Are family reunions a black/African-American only tradition?When/Where did family reunions start?Does your family have a reunion?How do you feel about your family BEFORE the reunion?What goes on at your family reunion throughout the weekend?You've paid your money for it and had to track down your auntie who had em in her trunk, so now that you have it, what do you do with your T-Shirt after the weekend is over? How do you feel about your family AFTER the reunion? lol I'm helping plan our next one and want to see what folk are doing at theirs so I can "borrow" your ideas. lol
Im not sure why we have family reunions, but Im gong to take aguess and say because after slavery was over, many people decided to tke there luck and move to the North while some family satyed in the South. So Im guessing they had to reconnect somehow. Well my family has family reunions but Ive never been to one. But there are two that is being planned for next summer.
I dont think I would wear the t-shirt again..unless it was around the house or to the corner store LOL.
But I've seen the plan of family reunion and I know they give out awards to the oldest person, youngest person, etc. I guess you could make up your own awards. They also wanted to know of all the recent graduates from high school and college, i guess so they could get them up on stage or something. There also gonna have like activites in the city that it held like aqauariums and things. Hope that helps you.
To answer my own questions...
I believe that a family reunion is a black only tradition. Other races may call it something else, like Thanksgiving or Christmas, but I think only we have a separate event called a family reunion. Similar to what Phylicia said, I would say they started not only after slavery, but during slavery as well. Slaves that were sold off would go back to their 'first' plantation in hopes of finding family.My family has a reunion every other year, I guess to give us time to miss each other...and to let drama die down after the last. lol Not much goes on during the weekend, usually a cookout, a banquet, church service and touring the city. Which is cool for the first time, but after you've been to the city a few times, it's dry. You do get a cool tshirt with your name on it out of the deal! lol Mine has already been converted into a workout shirt. There were a few disgruntled folk after the weekend but overall I think it was a good weekend, I had a great time in Miami.
I think family reunions are a black tradition, probably started well after slavery, when the slaves were freed and ended up scattered everywhere, and we do it to keep things in the family and to keep certain traditions going.
We have informal reunions in tha Chi every summer now since my grandmother passed in 2005...ours are hilarious because I'm constantly meeting cousins I never knew I had, someone else has always had a baby, and especially since I don't live close to any of my cousins, aunts, or uncles, its nice to see them and be around them!
Since my family is mainy from the mid west (Illinois especially) our family reunions have taken place in St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, and Milwaukee.
As far as history goes we can date our lineage to around 1800-1850.
The reunions are always fun. Everyone in my family has a sense of humor so the bus rides are a laugh riot.
You do get a cool tshirt with your name on it out of the deal! 
lol Mine has already been converted into a workout shirt. 
There were a few disgruntled folk 
after the weekend but overall I think it was a good weekend, I had a great time in Miami. 
