Welcome back to the African Roots Podcast! You can always reach me at AfricanRootsPodcast@gmail.com.

Well can you believe it—30 days have September, and this is it–the last day of the month and we are moving in to autumn full speed. Tomorrow is the 1st of October, and we are two-thirds of the way through the major events of the season that began in September. The IBGS event was amazing, to start off the month. Then came last week and the opening of the new Smithsonian Museum! Finally, we are now looking ahead to the annual conference for AAHGS – the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society. It will unfold in Atlanta in about two weeks and it promises to be a successful event as well.

Last week–I was there! I stood in line for 2  hours and then had the incredible experience of visiting the National Museum of African American History and Culture. What an experience I had. I was glad to say that I was there on opening day, and truly it was worth it.

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Mississippi Death Index Now Available
The Coogan Research Group has now made the Mississippi Death Index available for the years between 1912-1943 online. This is exciting because many of us have ancestors who lived there, before migrating north or west, so take a look and explore this amazing database.
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Social Explorer Presents Info About Census

How well do you know your census records, and do you know what the instructions were for enumerators? If not, then think of exploring this site and take a look at the guidelines, and see the actual questions that were used when collecting data. This is a go-to site to become familiar with the most used, but frequently under-studied records that we all use.

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Story of a Missouri Soldier and a Fascinating Regiment

I had a chance this week to learn about a fascinating soldier and regiment from Missouri. In fact
I ended up writing a blog piece about the regiment, and am thrilled to learn about the 62nd US Colored Infantry. This is one of the more unique stories coming out of the western theater of the Civil War. Visit the blog and learn about this literate man and his regiment.
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This week the Virginian-Pilot Newspaper featured an article about the database from Virginia
called Virginia Untold. The African American Narrative. The piece begins with the story of Rachel who sued for her freedom in the 1770s. It is a fascinating case, and only one of many other stories found in that amazing database. More can be read HERE.

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Well this weekend, there will be a new program to hear—African Ancestry Radio airs tomorrow at 2pm eastern time. The broadcast will take place on Saturdays at 2pm Eastern Time

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Bernice Bennett’s show last night was quite interesting and if you missed it tune in HERE to catch the podcast. Her guest was Victoria Gregg, who is making a film about her DNA and genealogy journey. She shared her journey inspired by her testing of her ancestry, and there was a lot of fascinating conversation. Bernice’s show airs every Thursday evening at 9pm on Blog Talk Radio.

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I was there! But, there are no words, only feelings and emotions! The images and artifacts were quite powerful, and I admit that I got chills when I saw the slave cabin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I stared at Harriet Tubman’s shawl, I was in awe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was truly mesmerized to see Nat Turner’s bible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And at the coffin of that sweet boy, Emmet Till, I cried. So heartbreaking, and a life stolen, so cruelly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were so many more emotions, but not enough words. I can only say that this is a place that we must all see. Plan your trip. I am blessed to live so close, for I shall return again.

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Winding down for this week, thanks for listening, remember to keep researching, keep documenting and keep sharing what you find.

 

Welcome back to the African Roots Podcast! I can be reached at AfricanRootsPodcast@gmail.com.

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The Grand Opening is Here!

Well, it is finally here folks, the grand opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture! Tomorrow is the grand opening and it promises to be a grand event! I was excited to see some of the images shared last week by those who had the special passes to the receptions and open house events. But tomorrow–it is official and the new museum will be open! I am quite excited about this event as well, and hope that we will be able to see that we  now have a home, a place where our history on a grand scale is celebrated!  Within the next several days I plan to be there, and will be uploading images from the Museum.

There are two exhibits that I am anxious to see. One is a Civil War exhibit reflecting images of soldiers from the 25th US Colored Infantry.

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Gift of Aneita Gates, on behalf of her son Kameron Gates and all the descendants of Capt. William A. Pritckett

This exhibit reflects a photo album made by one of the commanding officers of several men that served under him. The officer was William Prickett, and in 2014, Military Images Magazine featured an article that reflected the images of these men. The album has been in the same family since the Civil War and it was donated to the Smithsonian, and is now on display.
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Image Courtesy of Tammy Geyer Posey, Drumright Historical Society

The second exhibit that I wish to see is that of a series of textbooks from Oklahoma. I own three of the four books, by Emma Akin of Drumright Oklahoma, and published in 1938. The entire set of four and a new book telling the story of the books is also on display. The books were brought to my attention in the early 1990s and I now own three of the them. This is possibly the only textbook devoted to African American children, and used officially by a school system, segregated though it was.  The set is amazing, because the illustrations consist of actual photos of the children of Drumright Oklahoma from the 1930s. I wrote an article about the books

In future months, I hope to see the genealogy center opened and operating. I am most interested in visiting that center and possibly in the future volunteering to assist visitors seeking information on their family history.
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Last night’s episode of Bernice Bennett’s show featured Leonard Smith who has amazing experience as a videographer, interviewer and researcher. Well last night listeners had a chance to hear a great conversation about telling your story differently. Mr. Smith spoke about making a 5-7 minute documentary about the family. If you have photos, documents, oral history interviews of elders—you have the basics to make a documentary. The conversation between the two was an engaging one, and I must say that I was inspired after listening to two as they spoke.

The second half of the interview consisted of a review of a documentary that was made about a well loved teacher, Yvonne Busch, of New Orleans. He spoke about her legacy, but also spoke about the process. As I said the interview was very dynamic and inspiring. The show airs every Thursday at 9pm on Blog Talk Radio.

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Looking ahead, don’t forget that the Annual AAHGS conference will be next month in Atlanta October 13-16th. I look forward to that event and hope that I will see some of you there.

 

Roots Tech is not too far away, and plans are being made right now to join everyone there. So there is a lot of planning underway for the present as well as the future! Looking eagerly towards 2017!
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I plan to have one or two Smithsonian special broadcasts while in Washington over the next few days, so stand by as I give you my impressions of the amazing things that will unfold over the next several days! What an honor and a joy to stand in a place that will be reflect so much of our history, on the national level!

This is a shorter podcast this week, so I am winding things down for the week! I will be blogging and uploading images and sounds from the Washington Mall over the next several days, and share with you my impressions of the many things to see and discover.

In the meantime, have a great week, and remember to keep researching, keep documenting and keep sharing what you find.