Carlton Dubois McClain

The Comprehensive Overview of Carlton Dubois McClain

Carlton Dubois McClain was born at 6:21AM on April 28, 1992 at Menorah Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri (see distinction and origin of city's name), and he is the last of three children born to Rev. Coleman Douglas McClain, Sr., M.Div., MBA, an ordained Baptist and United Methodist minister, United States Air Force veteran, and local government housing manager at Kansas City, Missouri, and Evalin Élaine McClain (née Clariette), M.S., MPA, a former city auditor, commercial insurance underwriter, and assistant city manager of Overland Park, Kansas as well as Abilene, Texas. Carlton's late paternal grandfather, the Rev. Reginald Denny McClain, Sr., M.A., M.Div., an ordained Baptist minister and World War II Navy veteran who was himself descended from landowning Georgia and North Carolina-born planters, musical hobbyists, and Baptist clergymen of mostly African-American and some Anglo-Scots descent and whose familial roots (Maxton) and ancestral surname (McLean) are centered in the same place as the 56th Governor of North Carolina and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill graduate, Angus Wilton McLean, earned his Master's in Divinity magna cum laude from the prestigious Shaw University Divinity School, published his autobiographical book, "From Pillar to Post," and was the 2010 recipient of the "Governor Robert P. Casey" Medal for a "lifetime of service" distinction in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In regard to the ancestry of Carlton, his father is an African American of Anglo-Scots, German, Cherokee, and African (meaning Negro (or veritable Shemite)) descent, and his mother is, through her father, of Louisiana Creole (African-American, Choctaw, French, and Spanish) descent with additional African-American and American Jewish ancestry, as well as lesser amounts of Creek Native American (known also as the Muscogee), Shawnee Native American, and Scots heritage, through her mother. Carlton is, through his mother, descended from the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century French military captain and nobleman, Jean Baptiste Louis DeCourtel Marchand, who was himself active in colonial New France and born on August 3, 1690 in Boult-aux-Bois, Grand Est, France; Carlton is also through matriliny related to Major David Moniac, who, by virtue of matriculating at the prestigious United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, became its very first American Indian graduate in 1822. Carlton is also matrilineally related to the most acclaimed and accomplished warrior ever recorded in the history of the Choctaw Nation, the legendary Chief Red Shoes of South Carolina, in addition to the illustrious Creek-Scots Chief, William H. McIntosh—a first cousin of the 32nd Governor of Georgia and Princeton University graduate, George McIntosh Troup. Moreover, by way of his maternal heritage, Carlton is a direct descendant of David I – King of the Scots, Henry I – King of France (himself the ninth great-grandfather of Charles the Noble – King of Navarre), Yaroslav the Wise – Grand Prince of Kievan Rus', William the Conqueror – 1st Norman King of England, among several other high-ranking European sovereigns. The current County of McIntosh, Oklahoma was named in honor of the Creek-Scots Chief, William H. McIntosh (which is near both the 1948 resting place of Carlton's European-American paternal great-great-grandfather, Hillary Ford (Muskogee County, Oklahoma) as well as close by the 1920 birthplace of Carlton's mulatto-identified maternal great-grandfather, Charles Mack Yarber (Seminole County, Oklahoma), who was himself the maternal uncle of Patricia Barron, a renowned restauratrice and the founder of the nationally-known Big Mama's Kitchen and Catering of Omaha, Nebraska). All three Oklahoman counties are in close proximity to the County of McClain, Oklahoma, which is included within the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma metropolitan area. The majority of Carlton's ancestors from both sides of his family were racially listed as “mulatto” on official United States census records prior to the Racial Integrity Laws of 1924 – 1930. By extracting factual data from United States census documentation, genetic code examinations, as well as family oral and photographic history, Carlton (and therefore his two elder siblings), can be accounted for, in terms of heritage, through the following racioethnic proportions: 62.5% African Negro; 29.7% European; and 7.8% Amerindian descent. His father’s maternal grandmother—Etta Mae Gantt (née Ford) (December 4, 1891 – October 27, 1981)—was a proprietress, haberdasher and shopkeeper, and the product of a full-blooded Cherokee midwife (Josephine Ford) and a German-American hinterlander (Hillary Ford), while his father’s blue-eyed maternal grandfather—the Rev. Robert Hick Gantt (February 7, 1886 – September 11, 1971)—a homesteader and native of the town of Gantt, Covington County, Alabama, as well as an ordained