Kinfolk

Kinfolk is Michael H. Goodwyn's true story of his quest to learn his family's heritage following several family tragedies. In that process Goodwyn learns his family members have been leaders in education, business, and banking dating back six generations to George Washington's second term of office. Told in an honest, straightforward contemporary style, Kinfolk is those ancestors' stories, the true story of an American family's tragedies and triumphs, from slavery to freedom, from poverty to wealth, and beyond.

Kinfolk is Michael H. Goodwyn's true story of his quest to learn his family's heritage following several family tragedies. In that process, Goodwyn learns his family members have been leaders in education, business, and banking dating back six generations to George Washington's second term of office. Told in an honest, straightforward contemporary style, Kinfolk is those ancestors' stories, the true story of an American family's tragedies and triumphs, from slavery to freedom, from poverty to wealth, and beyond. The book features, among others, biographies of Levin Huston, a freed slave who helped found, fund, and build one of the first African-American schools and churches in the state of Maryland, Levin's son, Solomon T. Houston, a former slave who became the wealthy founder of one of the nation's first Black banks, and Samuel G. Thomas, the son of slaves who became a beloved leader in education in Pennsylvania.

Michael H. Goodwyn is an educator, writer, actor, and director. He has an undergraduate degree in Communication, Theater, and English, and a master's degree in Theater. Both are from Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan. He has done additional graduate study in Theater, Communication, Education, and Law at the University of Houston, Texas Southern University,Western Michigan University, Ball State University, the University of Utah, Florida Atlantic University,Florida State University, and the University of Cambridge in England. Goodwyn is a member of the adjunct Communication faculty at several Los Angeles area colleges. He is a member of SAG-AFTRA, the professional film and television actors' union, and Actors' Equity Association. He is also a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Goodwyn and his wife, Sheri, live in Santa Clarita, California.