgive\u00adness<\/a> and reconciliation. But something inside me shifted. I knew God was with me, even in my worst experiences. I could take Phoebe\u2019s hand and trust that God would be with both of us.<\/p>\n

Phoebe <\/strong>Seeing Betty break down made me realize there is a difference between learning and experiencing. No amount of knowledge could take the place of Betty\u2019s lived experience of racism.<\/p>\n

I had benefited from racism. My father inherited wealth generated in part by the labor of enslaved people. He inherited racist attitudes that he passed on to me. I went to a school that excluded Black children and ben\u00adefited from social networks and ad\u00advantages Betty never had.<\/p>\n

It was up to me to turn my knowl\u00adedge and feelings into action.<\/p>\n

Betty and I committed to helping Coming to the Table expand its reach. I used some of my inheritance to set up a college scholarship fund for peo\u00adple like Betty, whose families had been scarred by slavery.<\/p>\n

Though we live hundreds of miles apart, Betty and I talk on the phone, ap\u00adpear together at events and try to meet as often as we can. We wrote a book together, published this year, entitled Cousins: Connected Through Slavery. <\/em>Pro\u00adceeds go to the scholarship fund. I know the truth about myself and my family. Truth is the starting point for healing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Betty <\/strong>I also grew up with hateful feel\u00adings in my heart, though for different reasons. Racism wounds everyone, perpetrators and victims.<\/p>\n

I believe God brought Phoebe and me together. He knew the healing<\/a> each of us needed. He knew that to\u00adgether we could help others heal. That\u2019s why we\u2019re sharing our story.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

