>>Coming up, Matt and the team travel to the nation's capitol where they help a couple of librarians turn the page and start a new chapter in their lives.

>>Moving is gonna be hard for you-- >>Oh my gosh.

>>'Cause everything has an emotional tie.

>>Right.

>>After 30 years, they're moving out of a home filled with family treasures and into an apartment half its size.

>>We will miss this when we move.

>>Yeah, and it's decades of living.

Look at that.

>>That's why we need your help.

>>And that's why I'm here.

I'm Matt Paxton.

Let's do it, man.

>>Yep.

>>My team is specialists, Jaime, Mike and Avi help me help people downsize their homes and settle estates.

As the largest population of baby boomers in American history, transition towards retirement, they and their families face the overwhelming task of emptying their homes to move.

We help them sift through a lifetime of possessions-- >>Bingo.

>>Heirlooms and collectibles.

>>Oh my gosh.

>>She's gonna love that.

>>To help them find the missing family treasures that mean the most to them.

>>Oh my-- >>Jackie Robinson.

>>And along the way, they'll discover that the most important museum in the world may be in their family's basement.

>>Oh.

>>Oh.

>>I've never seen that, that is cool looking.

>>From attics to sellers, closets to cupboards, we uncover the memories they want to preserve.

This is living history.

This is what we're here to find.

>>Let's go.

>>And discover the compelling, personal and often historical stories spanning generations that are their family's legacy.

(lighthearted guitar music) >>[Female Announcer] Support for Legacy List comes from MakeSpace.

MakeSpace picks up, stores and return your items on demand.

Available for home or business.

MakeSpace provides professional movers, plus bins, blankets and a digital photo inventory.

You can find us at makespace.com.

And by ensure long-term care where we believe aging at home near friends and family is ever more possible for more people.

Learn more at insureltc.com.

AARP Virginia offering family caregiving support with prepare to care and down sizing and decluttering on line workshops designed to help organize and assess family needs Find the complete online workshop schedule At AARP.org/virtual VA The Ruth Camp Campbell Foundation (lighthearted guitar music) >>I'm on my way to Washington, DC today to go to the White House.

Not that White House, Eric and Linda White's house.

They're both former librarians.

They're moving from a 3,500 square foot home to a two bedroom apartment, half the size.

The movers are coming in a few days and they really need our help to sort through all this stuff.

>>There he is.

>>Linda.

>>Hi, Matt.

>>How are you?

>>Fine thank you welcome.

>>Thank you, good to finally >>meet you in person.

>>Nice to meet you too.

>>This neighborhood is like phenomenal.

>>This is part of 16th Street Heights.

>>The park's like right there.

>>Rock Creek Park is there.

16th Street is right here, and two and a half miles down 16th Street is 1600 Pennsylvania Ave-- the other White House.

>>The other White House.

(Linda laughing) Alright let's check it out.

>>Alright-- >>This is really cool.

>>Come right in.

>>Wow.

Look at this, oh, DC home.

>>Old DC home.

>>I love it.

>>1930s.

>>1930s when it's built?

>>Yes.

>>Okay.

So what's the theme of this room?

>>Us.

(chuckling) >>That's family, okay.

>>This is our family house.

>>I see family everywhere.

I love these thumb pianos.

>>Yes, you know some of these might've been gifts.

I know I've bought at least one back from my first trip to Africa-- >>Yeah.

>>And with people who are skilled they can actually make music with it as you are today.

(chuckling) >>I had one as a kid, I love it.

It's really cool.

You got a picture of president Obama.

>>President Obama-- >>Who's there?

>>With my cousin, Chris Scott.

>>Yeah >>It might've even been before he was senator.

>>Golly, that's so cool.

[Matt] Tell me who this is.

>>So this is Herbert Downs.

Eric was actually named after his grandfather.

>>Okay.

>>And this is his grandmother Lettie, but yes she was Scottish.

(chuckling) >>Scottish, okay.

>>Yes.

And obviously she's-- >>Yeah >>African-American.

These kinds of relationships occurred more often than we know.

When we think history, we don't know all the history.

There's so much that is not in the mainstream.

>>Alright, so you obviously like me are very passionate for family stories, family history.

>>Yes.

>>I know you got a lot in here, let's keep looking around.

I wanna see it.

>>Alright.

>>Tell me about this painting right here.

>>That painting was given to us by the real estate agent who handled the sale of our old house when we were moving here.

>>Okay.

>>At the time, I didn't even question who the artist was.

>>Alright well, I'm gonna look at that a little more, it's very interesting to me.

Moving is gonna be hard for you-- >>Oh my gosh.

>>'Cause everything has a story, everything has an emotional tie.

>>Right.

>>I don't see any junk in this room whatsoever.

And I've been in your house five minutes.

>>Can't take it over with us.

>>Alright, let's keep going.

This is family history everywhere, have you pulled this out from moving?

>>We're trying to organize it.

>>Okay, pictures are the number one thing that holds families from moving when you're downsizing.

>>Really?

>>Walk me through, what am I looking at here?

>>We were cleaning at cousin Connie's house.

Somebody unearthed this accordion folder.

It was a collection of over 250 photos that initially we knew nothing about.

>>You and your husband are professionally trained librarians, but you got a lot of historians in your family.

>>It seems that way.

>>What your family has done well, is not only saved the important stuff, but they've also documented it.

Linda is a librarian by trade, but I'd really say she's a family historian.

>>So these women were all home economics majors at Howard University.

>>Okay.

>>I just love this picture, because these ladies just looked so sophisticated.

>>What's so special about this picture.

>>That is four generation.

This is my grandmother, she died in 1926.

>>Yeah.

>>And then this is her grandmother-- >>Okay.

>>Who is Lucy Stewart Glover, who had been enslaved by Wilmer McLean at Appomattox.

That's where General Lee surrendered to General Grant.

>>Some of the pictures in Linda's house, you feel like you're just looking at a textbook and you forget that they're like actually her family members.

You had this information because you were charged with cleaning out your aunt's house.

>>Yes.

>>So I know that's a thing that's important to you.

>>Yes, to tell the stories of the ancestors and also to be careful (chuckles) when you're cleaning out and cleaning up.

