Welcome back to the African Roots Podcast! You can reach me HERE.

I hope that you are all well and are enjoying the last few weeks of the summer season. Schools have opened and next week is that final chance for summer break fun with the Labor Day weekend. I hope that you are still able to enjoy summer weather before the change comes for fall.

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New Database Available!

Slave Rebellion Database

I am happy to share information about a new database. This looks like an interesting site as it includes a new interactive map on Slavery. The site is called Slave Rebellions. I find it interesting because it is pointing out acts of resistance that we seldom hear about in history. These rebellions reflect that fact that whenever the opportunity presented itself to resist their status, enslaved people acted. The fact that this has been mapped, presents another aspect of history. The map actually represents two centuries of information-reflecting uprisings from the 1600s to the early 1800s. This site was created by Professor James Holloway of California State University. Constructing the site took over 20 years and this is the first time that all such information about slave rebellions has been gathered and put in one single space.

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Black Pro Gen Hangouts are Back!

It’s time for the Black Pro Gen Hangouts! This is a group of professional African American genealogists who gather to share, discuss and present issues that affect genealogy in general and the story and state of African American genealogy in particular. Here are the dates:

Tuesday, September 8, 2015 – 6pm PDT/8pm CDT/9pm EDT
BlackProGen: Freedmens Bureau Online  Join us as we discuss the Freedmens Bureau Online project from the perspective of a novice, record set indexer, and also the researcher.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015 – 6pm PDT/8pm CDT/9pm EDT
The Best of BlackProGen! This will be an exciting topic as we will discuss issues that researchers of color face in genealogy. From the researcher to the professional the dialogue should be quite interesting.

October 13, 2015 –  6pm PDT/8pm CDT/9pm EDT
The African American Online Genealogy Toolbox  What sites do you use all the time and consider essential. Tune in a join the chat as the group discusses critical record sets, websites, and more for African American genealogy online.

 October 27, 2015 –  6pm PDT/8pm CDT/9pm EDT
Tales from the Genome Yes—this is a discussion on DNA. More than 2 million people have taken genealogical DNA tests. While many are excited to get the results back, some encounter unforeseen emotions as they grapple with newfound information. Join us as we discuss these issues and more!

 November 10, 2015  –  6pm PST/8pm CST/9pm EST
Brick Wall Busters Have a brick wall? Need help getting past it? Send us your genealogical conundrums and we’ll try to help you get past them.

November 17, 2015 – 6pm PST/8pm CST/9pm EST
More Brick Wall Busters

For more information about joining the hangouts see Nicka Smith.

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Community History Day in Brooklyn New York

Join staff of the New Lots Library and preservationists to learn how to preserve family artifacts, photographs, and other treasures, tomorrow from 10:00 to 5:00 pm

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Slavery is one of the least mentioned topics in American history, yet the after effects of slavery are still felt in society today. A special lecture on Slavery and how to get more people discussing it, is offered in September at the Jack Morton Auditorium on the George Washington University campus in Washington DC. The event is open to the public.

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AUGUST 28  IN HISTORY    –    LET US NEVER FORGET

Emmett Till Killed August 28, 1955

Emmett Till was murdered in Mississippi and his killers freed. Let us never forget this young boy.
May he rest in peace.

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March on Washington August 28, 1963
May the wisdom heard on that day heal our nation.

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Well, I shall wind down this week’s podcast. Thank you for listening and tuning in, and please know that you are appreciated.  In the meantime, have a great week, and remember to keep researching, keep documenting and keep sharing what you find.

 

Hello and welcome back to the African Roots Podcast! You can always reach me HERE.

I hope you all had a great week. As you can tell I am a wee bit hoarse as I have had a cold all week and yes my voice is quite squeaky. Ok I am very hoarse today. Because of my laryngitis I will probably make this week’s podcast a bit shorter.

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Well here is some interesting news. I am sure that you have all heard of the 19 Africans that arrived in 1619 in Virginia. And I suspect  you have heard that they landed in Jamestown. Well, there has been a correction in that historical fact. In fact A marker was dedicated  (or re-dedicated) yesterday afternoon in Hampton to change that historical fact and to actually mark the place where they truly disembarked.

Representatives from 5 African countries came to America to attend several ceremonies marking the landing of 19 Africans  on the present day Ft. Monroe. The marker was changed to show the actual landing place of the Africans, as it has been pointed out that the first Africans landed at Hampton and not Jamestown. The National Park service AND local historians believe that this is the case. So take note: the actual landing place is Point Comfort, in Hampton and not Jamestown. The first Africans brought to Virginia were taken from the village of Ndongo in Angola. King Sinkam Konchiod Sylvestre was also present.

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New Genealogy Society

Congratulations to folks in Danville/Pittsylvania Virginia for establishing a new genealogy society chapter of AAHGS. Their first meeting was yesterday August 20, 2015 at 5:30 at the Danville Public Library Genealogy Department. Carice Luck is the new chapter president and Danielle Pritchell is the new Vice President. Best wishes to them and of course many of us hope to meet some of them in October at the National conference in Richmond.

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Last night’s episode of Bernice Bennett’s Blog Radio show featured Leslie Anderson who discussed the process of writing a prize winning family history!  Leslie is a noted genealogist and librarian as well. Her research began when she wanted to know where an ancestor—a great grandparent was born.  Here analysis was culminated when she wrote a 10,000  word article about her search, and it won her the NGS family history writing contest. The article was published in the March 2015 quartely edition of the NGS Journal. It was over 10 pages, 10,000 words and 200 citations. Such hard work. For me, the value in editing was so clear. As writers we must write and then re-write and trust editors who can tell us when our writing is clear.

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Well, folks, my voice is telling me to wind it down a bit early. Please know that I appreciate you for being there and for tuning in! Your time is valuable and I know that you have many choices, so thank you so much.  Have a great week, and I look forward to chatting with you next week, and in the meantime, keep researching, keep documenting and keep sharing what you find.