Research At The National Archives And Beyond!

 First-time filmmaker, Victoria Gregg, will share her current project entitled "Akata Documentary. A film that follows her journey of FINDING who her ancestors were and how she deals with the surprises along the way. In this program, Victoria will share exclusive details about the film: from the hurdles of trying to finance an independent project to meeting distant relatives face to face. Most importantly she will let the listeners know how they can get involved. Victoria Gregg, affectionately known as “Queen V”, is the Executive Producer and the focal point of the Akata Documentary. This film highlights her story as she shares her frustrations of not knowing her ancestral heritage and seeks to find answers. Prior to her life as a filmmaker, she worked as a digital media consultant helping small and large businesses build their online presence. After graduating with her MBA, from Hawaii Pacific University, she moved back to her hometown of Silver Spring, MD. Victoria is now the co-founder of Up Studios LLC,

  A Legend in the Classroom-The Life Story of Ms Yvonne Busch Leonard Smith III is a self-proclaimed technology geek, with a passion for genealogy and story.  He has authored many articles and workshops on research techniques, storytelling, and filmmaking.  In 2008, he started LS3 Studios. This multimedia studio has produced interviews and award-winning documentary films. Leonard has helped his clients unearth their family history dating back centuries.  He has over forty years of researching his own family history. This experience helps him to mentor others who are looking for that “next step.” Leonard’s style of teaching is in plain everyday language for the non-technical individual. This enables  students to understand and learn with ease. He loves teaching others on how to apply technology in their genealogy research.  His mission, “Educate, Entertain, and Inspire Others To Tell Their Stories.” Some of the most recent projects include; “A Place Called Desire”, “From Shanghai to Harlem” winner of

Challenges and Opportunities in Searching for your African American Roots! Nicka Sewell-Smith is a professional photographer, speaker, and documentarian with more than 17 years of experience as a genealogist. She has extensive experience in African ancestored genealogy, reverse genealogy, and family reunion planning and execution. She is also an expert in genealogical research in the Northeastern Louisiana area, sharing genealogy with youth, documenting the ancestral journey, and employing the use of new technology in genealogy and family history research. Nicka has diverse and varied experience in communications, with a background in publications, editing, graphic design, radio, and video production. She has edited and designed several volumes of family history that include narratives, photos, and genealogical information and has also transferred these things to an online environment. Nicka Smith is also the producer and host of the Black ProGen Live! www.whoisnickasmith.com    

  Wilmington on Fire chronicles the bloody attack on the African-American community and unseated elected officials in the port city of Wilmington, North Carolina November 10, 1898. The massacre and coup d’etat was the springboard for the white supremacy movement and Jim Crow segregation throughout the state of North Carolina and the American South. This discussion will focus on the historical research and documentation that lead to the creation this valuable documentary film.  Never forget because this could happen again. Christopher Everett is a writer, film director and film producer from Laurinburg, North Carolina. He has experience in film, graphic design, marketing and advertising. He recently directed and produced his first feature-length documentary entitled “Wilmington on Fire” which is on the 1898 Wilmington Massacre/Coup in Wilmington, NC. Website: wilmingtononfire.com Facebook: facebook.com/wilmingtononfire Twitter: twitter.com/wilmington1898 Instagram: instagram.com/wilmingtononfire SoundCl

Rebroadcast: Public historian David E. Paterson studies people who lived in nineteenth-century Upson County, Georgia, especially those who experienced slavery and Reconstruction. A civilian employee of the US Navy by day, he spends his leisure hours researching and writing local history.  David has helped manage the Slave Research Forum at AfriGeneas.com since about 2001.  David emigrated to the U.S. in 1958 from Scotland and was granted U.S. citizenship in 1975.  He lives in Norfolk, Virginia. We will discuss the most fruitful probate records for slavery research in most states, for the period about 1800 to 1865.   The discussion may be less useful for the colonial period, or for the records of Louisiana or Spanish colonial Florida whose laws and processes derived from different legal traditions.  In addition, David will describe the process flow from one record to the next – the purpoe of each record – and what kinds of slavery-related information maybe found in the record. Particular attention will focus