>>Sometimes it is important to do the research, before you toss stuff.

>>Absolutely.

>>You can't do that on every picture.

>>Right.

>>But man, you have dedicated your life to documenting (Linda laughing) >>At least the last 15 years.

>>She had done all the genealogy.

She had done all the research and she had all the archives.

So I was really, really nervous about what I could actually do to help her.

We could talk all day in here.

I've got a few items that I'm seeing around the home.

Let me bring them over to you -- >>Sure.

>>Because I wanna ask.

>>Oh yes.

>>Tell me about this.

>>So this is a cocoa pot.

This is one object that was in my mother's house.

And she actually put a note on it.

>>Look at this.

>>This cocoa pot belonged to Florence Garland Stevens.

My mother used to talk about this, and I think it's because (Matt murmuring) >>It's one of not too many items that she had from her mother.

>>That's absolutely stunning gold paint on it's beautiful.

>>Right.

This is an album that my mother put together of my father.

And these are all of his awards and certificates and so on.

We believe that he was the first plumbing supervisor in General Services Administration.

And he actually ended up supervising a whole crew of mostly white men.

These are some of the men who worked, as they say under him.

>>What was it like walking through the office with with your dad?

>>Oh it was wonderful people would say oh theres boss they called him boss man-- >>Yeah.

>>The black folks and the white I enjoyed being at work with my father.

>>Yeah.

And I don't normally praise people for saving a lot of stuff, (Linda chuckling) but I think it's turned out well for us in this family.

Alright, let's go find Eric.

>>Let's find Eric.

(guitar music) >>Wow, look at this yard-- >>There's Eric.

>>It's awesome.

>>Oh, hi.

>>I want you to meet Matt >>Eric good to meet you man >>How are you?

>>Very good to meet you Thanks for having us, this is gorgeous, man.

I can see why you hang out here all the time.

>>Hey thank you for coming over to help us downsize.

>>Well, don't thank me yet.

(Linda laughing) Lets get through it first.

You guys wanna go sit down and go over the legacy list?

>>Let's do it.

>>We're ready if you are.

>>Let's do it.

(light hearted guitar music) [Matt] Alright, here we are in the garden.

>>Yeah.

>>It's beautiful.

>>Thank you, we will miss this when we move.

>>What are you gonna remember best about this house?

>>Yeah, just the memories, family gatherings, raising my kids in this house.

Different friends that have come through here.

>>Yeah, I mean, it's decades of living, but we are moving from a big house to a smaller apartment.

>>Yes.

>>How do you feel about that?

>>It'd be giving up a lot.

>>Yeah.

>>Yes.

>>How hard do you think it'll be to get rid of this stuff?

>>(chuckling) That's the hard part.

That's why we need your help.

[Matt] And that's why I'm here, okay.

>>Alright.

>>Let's just get into the legacy list.

The legacy list is the items that are most important to you that we need to find or learn more about.

>>Alright.

>>Alright, let's start it off.

>>Alright, so Matt, we talked about, I'm gonna call it famous four generation picture.

In this picture, this is something I realized only recently, my grandmother is wearing a bracelet that I still have, but I didn't realize at the time that that bracelet was the one that matched-- >>It was just a bracelet when you found it.

>>It was just the bracelet.

>>It's almost like in a movie, right?

When your eyes just zero in on it.

>>Yes, I grew up seeing this picture, but not really paying much attention to it.

>>So the Legacy List item number one-- >>Yes.

>>Is family jewelry from the iconic-- is what I'm gonna say.

>>The iconic four generation photo.

>>Four generation, yes.

>>I love it.

Alright, Eric, what do you got?

>>I have a camera that I'm looking for that belonged to my uncle.

His name was Nicholas Rodriguez.

He was a piano player.

He played with Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton.

And my family liked to take pictures.

There's pictures of my father when he was in the Coast Guard.

And I think there's a picture around somewhere where he was on this ship called the Sea Cloud back in 1940s.

And he was one of the first black crew that integrated the ship.

My aunt knew that I liked to take pictures.

And so when my uncle passed, she gave me this Rolleiflex camera.

>>Rolleiflex camera.

>>Yeah, Rolleiflex camera.

>>We have a couple more items that we would like to know more about.

>>We have a samurai sword.

>>A samurai sword?

>>Yeah.

That's from the second world war-- >>Okay.

>>That then this uncle passed down to us when he passed.

>>And what was his name?

>>Luther Warnick Critchlow.

I mean, we know for instance that he was a chaplain in the army and we know that he brought it back.

We know that it came through Aunt Martha, but we don't know as much as we would like to about Luther's service in World War II.

>>Okay, his service as well.

>>Right.

>>So we'd like to find out some history about this samurai sword.

>>Okay.

>>Another item we have is that picture that's over the fireplace-- >>The yellow painting?

>>The yellow painting, yes.

>>Yeah, okay.

So more about the artist.

>>More about the artists.

And we want to know more about that painting.

>>Okay.

>>What's next?

>>We have a typewriter.

So it actually came from Aunt Goldie's house.

>>Okay.

>>We do know that most of my ancestors typed.

We know that because of a lot of the letters, my paternal grandfather even had a typing school in Harlem New York >>He did?

[Linda] in the 1920s, yes.

>>Okay.

You got a lot of trailblazers on both sides of your family.

A lot of firsts.

>>You know I like to tell the story-- if there was one, there was two.

So even though yes, we have some firsts in our family there were other families just like ours.

And that's why having the opportunity to work with you like this, it lets other people also know that if they dig far enough back in their own family histories they will find the same kinds of stories.

>>A lot of firsts.

>>Right.

>>Alright, we got any more legacy list items?

>>Yeah, So one of the stories I heard growing up was about restrictive housing covenants.

And those covenants said something like no person of Negro race should ever live in, rent from, reside in, and they made sure that language-- >>It was all, yeah.

>>Is clear.

The house that Aunt Goldie lived in, in a community called Park View, also had a restrictive covenant, but she actually purchased her house in 1945 before the covenants were struck down.

>>So we're looking for a restrictive covenant a deed.

>>We're looking for the deed.

