Song Yingwen ywennsong@hotmail.com STARTING from the Black community of Harlem in New York City, Paula Williams Madison had a 35-year illustrious career as a veteran journalist, writer, businessperson, and former NBC Universal executive. Her notable titles include being named one of the 75 Most Powerful African Americans in Corporate America in 2005 by the U.S. Black Enterprise magazine and one of the Hollywood Reporter’s Power 100. Yet, this accomplished African American describes her reconnection with her Hakka roots in Longgang District, Shenzhen, as “a life-changing experience.” “Suddenly, I went from someone with almost no relatives to a person with families all around the world,” said the 71-year-old. A new journey It has been 11 years since the emotional family reunion took place in 2012 at their ancestral village, Hehu New Residence in Longgang. For Madison, the reunion marked the end of her search and the beginning of another life journey. In that year, Madison, along with her two brothers, brought 16 Black Chinese family members to join over 300 Chinese relatives, all of whom are immediate descendants of her maternal grandfather Samuel Lowe, or Luo Dingchao in pinyin. Lowe was a Hakka merchant who settled in Jamaica in 1905 and returned to his hometown in Guangdong during the Great Depression in 1933, after leaving his Jamaican partner behind. Lowe wanted to take their daughter, Madison’s mother Nell Vera Lowe Williams, with him, but was refused by his angry partner. The father and daughter never saw each other again, and the family bond remained broken until Madison pieced together her family story almost 100 years later. The veteran journalist, who had just retired from her NBC Universal executive post, documented the entire journey from the beginning of the search to the reunion in a documentary titled “Finding Samuel Lowe.” In 2016, the Shenzhen News Group Publishing House published the Chinese version of the book. During the past 11 years, Madison visited her long-lost Chinese relatives three to five times a year. She has also traveled around and shared her family’s stories at different occasions and in various countries. Most recently, Madison was honored Saturday at a celebration for the 2023 Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in Guangzhou for her commitment to diversity, representation, and social justice. Lisa K. Heller, consul general of the U.S. in Guangzhou, praised Madison for breaking barriers and shattering stereotypes, stating that “it is through the exchange of ideas and stories like Paula’s that we can build bridges of understanding between people and nations.” A new role After reconnecting with her Chinese heritage, Madison took on a new role as an ambassador for mixed-race Americans seeking to find their Chinese relatives. She was frequently contacted by root-seekers who sought her advice. In 2015, she organized the New York Hakka Conference, an event that became a magnet for Afro-Chinese-Caribbean individuals seeking their Chinese roots. The conference even played a role in helping the mother of NBA star Kyle Anderson trace her Chinese ancestry in Pinghu, Shenzhen, in 2018, according to Madison. Feeling SZ’s warmth Madison is considered by the Luo family to be warm and wise. Hailing from a big and extensive Chinese family, Madison feels a strong sense of connection. However, according to Madison’s 34-year-old niece, Luo Siqi, it was Madison who helped her generation foster closer family ties. “Thanks to Aunt Paula, the Luos of my generation have met more often and built closer relationships,” said Luo Siqi. “Before Paula’s influence, we would only meet once or twice a year on important occasions. To me, this is the biggest change that Paula and my Jamaican uncles have brought.” The extended Luo family has built a stronger bond through family trips around the world, family businesses, and educational exchanges. According to Luo Siqi, Madison has brought subliminal influences to the younger generation of the family. “She is a wise senior in the family that I would seek advice from when I have doubts. ‘What would Paula do?’ I would ask myself whenever I am in a difficult situation,” she said. Madison is aware of Shenzhen’s effort to shape a diverse and inclusive environment. In 2014, two years after her mother’s branch was written into the Luo family genealogical record, Madison was delighted to join her Chinese family in receiving a prize in a local campaign that honored 100 Shenzhen families for their valuable family virtues. Photos of these families constantly looped on big screens in Metro stations, buses, and outdoor displays in that year. Madison was thrilled to see the picture of the Luo family gathering at the family residence, with her sitting in the front row, featured in a cover page of a Shenzhen newspaper. “The fact that the city honors a family with mixed race people like me is evidence of its openness and inclusiveness,” said Madison. Madison’s remedy for a world that is becoming even more divided today is communication and exchanges. “Salvation will come on the level of just people,” she says. | 