African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church minister, was a multi-generational, multiracially-mixed African American of English, German, and African Negro descent. Peter Gaunt, a notable native European ancestor of the father of Rev. Robert H. Gantt, had emigrated from Lincolnshire, England to East Sandwich, Massachusetts in 1630 and is the direct descendant of John of Gaunt – first Duke of Lancaster, his father, Edward III – King of England and Lord of Ireland, and, ultimately, Alfred the Great – King of the Anglo-Saxons (from whom all forty-four Presidents of the United States also descend).The eldest sibling of Carlton's father, who was also born blue-eyed and given the namesake of Carlton's late paternal grandfather, emigrated, after several Vietnam War stints in the United States Army, to the United Kingdom, where he married an Englishwoman formerly known as Anne Heathcote, and welcomed Carlton's elder cousins, who were born and raised in Liverpool, England. One among these includes the blue-eyed Laura Catherine McClain, who was herself raised in Mossley Hill, Liverpool (which The Beatles alluded to in their US Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping 1967 single, "Penny Lane"), matriculated at Edge Hill University in Ormskirk, Lancashire, and who also played an integral role in Liverpool-based multicultural ensemble "Sense of Sound" placing as a finalist on BBC One's "Last Choir Standing" in 2008. Moreover, by way of his father, Carlton is the second cousin once removed of GRAMMY-nominated Newark/Montclair, New Jersey R&B/hip-hop singer-songwriter, Sonyae Elise, who is herself the great-granddaughter of the sister of Carlton's paternal grandmother and who won the first and only season of the 2011 Bravo American reality television competition, Platinum Hit. Also via his father, Carlton has relatives who self-identify as Stateside Puerto Ricans. The paternal ancestors of Carlton's mother were mixed-race, French-speaking Creoles of color of French, Yowani Choctaw, and African Negro extraction who originally hailed from what is now Winn Parish (Paroisse de Winn), Louisiana. Their presence there in Louisiana dates as far back as 1710. His mother’s maternal ancestors, all of whom were racially listed as “mulatto” on official United States census records prior to 1930, were of African-American and American Jewish ancestry, as well as lesser amounts of Creek Native American, Shawnee Native American, and Scots heritage, and they were originally from Yazoo County, Mississippi, later emigrating northward to Omaha, Nebraska, where Carlton's mother was born and raised, and much of the clan – the Levisons – went on to join the upper echelon of Omaha's highly astute African-American professional community as physicians and attorneys. Carlton’s parents decided to name him in honor of the middle name of his youngest paternal uncle, whose date of birth (25 April) precedes Carlton's birthday (28 April) by just three days, and whose name was, in turn, a "reflection of close ties with a spiritual brother, Carlton Jones of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania." Moreover, Carlton's given name, through its Old English etymological origins, transliterates as "settlement of free men," which Carlton's parents intended to pay homage to communities near his place of birth—namely, Independence and Liberty, Missouri. Those municipalities are, in turn, an allusion to the "independence of character" of President Andrew Jackson, after whom the county of Carlton's birth is also named. Furthermore, the meaning of Carlton's given name, "settlement of free men," coincides with the City of Freetown, Sierra Leone, which is also paired as a sister city with the municipality of Carlton's birth—Kansas City, Missouri. Additionally, the date of Carlton's birth (28 April) is also the birthday of President James Monroe, whose eponymous municipality—Monrovia—is the capital and primate city of the West African nation of Liberia, a country whose name bears a similar meaning to the etymology of Carlton's given name—"land of the free." Both Monrovia, Liberia and Freetown, Sierra Leone constitute the first two permanent African-American settlements on continental Africa. Carlton's middle name, Dubois, which literally means "wooded" in French, is a celebratory tribute to the sylvan terrain of Kisatchie National Forest near the birthplace of his mother's father and the family's Louisiana Creole heritage. In addition, Carlton's middle name, Dubois, coincides with the surname of gilded African-American scholar, William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, a Harvard University graduate of mixed French Huguenot, Dutch, English, and African Negro ancestry, and who was also the first African American to earn a doctorate and who formulated the terminology, "Talented Tenth," which also comprised many of Carlton's ancestors—some of whom bore the surname, "Levison," meaning "son of the lion," which corresponds with the Portuguese-derived transliteration of the aforementioned West African nation of Sierra Leone, meaning, "mountains of lions."