A Guide to Researching African American Ancestors in Laurens County, South Carolina  LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson, CG, is a board-certified genealogist since 2015. She teaches and lectures on African-American genealogy, and serves as the co-chair of BCG's Intellectual Property Committee. She has written a reference book that is both a locality guide (with tips on where to look for records) and a "how to" manual to aid in the development and execution of research plans relating to African American ancestors . Although the book focuses on a single county in South Carolina, it provides background information regarding laws and history that apply to all SC counties, and more general guidance relevant to genealogical methodology. The author has included practical advice based on her own research and formal studies, as well as up-to-date information about internet and other resources.  

Rebroadcast The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the official repository of the permanently valuable records of the U.S. Government.  NARA's vast holdings document the lives and experiences of persons who interacted with the Federal Government.  The records created by post-Civil War Federal Agencies are perhaps some of the most important records available for the study of black family life and genealogy.  This discussion will focus on NARA's Reference Information Paper 108. This reference information paper describes three post-Civil War Federal agencies' records: the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands; the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company; and the Commissioners of Claims. Case examples will be shared to illustrate the value of researching these important records. Reginald Washington is a retired archivist/ genealogy specialist with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). He lectures frequently on records and research procedures at the National Archi

Tithe, Time, and Talent: African Americans, Philanthropy, and the Civil Rights Movement, 1925-1968 addresses an important gap in civil rights historiography that centers on philanthropy, volunteerism, and fundraising.  Philanthropy has been an immutable part of the American experience since the late sixteenth century.  Since money is often emphasized as the highest form of contributory assistance, philanthropic studies frequently fail to take into account the socio-cultural value of time, expertise, and the exchange of goods and services.  African Americans hampered by enslavement, economic disparity, exclusion and social inequality entrenched in White supremacy, were forced to operate clandestinely.  “Hidden in plain sight,” their self-help initiatives though silent and informal, were orchestrated through the church, fraternal orders, benevolent and burial societies.   Practiced under the guise of self-care and community uplift, African Americans maintained schools, purchased land, operated soup kitchens, an

Teresa Vega will share her journey to discover her tri-racial roots in the United States, Puerto Rico and Madagascar. Teresa Vega's background in cultural anthropology helped her to research her ancestral roots. She began blogging to document the genealogy research she had been doing over the past several years. She is a proud member of both the NJ and NY Chapters of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAGHS) and the Facebook Group African American Genealogy & Slave Ancestry Research.  She is currently featured in an ancestry.com commercial. http://radiantrootsboricuabranches.com/about/ Music by AK Alexander Productions    

This program will examine the suppressed history of the commercialization of Race and Race Consciousness through the lense of sheet music and early sound recordings of turn of the century Coon Songs and Minstrel Shows produced by Victor and Columbia Records 1900-1910. Bill Doggett is a California based archivist and specialist in Race and Race Consciousness in recordings at the Dawn of Recorded Sound.  With hundreds of rare 1900-1920 78rpm recordings of Coon Songs and other "Race Records" in his Sound Archive, Doggett was commissioned in 2015 by The Sound Division of The Library of Congress to create a project for The National Juke Box which will launch in 2017. The Sound files are: (a) Jests from Georgia by Ralph Bingham- attached is Jest#1(b) Two Negro Stories by Nat Wills: Attached is Story#1-The Head Waiter (c) Collins and Harlan: Nigger Loves His Possum-a 1905 Platinum Gold record for Victor Records (d) Moonlight in Jungleland by Collins and Harlan-excerpt (e) The Whistling Coon sung by the George W. J

