Research At The National Archives And Beyond!

  The International African American Museum's Center for Family History is a one of a kind research center with a special focus on African American genealogy. You can visit the IAAM CFH website at https://cfh.iaamuseum.org/. The exhibitions at the IAAM will use groundbreaking research to inform cutting-edge exhibit techniques, bringing historical events to life. The exhibition features eight distinct chapters that guide visitors through the African American story. Visitors begin in West Africa in the 17th century, and end with the formation of new African American communities in the 21st century. Toni Carrier is an anthropologist, historian and genealogist. She holds a Master’s degree in Applied Anthropology from the University of South Florida and is the founder of Lowcountry Africana (www.lowcountryafricana.com), the USF Africana Heritage Project (www.africanaheritage.com) and co-founder with Angela Walton-Raji of Mapping the Freedmen’s Bureau (www.mappingthefreedmensbureau.com ). Robin Foster has been

Wendy Wilson Fall and Teresa Vega will share the history and origin of Malagasy Roots and how DNA testing can help identify your Malagasy ancestry. Wendy Wilson Fall is Associate Professor and Program Chair of the Africana Studies Program at Lafayette College.  Wilson-Fall has a PhD from Howard University’s African Studies Center, with a concentration in Social Anthropology. Her research engages questions of socio-cultural change and ethnic identity. She has published numerous journal articles and book chapters on these themes, including work from her field research in West Africa as well as her work in the U.S. on African American family narratives. At Lafayette College she and colleagues have built  an interactive website using GIS visualization to explore the early demographics of families claiming Malagasy ancestry at http://digital.lafayette.edu/collections/madagascar.  Her book, Memories of Madagascar and the Black Atlantic was released in October, 2015 by Ohio University Press.  Teresa Vega's backgro

The African American Odyssey of John Kizell (A South Carolina Slave Returns to Fight the Slave Trade in His African Homeland) Join host Bernice Bennett and co-host Natonne Elaine Kemp for an engaging conversation with author and historian Kevin G. Lowther about the the life of a Sierra Leonean who survived slavery in Charleston, South Carolina, and served with British forces during the American Revolution. He eventually returned to his homeland, where he campaigned among his people to end slave trading. Lowther majored in history at Dartmouth College before joining the Peace Corps and teaching, in 1963-65, at the Sierra Leone Grammar School in Freetown. In 1971 he helped to found the non-governmental organization, Africare, and later managed its humanitarian programs in Southern Africa for 29 years. Theme music - Sweet Mello Spice by composer / producer Alvin K. Alexander. 

Leontyne Clay Peck shares the story of her journey from Piedmont, WV to the Virginia Piedmont, better known as the land of the Presidents-Jefferson, Madison and Monroe. Since age 10, Leontyne has heard "whispers" from the ancestors and intrigued by family connections. Her fourteen year journey  revealed her family connections to Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky, President Thomas Jefferson and most recently to President James Madison (with the enslaved community of Montpelier). In her research, she also discovered her connection her 3rd great grandfather, Job Gaiter, who served in the US Colored Troops.  Leontyne  is a native of Piedmont, WV. She is an author, speaker, educator, family historian and ancestor advocate. She is the author of, Our Mother's Dresses, Silver Children,and "Paxton Street. She received her formal education from The American University, the American University of Rome and West Virginia University. She is the recipient of a host of awards, among them, Ford Foundation African American Hist

Rebroadcast How the courts dealt with wills bequeathing property or freedom to mixed race children. Fathers of Conscience examines high-court decisions in the antebellum South that involved wills in which white male planters bequeathed property, freedom, or both to women of color and their mixed-race children. These men, whose wills were contested by their white relatives, had used trusts and estates law to give their slave partners and children official recognition and thus circumvent the law of slavery. The will contests that followed determined whether that elevated status would be approved or denied by courts of law. Bernie D. Jones argues that these will contests indicated a struggle within the elite over race, gender, and class issues-over questions of social mores and who was truly family. Judges thus acted as umpires after a man’s death, deciding whether to permit his attempts to provide for his slave partner and family. Her analysis of these differing judicial opinions on inheritance rights for sl

Andre Kearns's research comes from the perspective of an African American genealogy hobbyist. Advances in DNA testing offer African Americans the possibility of leapfrogging brick walls created by slavery to connect to ancestral roots by analyzing family history documented within DNA.  Andre will share strategies he’s used to advance his research as a hobbyist and highlight how he’s leveraged DNA testing to reveal white slave owning ancestors, uncover free people of color ancestors and re-connect family branches.  Andre Kearns has deep roots in the American south and a passion for discovering new ancestors and learning their stories. An African American, he knew he descended from enslaved persons and likely slave owners which DNA analysis has helped confirm. Through his research he also discovered ancestors that were free people of color long before the civil war, Native American, and multi-racial persons. Discovering this ancestry has unlocked previously unknown rich aspects of American history. Andre is a