>>This is going to be a hard move, y'all.

(Eric and Linda laughing) >>There's so much history here, we could get lost on every bookshelf, but we've got a lot of work to it.

We've got to get this house ready to pack up.

And the movers will be here in a couple of days-- >>That's it.

>>To load it all up.

>>Yeah, we need the help for sure.

>>(chuckles) Alright.

>>I'm gonna go find >>my team, we'll get a plan together and we'll get started.

>>Alright Matt >>Thank you.

>>Thank you.

>>We're ready.

(lighthearted guitar music) (car door bangs) >>Hey Matt.

>>Welcome to DC.

>>Thank you.

>>This is the White house.

Awesome, awesome family this week, Linda and Eric.

They've been here 28 years.

>>Wow.

>>Yeah, they both have library sciences degrees.

>>Oh wow.

>>So they documented everything.

I mean, everything you find has got a note written on it.

It's got a story.

She and I spent most of the day just talking.

>>Shocking.

>>I know it's shocking.

I know.

So legacy list is pretty cool.

There's a gold bracelet that is actually worn by one of her family members in this really cool.

She calls it the famous four generation picture, and there's four generations of her family in it.

My favorite item on there is a samurai sword.

>>Wow.

>>What.

>>No, way.

>>Like a legit-- >>Like a legit real samurai sword.

Her uncle brought it back from World War II.

>>Wow.

>>Nice.

>>And then she's got some art that she just needs to learn more about, alright?

Any thoughts, questions?

>>Where are we starting?

Let me guess.

>> {Matt] Well it's hot-- >>Right, so garage.

>>There is no garage, we're not gonna go there.

>>Attic?

>>If that's a request, yes, you can go to the attic.

(Mike chuckling) Avi, you go with him.

And Jaime you and I are gonna go to the basement.

>>Okay.

>>Here's the good news, the basement has AC.

>>I know the AC follows you, so-- >>Yeah so you're good >>Yeah I'm good.

>>And the attic?

>>I do not know, I haven't been up there yet.

So you guys can let me know if there's AC or not in the attic.

(Jaime chuckling) Alright, let's do it.

You guys take the front, we'll take the back.

>>Alright.

>>I guess-- >>We'll see you.

>>See ya.

>>We've gotta talk about this whole arrangement (Avi laughing) we've got going on here.

>>Alright, a basement.

(Jaime chuckling) This house was a little unique where Linda's family had done a lot of work over the last few months.

So there was a huge pile in the basement, and we just wanted to kinda sort through it really quick.

So the packers are coming in like two days-- >>Yes.

>>I believe to do all of this.

>>Yes.

How do you think you pack a hula hoop?

>>How do you pack a hula hoop?

My gosh, I don't, I use it-- >>Okay.

>>To work out.

>>Please (chuckling).

>>Ahhh, yes.

Oh my gosh.

[Jaime] As soon as I saw the hula hoop I knew that there was gonna be a challenge.

>>When's the last time you did this?

>>I cannot tell you.

>>Why?

>>Like I don't know.

>>Here we go, there it is.

>>Oh, this is easier.

>>It is easier.

>>There we go.

>>Pretty good, (Jaime chuckling) [Matt] Alright, pretty good.

That was-- >>A lot better.

>>This is obviously like a weight training one.

>>I won the contest hands down.

I am the better Hula Hooper.

>>Let's get back to picking this room, we gotta find some cool stuff.

>>Alright.

So here's a bunch of, it looks like costume, but could be real, you never know.

>>Oh, I love it.

This is old, oh, look at this early '80s flour.

And it's still got flour in it.

That is rich, oh, it smells like Play-Doh.

>>And I would have those tins in my kitchen now and have them on display.

>>Oh they're awesome.

>>And this thing I tell you, I walk another step.

(Mike chuckling) Good gracious.

>>Another attic.

>>Here we go.

>>Alright, well, what do you say, split up?

>>Let's do it.

(lighthearted guitar music) >>I found some really awesome sort of mid century footstools easy sell though.

>>Ahh, (sniffing) just smell that crawl space.

>>Oh yeah.

>>Ah, yeah.

Finding yourself in a crawl space is not the most desirable position you wanna be in, but in some houses it's a treasure.

Hey Mike.

>>What do you got?

>>I'm not sure, man.

>>Oh, well, let's see, it says Eastman Kodak.

This is a camera.

It's got some age to it, Avi.

[Avi] And the way you opening this, like its a vault to something.

(both laughing) [Mike] Give it a twist and a pull, and there we go.

This is an old Brownie camera.

>>I can't even imagine holding that camera and carrying it around.

Now you whip out your phone and in an instant, you got a shot.

>>A moment of magic in a photograph or an unforgettable meal, or a selfie, you know you can't resist.

That's why literally billions of pictures are snapped every day.

But how did our passion for photography first see the light?

People were thinking about cameras as early as the fourth century BC.

The Chinese philosopher Mozi describes a room where light enters through a pinhole and creates an image on the opposite wall.

Today, we call it a camera obscura.

By the mid 1500s, a lens replaces the pinhole and camera obscura becomes a powerful tool.

By the 17th century, the camera obscura shrinks from the size of a room to a portable wooden box.

But without a way to record what's being seen, it's still not photography.

In 1827, Joseph Niépce finds the answer.

Through chemistry, he puts a metal plate coated with a light sensitive bitumen on the end of his camera obscura.

Niépce exposes the plate to sunlight for eight hours and voila, the world's first photograph.

A little over a decade later, Louis Daguerre invents the first photographic process, thanks to a chemical recipe that's more light-sensitive.

This the Daguerre type of 1839 Paris is the first photograph of humans.

By the 1850s, the wet plate collodion process brings exposure time down to a few seconds freeing master photographers like Mathew Brady from the studio.

His battlefield pictures change how the world sees the Civil War.

30 years later, George Eastman changes everything.

With this little box, the Kodak No 1, is the first camera to use roll film.

Giant leaps in innovation follow, the 35 millimeter Leica in 1924, the instant Polaroid in 1948, the first digital camera in 1978.

It's been a long journey from camera obscura to your back pocket.

>>Get ready for your picture Avi.

