Brent Kennedy in Rehabilitation 2007

Today's Standard-Times

"Excerpt: The discovery of one's roots can be an exciting and rewarding experience, but the road leading to the ultimate goal can sometimes be painful and disheartening."

"Last Sunday, Dr. N. Brent Kennedy spoke at the fifth annual fund-raiser of the American-Portuguese Genealogical and Historical Society at Taunton's main library, detailing his quest for his ancestry."

Dr. Kennedy,discovered he was a Melungeon, and he wrote a book The Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People, and Untold Story of Ethnic Cleansing in America."

Brent Kennedy and Turker Ozdogon

This picture was taken in 2007 in the city of New York. This is also a picture of a God given miracle. On a day in December of 2005, Brent Kennedy had a stroke immediately following the memorial service for a dear friend and colleague, Joe a Professor at the University of Virginia's College at Wise. Brent gave the eulogy for, Joe Scholnick, Jr. Immediately after the memorial Brent had a grand mal seizure that was the result of an aneurysm in his brain. He collapsed in the hallway of the facility where he had just finished giving the eulogy.

Brent was taken to the emergency room at Holston Valley Hospital. When his was evaluated, they found that his shoulder had been broken from the fall that was caused by his stroke. The doctors kept Brent in the hospital for a few days. His stroke was mild and being Brent, his spirit remained untouched by the physical damage to his body. But just a few says later he went back into the hospital. The doctors determined what was happening and found that Brent had an aneurysm in his brain. The bleeding in his brain had to be stopped so he was sent to surgery to repair the damage. Brent had no brain activity at all. They say that when it is this serious, most people choose to unplug the life support to end their loved ones life. It was the machines that kept Brent's body functioning.

This time he became unconscious and remained in a coma for three months. Brent's wife, Robyn (Vaughn) Kennedy did not give up on her husband. She could have taken her husband off the life supports systems but, instead her love for her husband kept him alive. The rest of his family were at his side, praying to God for a miracle.

Then one day Brent became conscious! So many of us believe that God isn't finished with Brent Kennedy. He has had to endure strenuous painful therapies. Robyn Kennedy decided to take her husband to the Patricia Neal Stroke Center in Knoxville, TN. If you click on the link you will see a picture of Brent Kennedy doing his rehabilitation while staying in the center. The Kennedy family was by him, talking to him, playing his favorite CD's, while he was in a coma.


Now I would like to explain the miracle that took place while Brent was in a coma, the four major religions prayed to God to ask him to heal our brother Brent. Prayers were said at Mecca, a Rabi and his family along with others prayed at the Holy Wall in Jerusalem for a miracle. There were Protestants praying and people around the world lighted candles in their homes and prayed. The Catholic Church had a special service to pray for our brother Brent Kennedy. Even those of the Hindu faith prayed.

I do believe that only a few people get prayers to God, from all around the world at the same time for the same person. This picture of Brent is a reminder that God does indeed hears our prayers and grants a miracle. I hope his experience becomes an inspiration for those who suffer from disabling strokes. I hope that everyone acknowledges that yes indeed, Brent Kennedy's life is a God given miracle.

Mr. Kennedy was the President of the Wellmont Foundation in Bristol, Tennessee.He was able to raise funds to bring better health care to the Appalachian people living in Tennessee.

Kennedy Wins Civil Rights Award

April 1998 "Fitz Turner Award for Outstanding Contributions in Intergroup Relations"

"The award is named for Virginia educator and civil rights leader Fitz Turner (1922-1974). Turner was president of the predominantly black Virginia Teacher's Association, and was the first black professional staff member employed by the VEA. He is credited with helping to usher in an era of fairness, justice, and understanding as Virginia undertook integration of its public education system."

"In announcing the award, Commission Chair Sue Rafferty of Arlington cited Kennedy's ground-breaking work in publicly championing the South's hidden racial and ethnic diversity, and in stressing the kinship of all people. Rafferty acknowledged the controversial nature of Kennedy's work, which has at times exposed him to intense criticism, and cited his unwavering efforts as a key factor in the Commission's decision."