  Gigi Best is an Author, Historian, Genealogist, Poet, Playwright, Journalist, Speaker and Antiquarian Bookstore Owner. While earning her A.A. and B.S. Degrees, she was awarded Who’s Who in American Universities and Colleges. While in her M. A. Program in English Literature and History, she received  the All American Scholar awards. As a Federal Retiree she earned the Citation for Exemplary Civil Service to the United States Air Force 2002-2004. She is a recipient of the Phillis Wheatley Literary Award for her Book, “Thomas the Melungeon: His Locust Family of Free Persons of Color Civil and Revolutionary War Patriots.” This genealogical and historical work has been placed in many Genealogical Libraries to include Daughters of the American Revolution; Tampa, Florida’s John G. Germany Library; North Carolina Archives and the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library. Gigi is currently working on two historical novels entitled: Nathan Best: From Enslaved Body Servant to Confederate Courier and Chapin’s Forty Acres

Daniel has built his personal family tree and helped others do the same for more than 30 years. He archived many goals during this time: finding documents, interviewing family members, visiting archives and cemeteries, connecting long lost relatives and using techniques that proved to be more -or less- successful. Daniel will share the resources and repositories used in the United States and the world to find his American Family, giving examples of what to do and what not to do to help you bust your research and achieve your goals. Daniel Horowitz is the genealogy expert at MyHeritage. He provides key contributions, liaising with genealogy societies, bloggers and media, as well as lecturing and attending conferences around the world. Dedicated to the study of genealogy for 30+ years, Daniel was the study guide editor and instructor for the project "Searching for My Roots" in his native Venezuela. He holds board level positions at the Israel Genealogy Research Association (IGRA) and the International Associa

  David B. Dumas was born in Galveston, Texas and holds a Ph.D. in geophysics. An amateur historian and photographer who has been photographying for the last 30 years. In fact, he spent several years photographing birds.  He was also a sports official for 45 years.  The last 11 football seasons as a replay official in the Big 12, Mountain West, and Southland conferences. Photographing Civil War sites enabled David to become more knowledgeable about US history by learning much more than could be found in any textbook.  Many of these areas are located on back roads and not found on any of the model highway maps. David is currently retired and teaching math part-time at Galveston Community College. David B. Dumas is the author of Steel's Bayou Expedition, (A Driving Tour); Major General U.S. Grant's March in Louisiana - (A Driving Tour); Yazoo Pass Expedition, (A Driving Tour),  and most recently The Original Vicksburg National Military Park and Vicinity (A Driving Tour Guide).          

Frazine Taylor has helped people of all ethnic backgrounds to research their family history for over 25 years. However she has witnessed firsthand the frustration and disappointment of African-Americans when the research gets to the year of 1870, and for some, 1866, where they hit the predictable “brick wall.” You can’t go around it, get under it, or go through it, because there is no hope or help! Frazine K. Taylor and Donna Cox Baker  conceived the Beyond Kin Project in 2016 as a way to encourage and facilitate the documentation of enslaved populations, particularly by recruiting the resources and efforts of the descendants of slaveholders. http://beyondkin.gegbound.com

Scott Fisher - Extreme Genes is a natural for Fisher, a Connecticut native, who has been in radio since his youth, and has spent three decades of spare time as a passionate roots sleuth.  A long-time morning show host, Fisher is the author of New York City Methodist Marriages, 1785-1893,Picton Press, 1994.  He has also been published in the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society Journal (April 2004), and Catholic Ancestor, Journal of the Catholic Family History Society of England (June 1996).  His ten books on the families of both his and his wife’s ancestors, written over 25 years, fill the better part of a shelf in Fisher’s family room library.  In the spring of 2015, the remains of a murder victim, who had been missing since 1983, were found near his home.  When local authorities were unable to find next-of-kin, Fisher offered his services, locating family after three dedicated weeks of researching, Facebooking, emailing, and telephoning.  The story received national attention, and was written up i

Karen Batchelor will share the many unexpected twists and turns on her 40-year family history journey and how what she has learned from the past has changed her life. Karen started doing genealogy because of a New Year’s resolution in 1976 - before the Internet and computers. By 1977, she became the first known Black woman to be admitted for membership in Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Since then, Karen has discovered ancestors who were slaves and slaveowners, patriots and Puritans and even a colonial witch or two. Her family history in America goes back to the year 1630.  With a background in the practice of law and over 40 years of experience as a genealogist, Karen founded Story Mountain LLC, where she helps others with family research. She specializes in colonial New England and the Revolutionary War era; preparation of lineage applications; and analysis of historic legal documents. In addition to her client work, Karen serves as a National Vice Chair of Lineage Research for DAR and is a ce

