The Davenports

Olivia remembered the moment she’d realized that every Black person she knew was touched by the horror of slavery. Sometimes Olivia felt it like a wound hidden deep under smooth skin—one that she didn’t remember receiving but that ached nonetheless.

There are worse things in life than to be imprisoned for standing up for ourselves and others.

Much of what affects our lives is out of our control. We should always strive to make the choices we can. Life is too short, too full of heartache.

He doesn’t want us to be special. He wants us, Black people with wealth, education, and opportunities, to be common. In the best sense of the word.

She remembered her mother’s words: to always rise above. Because her family was rare. Wealthy. Beautiful. Black.

I think the hardest thing we can do is to decide what we want, and stride toward it.

Good news, there's always time to decide who you want to be.

If I were a boy, I could have done an apprenticeship with a mechanic, undergone formal training, instead of being forced to sneak in late at night when the house is asleep. I would have been carrying the notebooks and manuals instead of my skirts or a parasol.

I guess living up to expectations is the rule, no matter where you grow up.

They had all come here because they believed that Chicago was a city full of opportunity and diversity, where the promise of a new start was achievable. They were right. She only had to think of her father and Mr. Tremaine. Now they had to protect it and grow it.

He says the effective force for change in the city are the people themselves.

My father wants to be mayor—to be a part of the minority that makes decisions, not just lives by them. At first, I thought it was prestige he wanted. Another thing he could own, stamp his name on. I’ve run into enough of the connections he’s made, and overheard enough quiet conversations, to know that he wants more for every person who looks like us. Every person who has been freed from bondage.” She turned to Harrison. “I was angry with him. Now I’m concerned that no one will ever know what he’s risking. He doesn’t want us to be special. He wants us, Black people with wealth, education, and opportunities, to be common. In the best sense of the word.

It’s no easy task balancing what you want for yourself and what your family wants for you.

There will come a time when you meet someone who makes even the mundane things seem magical

Most days, though, I find myself wondering how, or even why, I am where I am. I mean, I know my family worked hard for generations to build our name. But I am a Black man in England, where in every space I am the minority. The Other. And here, like at home, I am both exulted and cursed for my circumstances. None of which I can change or take credit for.

You need to stop dreaming of how things used to be and start thinking about how they is.

Her parents sat at the ends of the dressed table, the pain of their younger selves hidden under a veneer of silk and silver.

Going to bed hungry each night as a child makes you hungry in other ways as an adult.

His wealth had gotten him an invitation, but there wasn’t enough money in the city to make people forget his white father once owned his mother.

Here no one expected her to know the right things to say or be aware of the latest gossip and trends. Here she let her curiosity run wild.

The only problem? It was difficult to find eligible gentlemen—born into the right family, educated, and set to inherit a large fortune—who were also Black.

Olivia remembered the moment she'd realized that every Black person she knew was touched by the horror of slavery. Sometimes Olivia felt it like a wound hidden deep under smooth skin—one that she didn't remember receiving but that ached nonetheless.