(upbeat music) >>This project was intense and it was obvious that this basement was serving as a catch-all, especially with three days to get the whole house packed up.

Look, this just caught my eye.

I wonder if this is actually a little mini Singer sewing machine.

>>Look at that.

>>Look at that cute little thing.

>>So I believe, yeah, this was a toy, it's exactly what I thought it was gonna be.

remember we used to get like the easy bake ovens.

>>Yes.

>>That's what this was- >>Actually I never got one-- >>I really wanted one.

>>Yeah, they worked apparently.

>>Yeah.

>>This would sell for more than the actual big Singers.

>>The little Singer sewing machine that we found was so cute.

I mean, it was literally a toy.

Some little girl was really excited to have that.

>>Let me see it.

>>Oh, this is a fancy case.

>>What was that?

Oh my gosh.

>>Oh my gosh.

>>I think that's it.

You think that's the bangle?

>>I think so.

>>Alright.

>>Do you see the initials?

>>Yeah, right, those are initials.

>>Yeah, the FGS.

>>Right.

>>This is the gold bangle in the famous, she likes to call it the famous-- >>It's like the four generation, yeah.

>>Four generation picture.

And it kind of is becoming famous.

>>Yeah.

>>And the oldest lady in that picture was a formerly enslaved person.

>>Wow, so real >>Talk about an heirloom >>Yeah.

>>And gosh, that's, I mean history, man.

>>We found it.

>>That is crazy.

>>It's beautiful.

>>Hey Mike.

>>Yeah.

>>I found a Bible.

I know it's not on the legacy list, but I love finding these old Bible, because they tell so much of the history of the family.

Come and take a look at this.

I think we got a preferred scripture in here.

The name of the family, when the Bible was received.

>>Oh wow.

>>This was actually on Christmas, Christmas Eve, yeah.

>>Christmas Eve, yeah.

Hey Avi, you see that brown case over there on the floor?

>>Yeah.

>>Can you handle that to me?

>>Sure.

Yeah, I hadn't gotten to this yet.

It's got two handles so it must be important.

>>You know, I'll tell you what, let's go ahead and prop that bad boy right on here.

Alright, let's see what we got.

Uh oh-- hey Rolleiflex.

>>We found a legacy list item.

This is one of the things that Eric was looking for.

>>This is definitely a more professional model camera than that Brownie we found earlier.

>>Yeah.

>>This is a whole nother beast.

I mean, you can just tell the number of dials and switches and things you can adjust.

This is more of a professional camera.

>>And a flash.

I mean, some of the same symbols we use now on our own cameras.

>>Yeah, I bet this thing takes great photos.

I wonder if some of these over here were taken with this.

>>Yeah, that would be a great connection to make for the family.

>>Look at this.

>>What do you have come on?

>>I think there were old school books from like the 60s.

>>Oh yeah.

>>Yeah.

"The Autobiography Of Martin Luther King."

>>Yeah.

She's gone and then 12 years of slave, which eventually became-- >>Yeah.

>>A movie.

>>This is cool, we should definitely save this-- >>We definitely wanna hold on these.

>>Yeah, this is cool.

I mean this couple, they're librarians, both of them.

So this house was full of books.

>>Libraries have played such an important role in the rise of civilization.

You could write a book about it.

The earliest known libraries, date back thousands of years to ancient Mesopotamia, and housed crude tablets made of clay.

These archives represent no less than the beginning of recorded history.

As the popularity of writing increased, Papyrus eventually replaced the bulky tablets.

It was easier to write on, but more fragile and needed to be stored in a climate controlled environment.

Most impressive was the Great Library of Alexandria which stored hundreds of thousands of scrolls before it was burned down.

For thousands of years, libraries flourished in Europe, Asia and throughout the Islamic world.

They collected, categorized and made available documents to scholars, religious leaders, and nobility.

Some manuscripts were even made available to the public, but not without a catch.

Long before the invention of the library card, books were often chained to the wall to discourage anyone from stealing them.

The age of enlightenment was also the golden age of libraries, with grand libraries popping up all over Europe.

In America, the first libraries were more of book lending clubs.

One of the most notable operated by Ben Franklin himself.

The first free publicly funded library in the United States opened its doors in Peterborough, New Hampshire in 1833.

It was housed in a general store that also served as the town post office.

Humble beginnings for an institution that would one day play such an important role in so many lives.

Today, there are over a 100,000 public libraries in the United States.

The largest being the Library of Congress, which contains over 39 million cataloged books and written materials.

(upbeat music) >>Alright, what'd you find over there?

>>I think I know what it is, but and then-- >>You pull it to the right.

Look at that.

>>Is it upside down?

>>It is upside down.

>>Okay.

>>Oh my gosh, look at that.

>>It's an old typewriter, it's beautiful.

>>Oh, it's nice.

>>It's like in great-- >>Oh is it.

>>Condition.

>>So it's still got the carbon paper in it.

Can you see brand name?

>>It's a Remington brand.

>>Oh, Remington?

>>Yeah.

>>So Remington rifles, believe it or not.

They created a second brand away from the rifles for their typewriters.

>>Interesting.

>>Typewriters were really important in this family.

Being from Washington, DC, there were a lot of government jobs available-- >>I'm sure, yeah.

>>To women of color.

And this was your vehicle to get those jobs.

>>Right, you had to have the skill set.

>>You had to have this skillset.

Alright, we did it, legacy list item.

>>Well, I did it.

>>Correct you did, yes.

(Jaime chuckling) Alright, I'll let you carry it upstairs.

(Jaime chuckling) No, that's fine, you found it, you carry it.

That really is a good find, good job.

>>Alright, fine, help me get it back in the box.

>>Yes.

>>Hey Avi, come over and take a look at this photo.

>>What did you get?

>>Well, I've got Linda's yearbook and trying to figure out which one is hers.

>>What year is this?

>>'67.

>>'67.

I mean, that's a pretty elaborate yearbook.

>>It almost makes me feel like this was something you would buy at the store and make yourself-- >>Right exactly.

>>Because all of these pictures are just glued in.

>>This was the way to do it.

>>Yeah.

>>Hey Mike, move back for a second.

Oh.