Carlton received an “Achievement Award” for his contributions to the visual arts from St. Peter’s School on May 30, 2003. The following year, he was acknowledged again for his visual art with the Pembroke Hill Middle School Art Cup in May of 2004, followed by a subsequent acknowledgement by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards in 2005. In addition to being an International Member, Carlton was on the Honor Roll of the Guild National Piano Playing Auditions for an entire decade (2000-2009), and he is a 2005 recipient of the Early Bach Award. Moreover, Carlton earned Special Merit with Highest Honors in the 2008 Kansas City Music Teachers Association (KCMTA) Fall Festival Piano Auditions. Under the initial helm and tutelage of Lorraine Perry Long of Kansas City, Kansas then subsequently the 2014 Outstanding Kansas Music Teacher of the Year and alumna summa cum laude of both Nebraska Wesleyan University and the internationally-renowned Eastman School of Music, Elizabeth Mueller Grace of Overland Park, Kansas, Carlton finished bronze in the 2008 State of Kansas Piano Auditions in October of that year. Furthermore, Carlton is a six-time Keyboard Merit trophy winner (2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009) and a three-time Junior Festival Gold Cup winner (2003, 2006, 2009), which were presented by the Kansas City Federated Music Teachers and the Kansas City Area Federation Festival, respectively. In May of 2009, Carlton was one of only 100 individuals in the world to receive the honorable Paderewski Gold Medal from the Guild National Piano Playing Auditions. In addition to studying lyric voice in 2007 under classical baritone, Dr. Bill N. Hall, a professional opera singer who has performed on world stages including the Metropolitan Opera, the Bulgarian National Opera, and the South American Opera, Carlton was also commended as a two-time Gold Medalist (2008, 2009) in the Johnson County, Kansas Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological, and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO) competition. Also in May of 2009, Carlton was inducted into the International Thespian Society for his contributions to the Theatre which included a starring role in the 2008 One Acts production of Joseph Zeccola’s “Heart of Hearing.” Moreover, upon being cast as a member of Kathleen Shaw’s Kansas City Troupe of Actors in August of 2010, Carlton went on to star in a lead role in the stage play, “Life Lines,” at the Westport Coffee House Theatre from September 23 – September 26, 2010. Following a six-year hiatus from the world of acting, Carlton marked his theatrical return upon being cast in a supporting role on September 8, 2016 in Kathleen Shaw's original two-act stage play, "Whoa Men, A Female Buffalo Soldier," which was developed in the 2003 Playwrights Lab of the Robey Theatre Company of Los Angeles, California. Also during the summer of 2003, Carlton was the recipient of the annual Award in Basketball, which was presented by the YMCA of Greater Kansas City for his consistently outstanding play, teamwork, and sportsmanship throughout the Youth Summer Basketball Tournament of 2003. Prior to receiving this accolade, Carlton also competed at the youth amateur level as a teammate of current Phoenix Suns power forward Ish Wainright of the National Basketball Association (NBA) at the Don Bosco Center in the early 2000s decade in their native Kansas City, Missouri.

