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

**********************************************************************************

From Kentucky: Remembering Black Servicemen

A shout out to our friends in Lexington KY who are hosting their regular Third Saturday event. As always, meetings are free and open to the public.  Their guest is Mike Jones who is a military historian with impressive academic credentials from Morehouse and University of California Berkeley. He is a historian and a reenactor among many other accomplishments. The event is tomorrow  May 20, 2017 – 2:00-4:30pm at the Lexington Public Library. The event promises to be an interesting and educational presentation.  For more information contact aaggky@yahoo.com.

====================================================================

Speaking of Kentucky—I know they had the Kentucky Derby 2 weeks ago, well this is Maryland we are also part of horse country. And this weekend in Preakness!! Part 2 of the triple crown. Anyway in honor of horse country and the season of thoroughbred horse racing I give a shout out to a person on Twitter who seeks to preserve the history–the very rich history of black jockeys. (No—not lawn jockeys!) I am referring to some of the greatest horsemen of the late 19th and early 20th century. Follow him on Twitter as @MrBlackJockey! You will learn a not about this little known under-studied aspect of  American sports history.
*******************************************************************

Another event unfolds tomorrow in new Jersey. A warm shout out to folks in a new group called the Sons & Daughters of the Middle Passage. They are having a conference this week in New Jersey. If you have already traced your family to an enslaved ancestor, can prove who the person was who last enslaved them, then this new lineage society may be of interest to you. Their conference is on the campus of Rider University and will take place on Saturday May 20th at North Hall. It is an all-day event followed by an evening banquet. More information can be found HERE.

 =================================================

Speaking of lineage societies, last night’s guest on Bernice Bennett’s show was Karen Batchelor who can be called a real go getter when it comes to lineage societies. A member of the DAR already, she is seeking to be enrolled in at least 10 different lineage societies beyond the DAR. Her website is called ExtremeAncestry  and she has done quite a bit of research over past several decades, and was quite fascinating to hear. She has researched both white and black ancestors, and encourages all researchers to explore all sides of their family history, white and black. It was a most interesting conversation and I urge you to tune in if you missed it. As you know–you can catch Bernice Bennett’s show every Thursday evening 9pm on Blog Talk Radio.
=================================================

Schedules have changed for #genchat. Not tonight but next week, so plan to tune in an join the fun! But I hope that you will also consider becoming active in social media in general! There is much going on with Twitter and Facebook and lots of activity! Consider expanding your network and joining the fun. Also don’t miss Black Pro Gen. Next online LIVE event is this coming Tuesday!

=================================================

Still time to register for MAAGI

How many of your are writing your genealogy journey? I ask because I am in the middle of more than one writing project and am curious to know who else is working on putting pen to paper—or rather fingers to keyboard? Recently a series of articles have appeared about blogging and whether or not people are abandoning their blogs for something else. I know that some bloggers are no longer “out there” online actively writing about their journey while others are still going strong.

Where are you in your writing journey? Is your journey your story? Is a particular line your story? Or an unusual character–are they part of your story that you want to tell? Or are you having a hard time getting started?

Why not let the writing track at MAAGI give your some real hands on tips and ideas on how to launch your writing efforts? We are still talking enrollments and perhaps this is the time to tell your story.

I would love to see more people writing and telling their story and hope that you will all consider putting fingers on the keyboard and letting the story come out.
=================================================

100 Years Ago, the Draft Began

This is the 100th Anniversary of the WWI Draft! Do you know where your ancestors were?

Today is the anniversary of the WWI Draft. Have you found your ancestors among those who registered? Time to explore the entire community—not just your grand or great grandfather.

**********************************************************************************************

Well time to wrap things up! Thanks for listening and thanks for sharing  your events and announcements. In the meantime, 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 at AfricanRootsPodcast@gmail.com.

