Research At The National Archives And Beyond!

Bernice Bennett welcomes James Louis Bacon for a moving discussion about his genealogical journey to document his family history. James Louis Bacon has entertained a lifelong passion for writing and African American History.  He began his  family research 35 years ago, and published his book in 2016. He is a veteran of the United States Navy where he  proudly served from 1970-1974. The Ties That Bind is a written tribute to his family which documents both the hardships, strength and  fortitude of those who were enslaved. It is the story of the Van Arsdale, Jackson and Bowie Family, and their struggle to live as free Black Men and Women. It  traces their triumph as they emerged out of the uncertainty and unforgiving nature of bondage into a strange new world of Freedom. It is also the story of the Industrial Savings Bank founded in 1913 by John Whitelaw Lewis &  William Augus Bowie who was the grandson of a slave and their important historical contributions to Black Washington DC.