"Kennedy's theories on Melungeon origins propose that sixteenth-century Turkish, Portuguese, Spanish, Arab, and Jewish settlers, slaves, and prisoners intermarried with Native Americans, northern Europeans, and Africans to form the various populations of the so-called "Melungeons" throughout the Southeast. He further surmises that the descendants of these early "lost" colonists surrendered their identities in order to survive, melded in, and became generally lost to history. "Oral tradition, archival evidence, linguistics, and, perhaps most importantly, medicine and genetics, support this scenario," Kennedy said."

A Statement from Brent Kennedy

June 24, 2002


"The British, however, were doing so. Turkish and Armenian families were documentably present in Jamestown, serving the English colonists as indentured servants and artisans. Whatever the case, historians are best equipped to determine HOW the genes arrived. Finally, East Indians were brought to these shores in significant numbers from the early 1600s on and Romany (Gypsies) are also well documented in Virginia and the Carolinas during the same time period. There was, simply said, no shortage of the people necessary to provide the genetic proof to back up the Melungeon claims of origin."

Elie Wiesel

Brent Kennedy's thoughts after listening to Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, in Bristol.

Brent Kennedy Wrote

Wayne re Melungeon Indians
Fri, 7 Mar 2003

Excerpt:

"They didn't latch onto a Mediterranean heritage because it was in my book. It's in my book because they said it. Also, there are no original "Kennedy" theories. The theories that Melungeons might be Portuguese, Gypsies, Turks, etc., etc. all existed and were all in print long before I came along. As some of you know, even I had to be convinced early on of a possible "Turkish" infusion. The truth is, I simply reported on these theories and, yes, subscribed to some of them (but, as you noted, still consider them theories). But all this with the recognition that no two families are the same and that NO single theory fits all."

Kennedy Receives Civil Rights Award

"Excerpt"

"Clinch Valley College of the University of Virginia Vice Chancellor and noted Melungeon activist and author, Brent Kennedy, has received the 1998 "Fitz Turner Award for Outstanding Contributions in Intergroup Relations" from the Virginia Education Association (VEA). The award is presented by the VEA's Fitz Turner Commission on Human Relations and Civil Rights. The Commission is comprised of educational leaders representing each of Virginia's fifteen UniServ districts. This year's announcement was made on April 24 at the 1998 VEA Delegate Assembly at Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia"

Melungeon "Skeleton Key"

Media Monitors Network

The Melungeons : An Untold Story of Ethnic cleansing in America by Brent Kennedy

This news article was written in 2003 and it reveals the essence of Brent Kennedy's years of research and theories of America's settlements that has been overlooked by the majority of scholars in the past. Now we are learning through multi disciplines the value of scattered bits and pieces of evidence that have been unearthed. With the new satellite imaging, the future of finding relics looks very promising. Fred Willard the chief of the Lost Colony Center for Science and Research, estimated that it could take decades to dig out the remains of a village that once existed centuries ago.

"Melungeon College"

Dr. Kennedy himself was diagnosed with sarcoidosis, a multi-system disorder characterized in affected organs by a type of inflammation called granulomas. He said the disorder affects primarily three groups of people in this country: African-Americans living in the southeastern United States, Portuguese immigrants in New England and Appalachian whites.

He said all these things did not make sense in a Scots-Irish family, and it made him search harder for the answers.

"I made people angry with my questions, but little by little I began to discover that my family's history was very different from what I was told. I discovered that my four grandparents had this strange heritage called Melungeon. I discovered the history of our family name. The little Kennedy history book and the Kennedy coat of arms are bogus. I found that my Kennedys were here 20 years before the ship arrived that carried them."

Kennedy came from the word "kannada" or "canada" ("alley" in Portuguese); later it went through an evolution and became Kanaday, and finally Kennedy.