In April of 2012, Carlton was hired as a Bright Future intern in the Human Resources department at the City of Kansas City, Missouri. The following year, he was hired again as a Bright Future intern—this time in the Neighborhood and Housing Services department at the City of Kansas City, Missouri. A year afterward in 2014, Carlton was chosen out of 200+ applicants to intern in the position of Student Trainee (Office Support) for the Kansas City regional office of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Since completing his internship tenures and education, Carlton has, as aforementioned, gone on to gain employment on December 29, 2015 as a Business Consultant for Cerner Corporation – a health care information technology company headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, and, later, establish an economic and business development "Ministry Social Entrepreneurship" organization, by the aforesaid name of, "Occupy Until He Comes Ministry Services, LLC," which Carlton founded in the third quarter of 2016 with his parents. In September of 2012, Carlton, electing to perform under the mononym, Céran, released his debut studio album, “The Art of Céran,” to critical and commercial acclaim. The stage name, Céran, was chosen in tribute to the seventh-century French saint of the same name in affirmation of Carlton's faith as well as Carlton's Louisiana Creole heritage, and, via the name's French origin by way of Latin (Ceraunus) and, ultimately, Greek (Keraunos), "Céran" means “the thunderer,” which adequately describes the way in which Carlton desires to “storm” onto the music scene. Moreover, the French saint after whom Carlton chose his stage name was also the "Bishop of Paris," which aligns with the moniker, "Paris of the Plains," which is, in turn, one of the nicknames for Kansas City, Missouri—Carlton's birthplace. Furthermore, the stage name, Céran, falls in line with Carlton's paternal lineage—as the French saint with whom Carlton's stage name is shared was also a "bishop" or "clergyman," as were Carlton's father, grandfather, and great-grandfathers—whose theophoric family name is "McClain," meaning, "son of the servant of St. John." Jesus (of Nazareth, the Hebrew Israelite), in turn, christened St. John the Apostle the name, "Boanerges," meaning, "Son of Thunder," which aligns with the Greek root meaning of Carlton's stage name, "Céran"—"the thunderer." Additionally, the etymological origins of the stage name, Céran, were also the names of monarchs in antiquity—namely, King Seleucus III Ceraunus and King Ptolemy Keraunos, which further coincides with Carlton's royal heritage. Carlton's debut album would go on to receive a 3.5-star rating (out of 5) from Omro, Wisconsin-based music critic Matthew Forss of “Review You CD Reviews,” and the eleven-track record accrued sales in multiple international markets including the United States and Germany. Carlton followed up the success of his debut with the acclaimed release of his sophomore studio album, “Verity,” on March 4, 2014, which went on to become his highest critical success to date—besting his previous release, and garnering an impressive rating of 4.5 stars (out of 5) from Omro, Wisconsin-based critic Matthew Forss of “Review You CD Reviews,” in addition to a 3-star rating (out of 5) from Mount Vernon, New York-based critic, Jason Randall Smith, also of "Review You CD Reviews." Slated for a January 2015 worldwide release, Carlton’s third studio album, “Live, and Let Love,” eventually went on to receive unprecedented acclaim from nationally-renowned entertainment critic, Alex Henderson (Billboard, All Music Guide) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as well as a 4-star rating (out of 5) from Stone Mountain in Greater Atlanta, Georgia-based critic, Charles Sweet. Garnering universal acclaim from critics in 2016, Carlton was able to match his highest critical success to date with his best-of compilation album, "The Ultimate: The Essential Anthology of Céran," which earned him a 4.5-star rating (out of 5) from Omro, Wisconsin-based critic Matthew Forss of "Review You CD Reviews," in addition to another rating of 4 stars (out of 5) from Greater Atlanta-based Charles Sweet. Set for a fourth quarter 2017 release, Carlton's fourth studio album, "Holding Out Hope," fused God-conscious lyrical profundity with tunes that evoked melodic soulfulness. In addition to recording four full-length studio albums as well as his best-of compilation album, Carlton has also released a collaborative duets Extended Play (EP), titled, "Tried and True" (with Samara Davis) (2014), a solo multilingual EP, "Locutio" (2016), that featured original songs exclusively in Spanish, French, German, and Louisiana Creole, as well as a balladry compilation, entitled, "The Ballad Collection" (2016). Furthermore, Carlton released, in the third quarter of 2018, an up-tempo compilation album, titled, "The High Octane Collection." Throughout the course of his career in music, Carlton has consistently drawn comparisons—for his vocal eccentricities, poignant lyricisms, and unique overall artistry—to the greatest creative runs from some of the greatest artists in popular music history, including, Thriller-era Michael Jackson, Purple Rain-era Prince, as well as Stevie Wonder's "Classic Period." Carlton is known for his powerful, extensive three-octave vocal range that has been likened to old soul greats such as Donny Hathaway, in addition to D'Angelo and Seal, and Carlton's musical diversity and eclecticism has culminated in the birth of his distinct, signature sound which has been dubbed by critics as a mark of an "international crossover artist." Carlton has written, composed, and recorded countless ballads, mid-tempo selections, and up-tempo numbers—ranging from Pop, R&B, Gospel, and Neo-soul to Funk, Reggae, Kansas City Jazz, and St. Louis Blues—in five languages (English, French, German, Louisiana Creole, and Spanish), typically performs the entirety of the instrumentation on his recordings, and prides himself in delivering timeless, quality music album after album. Furthermore, for all four of his full-length studio albums, three compilation albums, and two additional EPs to date, Carlton has accrued 2,000+ streams and record sales in 50+ countries globally and in all six of the habitable continents of the world. Moreover, Carlton has operated a YouTube channel for over a decade (2009-2019), and, since joining YouTube on October 2, 2009, Carlton has amassed 330,000+ video views, 15,000+ likes, and 1,300+ subscribers. Additionally, Carlton is active on other social mediums such as Twitter, Facebook, SoundCloud, and ReverbNation (5,000+ fans), of which the latter platform Carlton has been in the Top 10 of the Pop Charts for the Kansas City, Missouri metropolitan area for several years. Furthermore, each of Carlton's first four singles, all of which he single-handedly wrote, composed, orchestrated, and produced, on the Clap Charts app (including the post-disco vocal duet "Love Is Found" (with Samara) (no. 3), the French-language chanson ballad "Encore Une Fois" (no. 3), the bluesy/rock 'n roll "Troubled Heart" (no. 4), and the Pop/R&B vocal ballad duet, "Noble Fool" (also with Samara) (no. 10)) have each bowed and peaked within the Top 10 of the charts.

