"It (being Black) was just so not talked about. Probably was
a lot of hurt to bring that up and talk about it."
Robert Ross Hartinger, was born December 27, 1962 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. He lived with his father, Henry Edward Hartinger and his mother Helen Bordash along with his four brothers and one sister. Ross's brother wrote a song about the family background called, "We're Black, Iroquois, Cajuns" which gives you some idea of the mixed heritage he claims.
Ross said once he started asking questions and exploring his heritage, it wasn't easy to get information. He says if he wrote a book about his life, the title would be, "My Mysterious Beginnings: How Did I Get Here?" because everything seemed like a mystery and such a secret. His Acadian mom who was an outsider could talk a bit about her life, but his dad and his aunts were not comfortable talking about the painful past.
LINKS TO BLACK BOXERS