Pension Files of African Americans in the War of 1812 We are natives of this country; we ask only to be treated as well as foreigners. Not a few of our fathers suffered and bled to purchase its independence; we ask only to be treated as well as those who fought against it. We have toiled to cultivate it, and to raise it to its present prosperous condition; we ask only to share equal privileges with those who come from distant lands to enjoy the fruits of our labor.  Rev. Peter Williams, Jr. African American Episcopal Priest 1786 - 1840 Genealogist Sharon Batiste Gillins will share the following information concerning African Americans in the War of 1812 files: Identifying the primary geographic regions in which battles of the War of 1812 were fought.  Describing post-war benefits of service and related legislation.  Accessing the record groups that contain pension and bounty land claims:   Describing the United States War of 1812 Index to Pension Application Files, 1812-1910 (M313)   Describing the Wa

Letters  From  Edgar’s  Trunk  is  a  fascinating  account  of  Black  civilian life in rural Virginia during World War I as reflected in letters between James Edgar Thornton, his family and friends. This collection of letters not only captures the vibrations of everyday Black life during wartime, but also discloses the continuing reality of civilian existence in America, in contrast to the terror of war in Europe. While the absence of details of military life among soldiers in America and Europe may reflect the imposition of wartime security measures and censorship, Edgar’s Letters reflect a deeper concern for the family, which may suffer in his absence than for any personal peril his military service may impose.  Marilyn Thornton holds a Masters Degree in fine Arts from Catholic University of America. She was Assistant Professor for Art at the University of Eastern Shore. Her interest in family history and discovery of Edgar's letters motivated her to compile Letters from Edgar's Trunk.

Have you searched for records and finally found that special person you have been looking for?  So what?  What does the record tell you?  Is this all that you need? Join Dr. Shelley Murphy, aka "familytreegirl" for a discussion on the "SO WHAT" concept?  "So What" is a concept used in the Midwestern African American Genealogy Institute to help analyze genealogical records and resources. The goal is to question the value of the evidence and plan the path to new leads and discoveries.  Shelley Murphy, aka "familytreegirl" is a native of Michigan. Shelley has been an avid genealogist for over 25 years researching the Davis, Marsh, Goens/Goins/Goings, Roper, Boyer, Worden, Cureton, & Murphy, etc. family lines. She attends and presents at local and national conferences and currently works for a nonprofit and serves as adjunct faculty at Averett University. In addition, Shelley is a founding member and current President of the Afro-American Historical Genealogical Society Chapter of Central Virginia. 

Dr. Adam Arenson discusses his ongoing research about African North Americans—those men and women, born free or enslaved, who crossed or re-crossed the U.S.-Canada border in the era of emancipation, Civil War, and Reconstruction.  We will discuss how difficult it is to determine how many fugitive slaves and free blacks were in Canada; the history of the more than 600 African North Americans who returned to fight for the U.S. Colored Troops; the thousands more who returned to the United States in the decades that followed; the hundreds of men, women, and children who traveled north to Canada  after emancipation; and even the reason Civil War records are filled with fake claims of Canadian and other citizenship.  Dr. Adam Arenson is an associate professor of history and the director of the urban studies program at Manhattan College. He is the author of the award-winning The Great Heart of the Republic: St. Louis and the Cultural Civil War  (Harvard, 2011 — now out in paperback from Missouri, 2015); as well as

  Author and Genealogist Robyn Smith has been researching her family and others for 18 years. An engineer by day, Robyn makes good use of those research and problem-solving skills in the field of genealogy. She specializes in Maryland research, African-American and Slave-era research and Court Records research. Robyn has a strong interest in promoting the documentation of families and communities, and emphasizing the use of proper genealogical standards in our research. Robyn teaches an Advanced African-American Genealogy class part-time at Howard Community College in Columbia, MD, lectures locally and has published several genealogy articles in local journals. She is also the author of a new book The Best of Reclaiming Kin and the genealogy blog "Reclaiming Kin" which can be viewed at http://msualumni.wordpress.com.  