On March 24, 2014, Carlton published a 163-page historiographical book—his first, titled, “Mulattoes in the Postbellum South and Beyond: The Invisible Legacy of an Afro-European People, Custom, and Class in America’s Binary and Three-Tier Societies.” Carlton's first book release has since been categorized and marketed as a "college-level humanities textbook," while his college alma mater has included him in their select "Roo Author Library," of which Carlton is by far the youngest member and the only author under 30 years of age to be named in 2019. In promotion of his original book, Carlton landed various local radio interviews with KPRT Gospel 1590 AM as well as KKFI 90.1 FM, which eventually culminated in a nationally-broadcasted radio interview on August 25, 2014 on renowned radio host Joe Madison's self-titled show on SiriusXM Radio, which was awarded the Silver Medal for Best Regularly Scheduled Talk Program at the 2016 New York Festivals World's Best Radio Program Awards. During that same month, Carlton was featured in Vol. 42 No. 21 of the Kansas City Globe newspaper as a meritorious expression of respect for his impactful achievements over the course of the year of 2014. On April 26, 2015, Carlton's original book was used as a scholarly reference and official citation for the published work, "Born A Slave: Rediscovering Arthur Jackson's African American Heritage" by David W. Jackson. As of 2016, Carlton's original book has domestically sold 100+ copies in the United States alone. On May 8, 2017, Carlton released his second full-length book, a 117-page collection of poetry, titled, "Poetic Ruminations of A Lyricist." This book of poetry contains original work in English, and, to a lesser extent, French, Spanish, German, and Louisiana Creole and is divided into three series, "The Inception," "The Nexus," and "The Dénouement." These ruminations chronicle Carlton's experience with both life and love, as well as his deep conviction in Jesus the Christ (which was further affirmed by Carlton reading the Holy Bible in its entirety from 1 January 2018 – 25 November 2018), and these experiences have, in turn, been made manifest through this book of poetry by Carlton's own personal account and perspective of the triumvirate of relationships that he has encountered in his life thus far—amorous, amicable, and spiritual. In addition to performing in venues across the United States including “The Blue Room” in Kansas City’s historic 18th & Vine Jazz District, Carlton has also performed at “The 37th Annual Symphony Designers' Showhouse,” or, for brevity, "2006 Showhouse," in the affluent Kansas City neighborhood of Ward Parkway as well as the annual NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet (2014, 2016, 2018). For his future, Carlton endeavors to refine his skills so that he can one day become a renowned urban sociologist, visual artist, author, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, management consultant, actor, and polyglot.