Cultural Heritage in the Republic of Benin: What the country has to offer and it has in store for the years ahead. Nathalie Blanc Chekete is Haitian and Canadian (Afro-descendant) and has lived Haiti; Canada; France; Brasil and now Benin. She received a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance from the University of Quebec in Montreal and a Master’s degree in international marketing management (Boston University). She has more than 15 years of experience, in Project and Customer Experience Management. Currently Natalie is responsible for the development of Cultural Heritage Tourism at the National Agency for the promotion of Heritage and the development of Tourism in the government of Benin.    This show is sponsored by Roots To Glory - www.rootstoglory.com      

Have you ever considered searching records of incarceration to find your ancestors?  Whether researching a notorious family outlaw or a victim of early 20th century justice, there’s a good chance that you have an ancestor who has been incarcerated. Researching records of incarceration at local, state or federal penal institutions can reveal valuable family history information and also document shameful community patterns of social and economic abuse against blacks.  Join Sharon Batiste Gillins for an engaging discussion on the genealogical value of searching records of the incarcerated. Sharon Batiste Gillins is a native of Galveston, Texas with paternal ancestral roots in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana and maternal roots in Fort Bend County, Texas. A life-long interest in her family's history led to an active involvement in researching African American family history over the past 25 years. While researching her own family, she developed an in interest in unique and under-utilized record systems and record gr

Join Co-Moderator Jeannettee Kah LeGuil and Ivorian community representatives for a discussion on Cote d’Ivoire, tribes, ethnic groups and spoken languages. Some of you attended the DNA Tested Côte d’Ivoire(IvoryCoast) Descendants Forum organized at the 2016 International Black Genealogy Summit on September 2, 2016, in Arlington,Virginia. The Ambassador of Cote d’Ivoire in the USA participated in the Forum and offered his full support to the implementation of the outcome of the Forum and commissioned us to develop a strategy which will help enlarge the DNA Tested family, and reveal the DNA Tested Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Descendants.  A follow-up Committee was established and we collected a series of suggestions from the participants. April 24, 2017, will launch the beginning of a series of conversations with the aim to create an environment that promotes knowledge and sharing between Côte d’Ivoire and its diaspora. Cote d’Ivoire regroups lots of tribes, ethnic groups, and spoken languages – over 85.  W

Melissa L. Cooper is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at Rutgers University-Newark. Cooper’s ground breaking book, Making Gullah: A History of Sapelo Islanders, Race and the American Imagination, published by the University of North Carolina Press, is a fascinating history.  Using Sapelo Island as a case study, Cooper unearths the intellectual and cultural trends that inspired, and continues to inspire, fascination with low country blacks and the African roots of their unique culture. Examining the history of Islanders in published works, Making Gullah tells a larger story about race and the American imagination.  Drawing inspiration from her own family’s connection to Sapelo, Cooper explores how the Islanders’ multi-generational struggle for land and racial equality have been overshadowed by the race fantasies that pervaded the stories that researchers and writers told about their exotic folk culture.  From the 1920s and 1930s to the present day, Cooper follows evolving theories about Gul

Shawn Utsey is the Interim Chair of African American Studies and Professor of Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University. He received his PhD(1997) from Fordham University.  The film - Until the Well Runs Dry: Medicine and the Exploitation of Black Bodies was released in 2011.  This film sparked renewed interest in honoring the remains of 44 people (most were African American Descent) whose bodies have been used in medical research. The remains were found in a well on the VCU Medical Campus during an excavation project more than 20 years ago.  

Drew Smith is an Assistant Librarian with the USF Tampa Library, and is the 2016 winner of the Filby Award for Genealogical Librarianship, presented by the National Genealogical Society. He is past president of the Florida Genealogical Society of Tampa, and has served on the boards of the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the Association of Professional Genealogists, and the Florida State Genealogical Society. Drew is the author of the book Social Networking for Genealogists, is the co-author of the book Advanced Genealogy Research Techniques, and has written extensively for a number of genealogical print and online magazines. His latest book, Organize Your Genealogy: Strategies and Solutions for Every Researcher, was published in 2016.  

Join Antoinette Harrell and Stephanie Quiett Martin for a discussion on documenting and preserving family, and community history in the Louisiana Florida Parishes. The Parishes are East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Livingston, St. Helena, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Washington and West Feliciana. The United States annexed most of West Florida in 1810. It quickly incorporated the area that became the Florida Parishes into the Territory of Orleans, which became the U.S. state of Louisiana in 1812. In 1990, the state of Louisiana formally designated the region " the Republic of West Florida Historic Region, or the Florida Parishes." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Parishes

After retiring from a career in banking, Bill Webb began to investigate his family history. His interest had been sparked by a family Bible record of his ancestor Brown Colbert that he saw as a child in Parkersburg, West Virginia. The research of Bill and his wife, Eva Kobus-Webb, revealed the connection to Monticello and brought to light other Colbert descendants like the Civil War soldier George Edmondson and suffragist Coralie Franklin Cook. Webb can track his lineage to Elizabeth (Betty) Hemings, mother of Betty Brown & Sally Hemings.