>>Oh.

(chuckling) >>I thought this is what I saw.

Check it out.

>>Wow.

>>The samurai sword.

>>That's awesome.

You're the guy we go to for military stuff and weapons, like what do you know?

>>I kinda know some things-- >>Yeah.

>>But I don't know everything.

I know the family would love to know a little bit more about its origin, where it came from, what is might represent.

So I'd really like to get some expert mind in here to take a look at this and just to see what they have to say about it.

>>Well, the main thing is we found it.

>>Yeah, we found it-- >>So-- >>We found it.

My man this is, I feel very powerful right now, Mike.

>>You are very powerful (Avi chuckling) >>Linda wanted to learn more about this art over her fireplace.

So I called my friend, Alina, who's an art expert from a local auction house.

[Matt] Alina, come on in.

>>Hi.

>>Good to see you.

>>Good to see you too.

>>Welcome to the white house.

(Alina chuckling) Alright, I wanna show you this painting.

>>Okay, great.

Yeah, it's much more beautiful in-person than it is in photographs.

>>Yes.

So I don't know a lot about it.

From what I understand, it's a French artist from Africa.

>>You're right.

(chuckling) >>Okay, what else do you know?

>>Well the artist, his name is Suleiman Kaiter.

He was from the Island of Goree.

He was a real driving force in the contemporary art movement in Africa, especially in the '60s after Senegal gained its independence.

>>Okay, so he was known?

>>Yeah, he was definitely-- >>Alright, okay.

>>known, yes.

>>And this painting in particular was actually done when he was living in New York.

So he's exhibited all over the world-- >>Okay >>Japan, Mexico, France >>So they got this as a gift from a realtor when they sold their previous house almost 30 years ago.

>>Well, that's a nice realtor.

(chuckling) >>Yeah, I know, so what makes this special?

>>Well, Suleiman Kaiter, he didn't just paint, he also worked in ceramics.

>>Okay.

>>So you can see here the striations-- >>Yeah.

>>That's a common technique used in pottery.

>>He also pulls from other influences.

This painting is titled Voyage O'Mali which means the trip to Mali.

So he took many trips to Mali and you can see a lot of traditional art from Mali influences in this painting as well.

The Dogon, are an ethnic group from Mali, lot of their color and hues that they use in their artwork are black, red, and white.

And you can see a lot of that in here as well.

It's kind of a nice melange of all of his influences, his personal experiences, his African heritage, his spirituality-- >>Yeah.

>>Even you see contemporary art influences.

>>What is something like this worth?

>>Probably around $2,000 - $4,000.

>>Okay, so it's nice, but it's not like-- >>Yeah, I mean his auction record is very, it's slim and it would probably do better in a place like London or Paris where there is a bigger African art market.

>>I think they just enjoy it.

So I don't think they're-- >>really gonna care what it is worth.

>>That's the thing with art, right?

It's worth whatever you think that it's worth really.

>>Yeah.

>>And if you really enjoy a painting, it's worth more than that $2,000 to $4,000 price tag, right?

>>Alright cool, well, that's what I need to know.

>>Okay yeah.

>>Hey, I really appreciate it.

This is really, really cool.

>>Yeah, it's a beautiful piece.

(calm ambient music) (birds chirping) >>I didn't have a lot of new information I could bring to Linda.

She knew so much about her family.

So I was really excited when Avi and Mike found the samurai sword because it lets me bring new information to Linda's family story.

I wanna introduce you guys to my friend, Jesse.

>>Hello.

>>Hello, Jesse.

>>How are you doing?

>>Come sit here.

You may recognize what he has in his hands?

>>Wow.

>>He is my war expert.

Anytime I got some weird weapon that (all laughing) I don't know it is, I call Jesse on the phone.

>>Let's just maybe take it out of the sword.

>>Wow.

>>Japanese officers and non-commissioned officers were expected to lead the charge.

So they carried swords.

And as you can see by the weight and style of the sword this is an actual combat weapon.

These types of swords were made by a master sword smith.

You could see the lines going down.

Each line represents a fold where the sword smith folded over the metal to make the sword.

The other way you can tell is when you take off the handle here-- >>Wow.

>>What's neat about it is these characters will tell you who made it.

>>Wow.

>>And usually the first two characters are the area in which it was made, followed by the signature of the sword smith who made it.

[Matt] I'm curious, how did Luther get it?

>>Yeah, and that's what-- >>Well.

>>We don't know.

>>You guys might recognize this, this was yours.

>>I do.

>>But what this tells you is it tells you the address, the name and where the person was from who originally owned it.

>>Wow.

>>This sword was not captured it was surrendered.

As far as war souvenirs go, the Japanese sword was the war souvenirs in the Pacific Theater.

So I can see if he were to bring something home this is what he'd want to bring home.

>>Jesse is always able to find out a lot more about the item and the person attached to the item.

So it's really neat for us to learn so much about Linda's uncle, the man that actually received the sword.

>>Alright, well, first thing we found was he actually wrote an article for the Sabbath Recorder.

And what's neat is he talks about his missionary work.

And it was with then the 494th Quartermaster Battalion.

We found several mentions of him in several papers.

>>I hadn't even thought to search for Luther in the newspapers.

>>But I found it was neat as he played the French horn-- >>Yeah.

>>He was on the football team.

But in order to become a chaplain you have to get your undergraduate.

And then you have to do three years of seminary with the army.

And then you have to do three years of actual work.

So that's when he was actually out in the world being the chaplain.

>>So this is the kind of information that I've been missing.

Yeah, what did we just did not have.

>>So how do you guys feel knowing all that we just found out?

>>Our son will be so excited to know about this, because technically it's his.

>>Yeah.

>>And so he'll know that he has a real treasure.

>>Guys, I hate to tell you-- >>This is great.

>>We gotta get back to work.

(Eric and Linda laughing) >>This is a good distraction.

>>Yeah absolutely >>Right, we were learning >>Hey, thank you very much for coming.

Thank you for stopping by.

>>Not a problem.

>>We spent so much time on Linda's family.

And Jesse had actually told me more about Eric's father as well.

And so when I found a picture of the Sea Cloud, I was really excited to find Avi and tell him as much as I could about this first mixed crew.