The McClains pictured in November 1992 [clockwise from top]: The Rev. Coleman Douglas McClain, Sr., M.Div., MBA; Coleman Douglas McClain, Jr., S.B. in Industrial Engineering (from the University of Florida in Gainesville); 2003-04 National Merit Finalist; Cherice Darlana Greenwade (née McClain); attended Saint Louis University from 2007, then afterward courted Javon Keeton Greenwade, m. 2018; Carlton Dubois McClain, A.B.; Evalin Élaine McClain (née Clariette), M.S., MPA

The immediate family of the parents of Carlton's paternal grandmother, Tresia Marie McClain (née Gantt) (March 12, 1928 – November 3, 2017)—the Rev. Robert Hick Gantt (February 7, 1886 – September 11, 1971) & wife Etta Mae Gantt (née Ford) (December 4, 1891 – October 27, 1981)—which consists of English, German, Cherokee, and African Negro ancestors, and originates in Gantt, Covington County, Alabama, and whose town name (and nearby lake) is named in honor of the English Gaunt family (from which Rev. Robert H. Gantt is descended), has roots in Ghent, Flanders, Belgium by way of Peter Gaunt from Lincolnshire, England, and is bloodline connected to nobility of Europe including, but not limited to, John of Gaunt – 1st Duke of Lancaster; Gilbert de Gaunt and his first cousin once removed, Queen Matilda of Flanders (wife of William the Conqueror – King of England); and, ultimately, Alfred the Great as well as Charlemagne; all of the British royal family of today is also descended from John of Gaunt; all forty-four Presidents of the United States also descend from Alfred the Great

Carlton's late paternal grandfather, the Rev. Reginald Denny McClain, Sr., M.A., M.Div., (March 29, 1925 – August 11, 2011), who was of at least 1/16th European ancestry with one Briton great-great-grandfather, Walsh Jackson, who, in 1844, fathered, with an African-American woman, Tabbi Jackson in Stony Creek, Sussex County, Virginia, Braxton Jackson (1844 – April 16, 1876), who is listed as a "mulatto" farm laborer on the 1870 U.S. Census. On February 27, 1947 in Baltimore, Maryland, the Rev. McClain wed Carlton's paternal grandmother, Tresia Marie McClain (née Gantt) (March 12, 1928 – November 3, 2017), a paintress & homemaker of mixed African Negro, German, Cherokee, & English descent; all of Tresia's elder siblings were listed racially as "mulatto" prior to 1930 

Chillicothe "Chilly" McIntosh (1795 –1879), a Creek Indian of Muscogee, Shawnee, & Scots heritage born in the Kasihta Tribe near present-day Columbus, Georgia; he was a direct descendant of David I – King of the Scots and born to Elizabeth "Eliza" Grierson (1780 – 1856) (daughter of a wealthy Scots fur trader Robert Grierson, & a high-status Shawnee woman, Sinnugee) & to Creek-Scots Chief William H. McIntosh (1775 – 1825), in addition to being the first cousin once removed of the 32nd Governor of Georgia, George McIntosh Troup (1780 – 1856), as well as the great-grandfather of the wife of the father of the sister-in-law of Carlton's maternal great-grandmother, Ruth Levison, whose parents, Simon & Eva Levison, were both mulatto-identified prior to the 1930 U.S. census. Ruth Levison, the mother of Carlton's maternal grandmother, Marilou Yarber (January 27, 1940 – June 9, 1997), wed Carlton's maternal great-grandfather, Charles Mack Yarber, who is listed racially as "mulatto" on the 1920 U.S. Census; & born to George Yarber, Sr., a New Boston, Texas planter & to his Ashdown, Arkansas-born mulatress wife, Lillie Yarber (née Gleason), both of whom were wed on March 19, 1915