Join  Zann Nelson and Elizabeth Chew for a discussion on the following topics: African American research in Virginia: (challenges, what works, successes) Why is it important?  How Montpelier's African American heritage project differs from other plantations and how it relates to the ongoing discussions about the Constitution. Zann Nelson is an award-winning freelance writer specializing in African American historical investigations. She is the former president of the preservation nonprofit organization, Friends of Wilderness Battlefield, Inc., the current president of History Quest, co-founder of the African American Heritage Alliance, and is currently the Consultant for “The African Americans of the Montpelier Community Project.” Elizabeth Chew is Vice President for Museum Programs at James Madison's Montpelier. She has worked in the museum field for thirty years, focusing on the interpretation of women's and African American history. At Monticello, where she was Curator for 13 years, she co-organized,

Join Genealogist Judy Riffel and Patricia Bayonne-Johnson- a descendant of one of the Georgetown slaves for a discussion of the Georgetown Memory project. The Georgetown slaves were unusual in two ways, according to Georgetown Memory Project Founder Richard Cellini. First, they were baptized by Jesuits and kept the faith; second, they had both first and last names, whereas most slaves only had one name. During her search, the last name Butler stood out to Bayonne-Johnson. Judy Riffel is a professional genealogist with over thirty-five years experience. Based in Baton Rouge, she specializes in Louisiana records and research. Judy has done genealogical and historical research for numerous television shows and documentaries. Her work has appeared on Who Do You Think You Are?, Finding Your Roots, Genealogy Roadshow, The Dead Files, and Killer Profile. She is the lead genealogist in the Georgetown Memory Project Patricia Bayonne-Johnson, a 75-year-old retired biology teacher lives in Spokane, Wash., after growi

Slaves Waiting For Sale In 1853, Eyre Crowe, a young British artist, visited a slave auction in Richmond, Virginia. Harrowed by what he witnessed, he captured the scene in sketches that he would later develop into a series of illustrations and paintings, including the culminating painting, Slaves Waiting for Sale, Richmond, Virginia. This innovative book uses Crowe’s paintings to explore the texture of the slave trade in Richmond, Charleston, and New Orleans, the evolving iconography of abolitionist art, and the role of visual culture in the transatlantic world of abolitionism. Tracing Crowe’s trajectory from Richmond across the American South and back to London—where his paintings were exhibited just a few weeks after the start of the Civil War—Maurie D. McInnis illuminates not only how his abolitionist art was inspired and made, but also how it influenced the international public’s grasp of slavery in America. With almost 140 illustrations, Slaves Waiting for Sale brings a fresh perspective to the America

 Join Nicka Smith and Bernice Bennett for an intriguing discussion about their experiences with DNA testing. What was their reaction to the DNA admixture results?How have they connected the dots?Where have they tested and why?What successes and frustrations?Why communications is important? Nicka Smith is a professional photographer, speaker, and documentarian with more than 17 years of experience as a genealogist. She has extensive experience in African ancestored genealogy, reverse genealogy, and family reunion planning and execution. She is also an expert in genealogical research in the Northeastern Louisiana area, sharing genealogy with youth, documenting the ancestral journey, and employing the use of new technology in genealogy and family history research. Bernice Bennett is a speaker, family historian, author, citizen's archivist with the National Archives, and Producer and Host of her own blogtalkradio show.  Her research interest are in African American genealogy, DNA and connecting with the  African

Rebroadcast Join author Craig Steven Wilder for a discussion of his research and book - Ebony & Ivy: Race, Slavery, and the Troubled History of America's University. Craig Steven Wilder is a professor of American history at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has taught at Wiliams College and Dartmouth College. Many of America's revered colleges and universities - from Harvard, Yale, and Princeton to Rutgers, Williams College, and UNC - were soaked in the sweat and the tears, and sometimes the blood of people of color. The earliest academies proclaimed their mission to Christianize the savages of North America, and played a key role in white conquest. Later, the slave economy and higher education grew up together, each nurturing the other. Slavery funded colleges, built campuses, and paid the wages of professors. Enslaved Americans waited on faculty and students; academic leaders aggressively courted the support of slave owners and slave traders. Significantly, as Wilder shows, our leading uni