[Matt] Yo, Avi.

>>Hey.

>>You're not going to believe what I found.

>>What do you got?

>>You know how we were told Eric's dad served on one of the first integrated Coast Guard ships.

>>Yeah.

>>This is the ship, it's called the Sea Cloud.

Now he didn't serve on this one, he served when they actually cut all the mass and the sails off, but that's the same hull.

>>That is amazing.

>>And check out this picture, and that's his crew.

>>An integrated crew.

>>An integrated crew, check out the date on the back.

>>In 1943.

>>Right in the middle of World War II.

>>Wow.

>>If I didn't tell you- >>I would have never known.

>>Yeah.

>>I love the representation of this picture man.

>>Since the Revolutionary War, African-Americans have fought for their country, And their courage under fire has become the stuff of legend.

But it wasn't just the enemy they had to fight, segregated all black regiments faced dual hardships, battle and discrimination.

Nearly 200,000 black soldiers fought for the union during the Civil War, knowing full well if they were captured by Southern troops, they would most likely be put to death just for the color of their skin.

After the Civil War, all black troops known as the Buffalo Soldiers are posted to the harshest corners of the West.

They defend settlers, expand the frontier, and earn respect and fame for their grit and valor.

During World War I an outfit known as the Harlem Hellfighters serve 191 consecutive days on the front lines, longer than any other American unit.

They never lose an inch of ground and never have a man captured.

An ordinary sailor named Doris Miller, achieves greatness during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Miller a Navy cook by trade mans an anti-aircraft machine gun to defend his shipmates under fire.

His bravery saves countless lives and Miller becomes the first African American to earn the coveted Navy Cross.

Another World War II first brings black military prowess to the skies.

The best and brightest young men of color form the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American military aviators.

Tuskegee fighter and bomber pilots see heavy action in North Africa and Europe destroying hundreds of enemy aircraft in over 1500 missions.

Integration becomes military policy in 1948 after an executive order by president Harry Truman.

Within six years, units of all black fighting men are a thing of the past.

But what they did in the service of their country will never be forgotten.

>>Mike.

Oh, hey, there.

>>You summoned?

>>I did look at this beauty.

>>Woah.

>>Well, I think it's a beauty-- >>Oh yeah.

>>And I think it's kinda up your alley.

>>Yeah, this is great.

Mid century modern design, this is an expandable table.

>>Oh.

>>Yeah, so you just-- >>Get out.

>>Yeah.

>>Doesn't matter what size couch you've got, just make it bigger or smaller.

>>That's awesome.

>>There we go.

(Jaime chuckling) This is great, mid-century modern is so hot, and it's been hot for a few years, and I think it's gonna be hot for a long time.

Somebody could sell a table like this easy for two, 300 bucks, no problem.

>>Wow, I've never seen one like this honestly, I've seen a lot of mid century furniture, but I honestly had no idea that it was gonna expand.

>>Ah, it's just great.

>>I mean, I would have this in my house today.

>>Well, yeah, let's do it.

(lighthearted guitar music) >>We had already picked the basement with Jaime, but we looked everywhere else in the house for this deed.

And I thought, well I'll give the basement one more look to see if I can find it down there.

[Matt] Hey Jaime, come here.

>>I'll be right there.

Oh, that's another room.

>>Another little room.

Check this out, man, my fashion lady.

>>Oh-- >>Look at this.

>>That's a cute little kid's coat.

>>I'm pretty sure Linda made this.

>>When we found those handmade clothes it was awesome.

I could tell that the clothing belonged to her kids because I actually found the original Easter program in one of the pockets.

What is this?

>>It's probably notes about who made what, I bet.

This family documented everything, what does it say?

[Jaime] Easter symbols, Easter lilies.

>>She would have grabbed this at church.

>>Okay.

>>I do this all the time.

Whenever I put on my suit, I'll find like a bulletin from church from like six months ago, (chuckling) 'cause it's the last time I wore that suit.

>>Going through Linda's stuff in the basement really showed me who she truly is.

She really, really cared about her family.

Alright, I'm gonna go find Linda and see what I can find out about these.

>>Yeah, I'm really curious.

>>Yeah, I'll let you know >>Right, they're beautiful.

Love it, all right, thank you.

>>See you in a bit.

(lighthearted guitar music) >>Oh man.

You know, when I found the covenant, I didn't really know a lot about it.

So I wanted to know as much as possible.

It was really cool Avi and I were able to go to aunt Goldie's house and actually meet with a local historian on DC Housing to learn a lot more about this covenant.

[Matt] Mara, how are you?

Good to see you.

>>Good, good to see you too.

>>Let's look at this mortgage.

It shocked me when I saw it.

We have questions on that.

This mortgage basically says you can't sell the house to a person of color.

>>Right.

>>In certain states.

How is that even like possible?

>>It was perfectly possible.

It's totally legal and it was very widespread.

It was probably the Supreme court case in 1896, Plessy v. Ferguson, which established separate but equal.

That was the permission to do this.

>>So what was the goal?

>>The goal was-- >>Of this covenant.

>>To keep the neighborhood property values stable.

That was the justification.

>>So these African-Americans are migrating from the South looking for new opportunities and with these restrictions, where did they live?

>>Oh, they could live in the old part of the city.

So they live downtown.

>>So the least desirable areas is where they live.

>>Oh yeah, I mean where white people didn't wanna live they were free to live.

>>So when did it become illegal to have these covenants?

>>It came illegal with the Fair Housing Act in 1968.

>>Yep.

>>Aunt Goldie got this house in the mid 40s.

>>Right.

>>And from my understanding, she was one of the first black families in this neighborhood.

>>Lots of covenants got kind of ignored.

And Howard University is right down the street.

So black people were moving up into the area and it has to have been white people getting out.

>>It wasn't an ethical or moral decision.

>>Oh no, no, no, no.

>>It was financial.

>>They knew they could make a lot of money selling to black people.

There was an enormous pent-up market.

>>Right >>So they were both helping black people and helping themselves.

>>It's great that we learned a lot about the covenant, but it's kinda disturbing to think that that practice was still happening not that long ago.

