Jason Gray is the multi-racial Mauritian Australian author of prize-winning book, HAUNT (THE KOOLIE) (Subbed In, 2019), and the winner (2012) and judge (2018-2019) of Zine West Word. He has been published widely, including The Suburban Review, Australian Poetry Journal, Written Off Club, Overland, Liminal Mag’s Collisions, Griffith Review, Zine West and Seizure. He was the recipient of a West Words Varuna Fellowship (2018) and long-listed for the University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor’s International Poetry Prize (2023).
Family Tree (Missing in History)
I had two parents. One is Black/Brown and alive.
I had four grandparents. Two were Black/Brown.
Both didn’t know they were Black, or at least didn’t want to be.
At least one pretended to be white.
I had eight great-grandparents. Four were Black/Brown.
I had 16 great-great-grandparents.
7 out of 8 Mauritians were Black/Brown.
I have found 29 out of 32 great-great-great grandparents.
8 out of 13 Mauritians found were potentially Black/Brown.
I have found 36 out of 64 fourth-great-grandparents. 6 out of 10
Mauritians found were potentially Black/Brown.
I have found 47 out of 128 fifth-great-grandparents. 5 out of 13
Mauritians found were potentially Black/Brown.
The list goes on. Black/Brown Créole Mauritian ancestors
mostly diminishing
from sight, missing
in history.
I have at least five potentially enslaved people as ancestors,
but the list would go on, if
it existed