For more inspiring stories, subscribe to <\/em>Guideposts<\/strong><\/a> magazine<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Betty Kilby Fisher Baldwin There I was, coming up on my sixty-second birthday. God had helped bring me to a good stage in my life. I\u2019d retired from my career as an ex\u00adecutive. I had raised four children and was helping raise two of my nine grandchildren. And I thought I\u2019d made peace with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27405,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[185],"tags":[48,58,79,26,51],"ppma_author":[1798],"class_list":["post-17432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories-of-faith-and-hope","tag-depression","tag-guideposts","tag-healing","tag-hope","tag-inspirational-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow Two Women Found Healing from Their Family’s Difficult Legacy of Slavery - Guideposts Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Two Women Found Healing from Their Family’s Difficult Legacy of Slavery\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Betty Kilby Fisher Baldwin There I was, coming up on my sixty-second birthday. God had helped bring me to a good stage in my life. I\u2019d retired from my career as an ex\u00adecutive. I had raised four children and was helping raise two of my nine grandchildren. And I thought I\u2019d made peace with the […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/inspiring-stories\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Guideposts Articles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-10T14:18:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-10T06:03:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/articles.guideposts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/betty_phoebe_kilby_marquee-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1540\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"866\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Betty Kilby Fisher Baldwin and Phoebe Kilby\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/inspiring-stories\\\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\\\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/inspiring-stories\\\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\\\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Neeraj Rai\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f0862e0bfb5f72f571ea4d005001f0be\"},\"headline\":\"How Two Women Found Healing from Their Family’s Difficult Legacy of Slavery\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-10T14:18:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-10T06:03:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/inspiring-stories\\\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\\\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2076,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/inspiring-stories\\\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\\\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/betty_phoebe_kilby_marquee-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Depression\",\"Guideposts\",\"healing\",\"Hope\",\"Inspirational Stories\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Stories of Faith and Hope\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/inspiring-stories\\\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\\\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/inspiring-stories\\\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\\\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/inspiring-stories\\\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\\\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\\\/\",\"name\":\"How Two Women Found Healing from Their Family’s Difficult Legacy of Slavery - Guideposts Articles\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/inspiring-stories\\\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\\\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/inspiring-stories\\\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\\\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/betty_phoebe_kilby_marquee-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-10T14:18:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-10T06:03:39+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/inspiring-stories\\\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\\\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/inspiring-stories\\\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\\\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/inspiring-stories\\\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\\\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/betty_phoebe_kilby_marquee-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/betty_phoebe_kilby_marquee-1.jpg\",\"width\":1540,\"height\":866},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/inspiring-stories\\\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\\\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Inspiring Stories\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/inspiring-stories\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Stories of Faith and Hope\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/inspiring-stories\\\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"How Two Women Found Healing from Their Family’s Difficult Legacy of Slavery\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/\",\"name\":\"Guideposts Articles\",\"description\":\"Strengthening Faith. Providing Hope.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Guideposts Articles\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/gp-logo-white.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/gp-logo-white.svg\",\"caption\":\"Guideposts Articles\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f0862e0bfb5f72f571ea4d005001f0be\",\"name\":\"Neeraj Rai\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/18c0b5a06458f26c764f5a7451f1774cfb282943f2f36a00c9a801809489005c?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=gc7d9b87677b7a32d038be4d79f46df21\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/18c0b5a06458f26c764f5a7451f1774cfb282943f2f36a00c9a801809489005c?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/18c0b5a06458f26c764f5a7451f1774cfb282943f2f36a00c9a801809489005c?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Neeraj Rai\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/author\\\/neeraj\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Two Women Found Healing from Their Family’s Difficult Legacy of Slavery - Guideposts Articles","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Two Women Found Healing from Their Family’s Difficult Legacy of Slavery","og_description":"Betty Kilby Fisher Baldwin There I was, coming up on my sixty-second birthday. God had helped bring me to a good stage in my life. I\u2019d retired from my career as an ex\u00adecutive. I had raised four children and was helping raise two of my nine grandchildren. And I thought I\u2019d made peace with the […]","og_url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/inspiring-stories\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\/","og_site_name":"Guideposts Articles","article_published_time":"2026-03-10T14:18:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-10T06:03:39+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1540,"height":866,"url":"https:\/\/articles.guideposts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/betty_phoebe_kilby_marquee-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Betty Kilby Fisher Baldwin and Phoebe Kilby","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/inspiring-stories\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/inspiring-stories\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\/"},"author":{"name":"Neeraj Rai","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/f0862e0bfb5f72f571ea4d005001f0be"},"headline":"How Two Women Found Healing from Their Family’s Difficult Legacy of Slavery","datePublished":"2026-03-10T14:18:37+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-10T06:03:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/inspiring-stories\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\/"},"wordCount":2076,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/inspiring-stories\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/betty_phoebe_kilby_marquee-1.jpg","keywords":["Depression","Guideposts","healing","Hope","Inspirational Stories"],"articleSection":["Stories of Faith and Hope"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/inspiring-stories\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/inspiring-stories\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\/","url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/inspiring-stories\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\/","name":"How Two Women Found Healing from Their Family’s Difficult Legacy of Slavery - Guideposts Articles","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/inspiring-stories\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/inspiring-stories\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/betty_phoebe_kilby_marquee-1.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-10T14:18:37+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-10T06:03:39+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/inspiring-stories\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/inspiring-stories\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/inspiring-stories\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/betty_phoebe_kilby_marquee-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/betty_phoebe_kilby_marquee-1.jpg","width":1540,"height":866},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/inspiring-stories\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\/how-two-women-found-healing-from-their-familys-difficult-legacy-of-slavery\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Inspiring Stories","item":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/inspiring-stories\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Stories of Faith and Hope","item":"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/inspiring-stories\/stories-of-faith-and-hope\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"How Two Women Found Healing from Their Family’s Difficult Legacy of Slavery"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#website","url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/","name":"Guideposts Articles","description":"Strengthening Faith. Providing Hope.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#organization","name":"Guideposts Articles","url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/gp-logo-white.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/gp-logo-white.svg","caption":"Guideposts Articles"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/f0862e0bfb5f72f571ea4d005001f0be","name":"Neeraj Rai","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18c0b5a06458f26c764f5a7451f1774cfb282943f2f36a00c9a801809489005c?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=gc7d9b87677b7a32d038be4d79f46df21","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18c0b5a06458f26c764f5a7451f1774cfb282943f2f36a00c9a801809489005c?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18c0b5a06458f26c764f5a7451f1774cfb282943f2f36a00c9a801809489005c?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g","caption":"Neeraj Rai"},"url":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/author\/neeraj\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":1798,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"betty-kilby-fisher-baldwin-and-phoebe-kilby","display_name":"Betty Kilby Fisher Baldwin and Phoebe Kilby","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fgpbookstore.org%2Farticles%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fguideposts%2Fassets%2Fimages%2Fdefault-avatar.png&r=g","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17432"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=17432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}