One challenging thing about our job is sometimes history is not an awesome story.

I looked at this and was appalled, but Linda would tell me not everybody was victimized.

We came for education and we came for jobs and we got it in this city.

>>This story is truly an inspiration to see a black family defying the odds in the 1940s before all this legislation was put in place to find equality in America.

This is amazing.

>>Alright, thank you so much.

>>You're welcome.

>>Thank you.

>>We really appreciate it.

>>Amazing, thank you.

(upbeat music) >>The real challenge with Linda and Eric's move was that we only had about two days to take four floors worth of stuff, get it packed and moved where it needed to go.

At a certain point, we have to kick it into overdrive and that's what happened here.

(car door bangs) (birds chirping) >>Alright, we did a lot of work you guys.

>>That's what I hear, I'm-- >>And I'm anxious for you to see.

>>Looking forward to seeing it.

(chuckling) Let's see.

Oh gosh (laughing) >>Alright.

>>Oh no.

>>This is what we've been waiting for-- >>Alright let's on go in.

>>To empty all this stuff out, oh my gosh.

(chuckling) For me, it's refreshing.

>>Yeah.

>>I think people just have a tendency to hold on to too much stuff.

>>Yeah.

What's going on through your head, Eric.

>>It's sad to see-- >>Don't cry.

(both chuckling) >>I mean, you guys worked really hard for this house.

>>Yeah I feel like probably the family history is gone.

>>Yeah.

>>You know all the memories we had in this space here and raising our kids in this house and-- >>I got one more space, I wanna show you.

Let's go down into the basement.

>>We'll see.

(chuckling) >>Whoa-- >>Where did everything go?

>>Totally cleaned out, oh my goodness.

>>How are you feeling knowing that the whole house is empty?

How are you feeling?

>>Loving it, loving it.

(chuckling) >>How about you?

>>Yeah, it's just kind of sad to see the memories of the way we had things.

What this house looked like for us and our family and my kids came back to say goodbye, because their memories were there too.

And we wanted to make sure that they had-- >>Don't cry.

>>Could change it (both chuckling) And move on, so, yeah.

>>When we clean a house like this not every family member is gonna be emotional at the same time.

For Eric, it was all about his immediate family, raising his son and his daughter in this home and really being a core family unit.

[Matt] It's emotional man, it is and that's okay.

>>Yeah.

>>One thing I appreciate about y'all is when we're talking you're talking about your family, I see it in your eyes.

I know they're here in the room with you, they're everywhere.

>>Yes.

>>Generations.

>>Yeah.

>>Alright, obviously the most of the house is empty.

We kept a few things so that we can sit down and go over the legacy list.

You guys ready to go upstairs and check it out?

>>Let's go.

>>We're ready.

>>Alright, let's go.

>>Thanks Matt.

>>Thank you.

[Matt] Alright, we're finally here.

>>I'm scared (chuckling).

>>Packed up the house.

Thank you guys for leaving a little bit of stuff here for us to kinda sit and go through everything.

So I typically look for themes.

I look for what am I gonna learn throughout this family's history?

And normally I have a lot of surprises.

Y'all are tough, (Linda chuckling) to surprise.

Y'all are historians, we call you librarians, but you're historians.

Alright, let's start with the first item.

You asked me to find this coming this.

>>What's coming?

>>A typewriter.

>>Wow, where did you find it?

>>That was in the basement.

Why would a typewriter be important for your family story?

>>Everybody typed.

(chuckling) My paternal grandfather actually ran a shorthand/ business school-- >>Okay.

>>In Harlem in 1921.

>>My mother typed.

>>Let's pause there.

>>Yes.

>>The fact that your paternal grandfather ran a typing and shorthand school in the '20s, that's a big deal.

You say everybody typed?

Well, not everybody in the world.

Everybody in your family did.

>>Yeah, my dad was a plumber, and I remember he had a typewriter in his office.

>>Well your dad was more than a plumber.

>>Yes.

>>He worked very hard for a long time to become the boss man.

>>Yes.

>>I think you come from a long line of people that work hard.

>>Right.

>>And then I think something like a typewriters, yeah, I'll give you the tools to succeed, but you better put the work in.

>>Right.

>>We have this picture here, it is an awesome picture.

>>I love that picture.

>>What does this picture mean to you?

What do you see in this picture?

>>I see sophisticated, smart ladies and all those ladies would have been home economics majors at Howard University.

>>A lot of our families had the same values as white families.

And I think there's an example of that in terms of just social clouds and organizing and staying together and supporting each other, it was a part of our lives.

>>Exactly.

>>Maybe that's where you and I keep trying to figure it out.

>>Right, the best way to say it, yes-- >>I think that's a really good way to say it.

>>We had the same values as everybody else.

And I heard else say that we actually lived parallel lives.

>>Next item was for you, Eric.

>>Oh my goodness.

>>A very nice camera, a Rolleiflex.

And I'm gonna hand it you.

>>I remember this, wow.

>>Your family both sides did a really good job of taking pictures.

(Linda chuckling) >>Lots of pictures.

>>Lots of pictures.

>>Lots and lots of pictures.

>>First of all whose camera was that?

>>This camera that belonged to my uncle Rodriguez.

He was a jazz piano player.

>>He played with everybody, I heard.

>>He played with a number of people from the '20s, '30s, '40s.

So it was definitely a piece that was treasured and used on occasions.

>>I mean, they're also beautiful pieces of art now-- >>They really are.

>>Just on their own, looking at them.

But then you add your uncle's story to it.

And who did your uncle play with?

>>Louis Armstrong-- >>Okay let's stop there (Eric and Linda chuckling) This camera probably took a picture with Louis Armstrong.

>>Right.

>>Yeah.

>>At least of them.

That's pretty awesome that I'm getting to touch it right now.

That's amazing.

That connects me to a lot of history.

You asked us to find this bracelet.

This to me is pretty much the most incredible thing ever.

Oh, it's yours, I'm giving you this whole thing.

>>Wow, yeah.

This is so amazing.

>>And this is a part of that famous four generation picture.

>>Yes.

>>Alright.

Who was wearing that bracelet in the famous picture?