Josephine "Jodie" Ford, a full-blooded Cherokee midwife born in 1866 in Alabama, who is listed racially as a "mulatto" on the 1910 U.S. Census as well as "mulatto" on the 1920 U.S. Census (see "Indian" race classifications on census), is Carlton's paternal great-great-grandmother. Josephine married Carlton's paternal great-great-grandfather, Hillary Ford, a European-American frontiersman of predominantly German descent, & together, the married couple welcomed Carlton's paternal great-grandmother, Etta Mae Gantt (née Ford) (December 4, 1891 – October 27, 1981), who is listed, along with younger brother, Hillary Ford, Jr., both as "mulatto" on the 1910 U.S. Census

Carlton's late maternal grandfather, Alonzo Lee Patterson (March 30, 1937 – April 9, 2011), who was the elder brother of James Patterson, A.B. (born July 1939), both of whom were born in rural northwest Louisiana to mixed-race, French-speaking Creole parents, World War II Army veteran, Louis Édouard Patenaude (September 24, 1914 – June 20, 1993) & his wife Ivy Mae (née Williams) (March 3, 1915 – September 9, 1996), who were wed on September 14, 1942 in Louisiana. Ivy Mae's father, Cleveland Williams (Carlton's maternal great-great-grandfather), was racially listed as "mulatto" on censuses prior to 1930. Mulatto-identified Cleveland was himself the maternal uncle of Winzer Williams Turner (1923 – 2008) (Carlton's first cousin thrice removed), a World War II Marine Corps veteran who earned a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from Grambling State University in Louisiana and a Master of Science from Indiana University Bloomington

Carlton's parents: The Rev. Coleman Douglas McClain, Sr., M.Div., MBA and his wife, Mrs. Evalin Élaine McClain (née Clariette), M.S., MPA, pictured on 14 February 2015. 

Photographed at 18 months, Alysia Eliana Greenwade (born August 20, 2009 in St. Louis, Missouri), the blue-eyed daughter & elder child of the immediate family of Mr. Javon Keeton Greenwade (born January 1989), & his wife, Carlton's elder sister, Cherice Darlana Greenwade (née McClain) (born September 1989), both of whom are African Americans of a multi-generational, multiracially-mixed lineage. On Cherice & Carlton's side of Alysia's lineage, blue eyes were found most recently in Carlton's & Cherice's paternal uncle, Reginald Denny McClain, Jr. (1947 – 1983), as well as their paternal great-grandfather, the Rev. Robert Hick Gantt (1886 – 1971), all of whom were also multi-generational, multiracially-mixed African Americans. 

The Greenwade Family [clockwise from top]: Mr. Javon Keeton Greenwade; Mrs. Cherice Darlana Greenwade (née McClain); Levi Coleman Greenwade; Alysia Eliana Greenwade

Carlton's blue-eyed paternal uncle, Reginald Denny McClain, Jr. (1947 – 1983), who emigrated, after several Vietnam War stints in the U.S. Army, to the United Kingdom, where he married an Englishwoman, Anne Heathcote, & fathered children, including Carlton's British cousin, Laura Catherine McClain, who was born blue-eyed on February 18, 1982 in Liverpool. Laura also matriculated at Edge Hill University in Ormskirk, Lancashire in addition to also playing an integral role in Liverpool-based musical ensemble "Sense of Sound" placing as a finalist on BBC One's "Last Choir Standing" in 2008.

The immediate family of Rev. Coleman McClain, Sr., M.Div., MBA, & wife (since October 6, 1979), Evalin (née Clariette), M.S., MPA, is comprised of African Negro (including Senegambian), Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, English, French, German, Iberian, Jewish, Scots, & Shawnee forebears.