Welcome to the 400th consecutive episode of the African Roots Podcast!

This is a milestone episode and I am amazed that it has been 7 year journey! Yes, for the past 7 years I have been coming to you every Friday! That means that children now in the second grade were mere babies when I started this podcast! Wow! What an amazing journey this has been. I am excited to continue with the podcast, and to announce a few changes for the future!

A few changes:
1) After 7 years, a change is a good and healthy thing to have. After having recorded so many episodes, I am adjusting the podcast schedule. and plan to record these podcasts every two weeks, thereby bringing a change from the weekly schedule. So the next podcast will be occurring December 16th!

2) And—in addition—a few feature—African Roots TV is coming back! That’s right! My YouTube channel is coming back, as I am going to start making more videos reflecting various topics and work on a number of special topics and events to cover for the channel, so stay tuned for that!

I am always thrilled and surprised, when I meet people who tell me that they never miss a podcast, which always humbles me to know that you are there and out there listening.

My goal today for this 400th episode, is to give you an overview of the African American genealogy community.
We often research our families on our own, and researching alone, but there is a larger community of people who are doing the same thing. But many of us do not know each other. So it is a good idea to know what is really out there for the African Ancestored community.

Societies You can meet them in a number of places. If you are new to genealogy, there are societies, national groups and independent groups. AAHGS is the oldest genealogy groups for African Americans that comes out of Washington DC, with many chapters across the country. There are several independent groups and one group that plans an event every 2-3 years which is the International Black Genealogy Summit, out of the west coast.

Social Media. Now–there are thousands of people on social media involved in genealogy activity. The two largest groups that come to mind are AfriGeneas and Our Black Ancestry. Both are on Facebook and their number are in the thousands. These are free places online where you can ask questions, find answers, and also find a community of volunteers to answer questions.

There is a need to also point you to the AfriGeneas family. Besides Afrigeneas genealogy community is a question and answer section. The other side is the Afrigeneas Group–a website that you hit the LIKE button to explore rare photos, brief bios, black history data that is truly amazing. You want to look on Facebook for both of those AfriGeneas entitites. And don’t forget the base website–AfriGeneas.com

 

Now if you are now aware–there is activity on Blog Talk Radio with Blog Radio’s Bernice Bennet Show–you need to know who Bernice Bennett is, who hosts her own show, Research at the National Archives and Beyond. She has done this for 5 years, and every Thursday evening at 9pm.

 

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

I mentioned the Summit—well we are 3 years out for the International Black Genealogy Summit, that is going to Africa in 2019! The African Disapora is large and extensive, so I salute the people at the Summit, as they are taking our genealogy experience to the motherland! And next year AAHGS is planning a cruise to the Bahamas out of Charleston.

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

Black Pro Gen LIVE—you need to know that is now well into the blogosphere. This is a group of genealogists of color with an amazing group of people. A group o genealogists of color who get together on a regular basis. Well we have a plan now up for 2017. And look at the schedule:

2017 BlackProGen Google+ Hangouts Full Schedule

• Wed Jan 11, 2017  – Finding Your Roots Season 4 Debrief
• Wed Jan 25, 2017  – Finding Your Roots Season 4 Debrief
• Wed Feb 1, 2017  – Loud, Resounding Voices: The Slave Narratives
• Thu Feb 9, 2017 – BlackProGen LIVE! 2017 RootsTech
• Wed Feb 15, 2017 – The Ten Percent: Free People of Color
• Wed Feb 22, 2017 – Case Studies in DNA: Practical Tips and Tricks
• Tue Mar 7, 2017 – Social Media for People of Color Genealogy Research
• Tue Mar 21, 2017 – People of Color in the West: Arizona, California, Nevada
• Tue Apr 4, 2017 – Rebellion and Resistance: People of Color and the U.S. Military
• Tue Apr 18, 2017 – People of Color in the Northeast: New York and New Jersey
  Tue May 9, 2017 – Getting Started with Asian/Pacific Islander Research
• Tue May 23, 2017 – People of Color in the West: Colorado, Oregon, and Washington
• Fri Jun 9, 2017 – BlackProGen LIVE! 2017 SCGS Genealogy Jamboree
• Tue Jun 20, 2017 – Get to MY Folks: Easy Ways to Find People of Color in Online Records
• Tue Jun 27, 2017 – Rites of Life: Religious, Fraternal, and Benevolent Societies
• Wed Jul 5, 2017 – People of Color in the Northeast: Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire
• Wed Jul 12, 2017 – BlackProGen LIVE! 2017 MAAGI
• Tue Jul 25, 2017 – People of Color in the Midwest: Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio
• Tue Aug 8, 2017 – “Well You Know…” Privacy in Genealogy and DNA
• Tue Aug 22, 2017 – People of Color in the Midwest: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, and Missouri
• Tue Sep 12, 2017 – Getting Started with Latin Research
• Tue Sep 26, 2017 – Leaving Your Footprint Online
• Tue Oct 10, 2017 – Getting the Most at Family Events
• Tue Oct 24, 2017  – The Unexpected: Dealing With New, Unsettling Info in DNA Research
• Tue Nov 14, 2017 – Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes
• Tue Nov 28, 2017 – Pad and My Pen: Writing Your Family History

This is just a section of things to come.

**********************************************************************************************************
Unique Pieces of Our History – Some Links for You
 The Colored Hockey League of the Maritime Provinces

New Bedford and the Cape Verdean Population

A Special Hoosier Story : Lyles Station Indiana, A Black Community
The Lyles Station Story

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

I hope to see some of you at the Smithsonian at the reception celebrating the completion of the Freedmen’s Bureau Indexing Project. This should be a great event. Some blog updates are coming up next week as well.

In the meantime, thank you all for listening and tuning in for the 400th consecutive podcast, the feedback that I get from you is what keeps me going. Thank you all, and in the meantime, please remember to keep researching, keep documenting, and keep sharing what you find.