>>Florence Garland Stevens.

>>Which is who?

>>My maternal grandmother.

>>Okay, and who was sitting next to her in that picture?

>>Next to her was Lucy Stewart Glover.

And she had been enslaved by Wilmer McLean.

He is the man in whose house, General Lee surrendered to General Grant on April 9th, 1865.

(chuckling) >>You have a family member that was on the premises when the Civil War ended.

>>Yes.

>>That is amazing.

>>Yes.

>>And she's in that famous four generation picture.

>>Yes.

>>This is the certificate of title for your Aunt Goldie's house.

>>Yes.

>>Alright.

You know why this mortgage is so fascinating?

There's a covenant here.

This really proves that your aunt had a house when she really wasn't supposed to have it.

>>Right.

>>Alright.

So I want you to read, this is probably my favorite legacy list item.

(Linda chuckling) I was appalled by it for these words.

>>Right, this says, subject to the covenants that said land shall never be rented, leased, sold, transferred, or conveyed onto any Negro or colored person under a penalty of $2,000 (chuckling) >>It's hate by the banks, right?

I met with a historian this week.

She is an expert on housing segregation.

>>Yes.

>>And what we found out was these covenants were built to keep the white house values up.

What happened was investors finally started selling the houses to black families, simply because it was a better investment, alright?

The black families were buying it.

It wasn't black or white, it was green that changed their mind.

>>Yeah.

>>Women like your Aunt Goldie when I talk about firsts she didn't quit.

>>Right.

>>She kept going-- >>Tough lady, great.

The other important part of these kinds of stories, people don't have to be rich and famous in order to leave a legacy.

>>I found some awesome stuff about uncle Luther.

And Jesse came to meet with us to talk about this sword.

>>Amazing.

>>Everything about this sword was interesting.

And even how it was given to him, it's kind of a mystery to us, but the fact that he had it and he preserved it.

As you said this is your kid's sword-- >>Okay, alright.

>>It's not yours.

I'm anxious to see what they think about it and what they wanna do with it.

>>Right.

>>We've got a lot on your family, but I wanted to spend some on Eric's family.

(Eric and Linda chuckling) Service was a big part of your family.

>>Wow.

>>This is the USS Sea cloud, which was one of the first integrated boats in the Coast Guard.

It was the largest private yacht in the world-- >>Really?

>>Before the Coast Guard took it over and turned it into this boat.

>>Wow.

>>Now, a very handsome man was on (Eric and Linda chuckling) that ship.

>>My father, right?

>>Your father, give us his name.

>>Mark White, jr. >>Your dad-- >>That's him.

>>Okay, it was 48 black men were integrated into this crew and two officers.

Your dad was on this 1943 right in the middle of World War II.

We found lots of pictures of the whole crew after World War II when they integrated all of the military, the Sea Cloud was the golden standard for that.

>>And those are not the stories you usually hear.

>>No, this was a story >>I knew nothing about, I can't believe they haven't made a movie out of it yet.

(Linda chuckling) [Matt] You did have a right here in this room, there was a beautiful painting.

And I had an expert come in and walk me through it.

So the artist was from Senegal.

So hence the African features, but French twist, he was a multimedia artist.

And so a lot of the top pieces were actually from ceramics.

He has had pieces that are at auction.

So, there's records of his items selling, that's about a $2,000 to $4,000 painting.

So not a bad gift, but it's not something that's gonna be overly collected.

>>Yeah.

>>Something I love about your family is you just wanna know more.

(Linda chuckling) >>Yes, got to know the back story.

>>I don't think you care about the money.

If I told you it was worth 40,000, I don't think you'd care.

You'd wanna know what was his name?

Where did he live?

(Linda chuckling) Who was his mother?

>>Yeah (chuckling) >>And that's something I love about you guys.

Alright, we got one last item.

>>I think it's fitting.

>>And where are we going now?

>>Books.

(Eric chuckling) This house had a lot of books (Linda chuckling) a whole lot of books.

It's fitting who lives here, alright?

I got excited when I opened the book and it's actually a book about legacy.

>>Oh.

>>"To Live, to Love, to Learn, to Leave a Legacy."

Alright?

>>Where was that book?

>>That was just downstairs-- >>Wow.

>>Hanging out.

I found another kind of a silly book here, "Successful Women, Angry Men," (Eric and Linda chuckling) alright let's drop the angry men.

But the last thing we had was successful women.

You got a lot of successful women on both sides of your family.

What do you want the next generation to know about those strong, powerful women in your family?

>>Well, if I can paraphrase my own mother, she said it's important for people to know that people have always had various troubles, problems and so on, but if you work hard, you can overcome and see it as an opportunity and go to the next step.

>>My line of work we see so much history that focuses on the differences in people, and what was different this week was Linda and Eric they focus on the similarities.

And I think that's a really cool way to look at things.

[Matt] We learned a lot this week.

And I really appreciate you guys letting us in your home.

You really pushed me (Linda chuckling) in a good way.

>>I've enjoyed hearing your stories.

And we thank you for giving us this opportunity to hear our stories.

>>Keep in mind millions of people are gonna hear these stories that you told us this week.

And that's pretty awesome.

Your story will affect now strangers legacies.

>>Yes.

>>And so we really appreciate you guys taking that leap and trust in us to tell your story.

>>Well, thank you, we enjoyed it too, but the lesson for everybody is every family has a story.

>>[Female Announcer] Support for Legacy List comes from MakeSpace.

MakeSpace picks up, stores and return your items on demand.

Available for home or business.

MakeSpace provides professional movers, plus bins, blankets and a digital photo inventory.

You can find us at makespace.com.

And by ensure long-term care where we believe aging at home near friends and family is ever more possible for more people.

Learn more at insureltc.com.

AARP Virginia offering family caregiving support with prepare to care and down sizing and decluttering on line workshops designed to help organize and assess family needs Find the complete online workshop schedule At AARP.org/virtual VA The Ruth Camp Campbell Foundation (bright upbeat music) >>Visit MyLegacyList.com to learn more about the tips, tools, and professionals to help make your own big life move easy.

Learn more about this episode, or submit your story to be featured on the show at MyLegacyList.com.

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