My name is Jesse Becton Tancemore Junior, and my family tells me my last name is of Indian descent. I was born at Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia, PA on October 17, 1956, a Wednesday around midnight.
As a young child, I lived with my Mom and Dad in an apartment. And frankly, it’s the only time I remember seeing them together. We lived in the city in a very quiet neighborhood. Sometime later in my life, I remember seeing the outside of the building, which was green in color.
I was a little older when my Mom remarried. I lived with my Mom and her new husband Percy in the city of Philadelphia, where I first encountered racial pride. I was in school and everyone was wearing the Afro hairstyle “the bush” including me. At the time, I was at a school dance and it showed me how proud and beautiful black people were and still are.
Living with my grandmother, my father’s mother, in Joppatowne (Hartford County, Maryland), my father would visit on the weekends. Back in the late 1960s, it seemed school was always on strike so I was enrolled in a school in Maryland. When the strike was over, I was transferred back into the Philadelphia public schools. It was an experience at left me a bit puzzled because the Maryland school system was so much better as far as learning new things.
I remember how important family pride was for us. My older cousins talked about our family name, accomplishments, and the stature of our family in the community. My family had a strict code of how men and women should behave. This made me realize how important my role was in taking responsibility for my family’s well-being.
I used and continue to use the Bible and guitar for fifteen years at church to help me serve God. Now that I am older and look back, I can see how these different experiences shaped the man that I am today. I am grateful for these life lessons that my family taught me.
And, I’m glad you are here visiting me.