I hope you are all keeping dry. I know that there have been some stories of flooding in many areas. I hope that you are all safe and dry.
*********************************************************************

I hope you have all had a great two weeks. I have been more than busy, and this time last week I was in southeast Arkansas at Lakeport Plantation in Chicot County, near Lake Village Arkansas. I was attending the “Preserve Arkansas” program at sponsored by Arkansas State University. It was a wonderful experience, and I got a chance to meet some amazing presenters and scholars while there. That was my first time on the Mississippi Delta and I was quite moved by the opportunity to be there. Lakeport is the last remaining plantation on the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River. I could almost see the people bent over in the fields pulling those large over-sized bags of cotton behind them. Enslaved people as well as share croppers after enslavement ended all worked in those fields for decades. I met some amazing people who were there, and was impressed with the speakers and scholars in attended!  I hope to return to that area, and to meet with others who are from that area in the future! A special thank to you to the staff of Arkansas State University, and Preserve Arkansas.
**********************************************************************
I came back from Arkansas to prepare for a webinar with Family Tree Webinars sponsored by Legacy Family Tree. If you did not get a chance to watch the webinar which was entitled “Take me Back to Where I Belong” on Transportation Records of the Freedmen’s Bureau. Here is a link, and you can still listen to it for free for the next several days. I enjoyed giving the presentation, as these records reflect movement—which was something that they could not do when enslaved. So these records are so important. Here is link to the webinar so that you can listen to it.
**********************************************************************
Last night’s episode of Bernice Bennet’s show featured Nathalie  Blanc Chekete from the Repulic of Benin, in West Africa on a fact finding mission to learn what people want to see, and learn if they visit the country. The country was once known as Dahomey, and is a French speaking country today. They hope to learn what people want to see if they visit that country. This is the second guest talking about their west African country. Some have already visited Africa on the Roots to Glory Tours.
**********************************************************************
Oh–there are still some spaces left in two tracks at the Midwest African American Genealogy Institute (MAAGI) the teaching institute. The basic fundamentals track and the writing tack are still both accepting people. If you are still looking into an institute–this is the time to sign up for the chance to get the coaching that you need to write that book that you have had on your mind. There will be a half scholarship that will be available and will be announced in the next two weeks.
**********************************************************************
Genealogy Coloquium is announced from Alabama State University in Montgomery Alabama in early June. Look for the contact information on the flyer below. Glad to see a variety of events and learning opportunities coming up for the summer. Info: www.lib.alasu.edu

*********************************************************************************

A New Green Book Highlights South Carolina Black History
A new mobile app has been created to visit the many sites of interest for African American history. Well this app, similar to the old Green Book for travelers before integration. This is a mobile guide that was just announced. The purpose is to give tourists a guide to over 300 sites of African American history and culture. It will also encourage people who use the app to visit sites, and those places where the under-told stories can be found. I have hoped for some kind of app, and would love to see a kind of pokemon app but with history as the targeted stop instead of fantasy sites with fantasy creatures.

********************************************************************
Old Papers of Harvard’s First Black Graduate Found
Glad to hear the story that personal papers of the first graduate of Harvard were found. This find is a treasure, and thankfully the man who found it appreciate the collection of old letters and papers. That is a reminder for us to also collect and organize our own papers and letters as well.

*******************************************************************
Montpelier to Open New Exhibit on Life of Enslaved People

The estate of President James Madison, Montpelier is opening a special exhibit of life on the estate, from the perspective of the slaves. The exhibit will feature the lives of the enslaved and their descendants. This has been 2- years in the making. So glad to see such places telling the stories of the families that maintained the 1 family in the big house.  June 4th, “The Mere Distinction of Colour” will be opening. A special RSVP is required.
*********************************************************************************
Well, time to wind down for this week. Thank you for sharing your events with me. Thank you all for just being there, your listening to the podcast is appreciated. Good luck next week in Raleigh, and I hope to see you as the weeks roll by.

In the meantime, keep researching and keep sharing what you find.