Welcome back to the African Roots Podcast! I can always be reached HERE.
***************************************************************
A special shout out to everyone in Richmond to everyone who is attending the NGS annual conference! I know I have seen some great photos online and have enjoyed seeing them. Some of you are watching the live streaming. And tomorrow, quite a few African American speakers are there and speaking tomorrow. Take a look at the schedule as Bernice Bennett and others are giving their presentation, so if you are there, do go and support them.
And there will be the AfriGeneas MeetUp about 12:30 at Starbucks. Great chance to shake hands and put a face to those names.
**************************************************************
An Amazing Week!
**************************************************************
How has your week been? I have had an amazing week! You know how your genealogy projects and interests and projects can lead to unexpected paths? Well some of my Oklahoma Indian Territory research took me to a Federal hearing this past week in Washington DC. I sat in on a hearing pertaining to the status of the Cherokee Freedmen. This is a case pertaining to the rights guaranteed by the Treaty of 1866 granting full citizenship to Cherokee Freedmen. This case has gone on for the past two to three decades and it is one about people who were expelled from the tribe.
Anyway, my point is that—my being there came out of my own genealogy efforts. I documented my family on the Dawes rolls in 1991. I wrote my first book in 1993. Prior to that—not one book had ever mentioned the Freedmen from any of the Five Tribes. It was as if they had never existed! None of the genealogy resource books every considered them noteworthy. Since that time, they have now surfaced as a people to document—but somehow the genealogy community of authors simply looked away and never mentioned them.
The point is however, that many genealogy projects can take you down unexpected paths. I realized that the entire court case centered around Freedmen arose out of people becoming aware in recent years of their history. I also realized, that genealogy, is a serious undertaking, and the story is not always about your own family. I would like to think that when I wrote the first book to document the history of the Freedmen, that I played a part in exposing this history to those who descend from Indian Territory nations. I was happy to be there to watch this chapter unfold. Our task is to be willing to undertake the effort to tell these stories as they arise.
Also this week—-
Clin Seq Study (Full Genome Sequencing) at National Institutes of Health.
Another experience for me, this week—I spent the entire day Thursday, at the NIH National Institutes of Health where I had the full genome sequencing done. This is the full DNA test that is done that is very costly. But I did not have to pay for it—in fact as a participant in the study, this stemmed from my interest also in the DNA testing. So here is another example of how one interest in something like DNA for genealogy, led me to an opportunity to have the full gene-sequencing test.
So my week has really made me think how important what we do, can really be. We should pay attention to what unfolds in the community and follow those paths to see where they take us.
***************************************************************
(Free Negro Registers found on Ancestry.com)
I hope that many of you have been looking at the records and resources that I mentioned last week. They are really amazing. Those records out of Elbert County Georgia are fantastic. And I hope that you have begun to explore those No. Carolina Freedman’s Bureau records.
**************************************************************
Exploring Pinterest!
*************************************************************
Images from my Pinterest Boards
Last week I attended the LDS Conference in Kensington MD, and I sat on a number of sessions that were quite good. One inspired me to create a new account on Pinterest! I have found that I have found so many new discoveries on other websites that are similar, and I have met some new people and have developed some new followers as a result! It has helped me to sort things in new categories.
I was surprised when I saw the presenter’s boards—it clicked. I think I saw the benefits, as it has helped me to sort things in a number of categories. I finally understood how people used it and how I could benefit from it. Anyway—it’s fun and I am enjoying it so far!
**************************************************************
Allies for Professional Genealogists
**************************************************************
ALA Conference Flyer
In recent weeks I have had a number of discussion about opportunities for professional genealogists. I think we have overlooked some of our best allies there is a great opportunity to interact with them. I know that the day before the NGS Conference is Librarians Day. And right now many are submitting proposals to speak at ROOTS TECH and the FGS conference, both of which will occur in Salt Lake City in February 2015. But I also gave some thought to a very large body of people who are our allies as well–librarians. Their professional organization is ALA the American Library Association. I know that they have the Black Caucaus of the ALA who have a conference from time to time. Their event is not an annual one, but we should not forget the parent organization–the ALA. They are key allies–well librarians and archivists. So as we look for those opportunities—librarians and their national organization should be there among the many venues that we should consider.
***************************************************************
Fathers of Conscience
I hope you listened to the re-broadcast of Father’s of Conscience on Bernice Bennett’s show last night. The show, Research at the National Archives and Beyond. Dr. Bernie Jones, a professor at Suffolk University in Boston. She talked about the fathers of mixed race children who embraced them upon their children. She spoke about several cases in different states—each unique, but with some similarity as well. Good dialogue was going on in the chat as the show aired. Tune in–the show is archived on Blog Talk Radio and the show airs every Thursday at 9pm on Blog Talk Radio.
***************************************************************
I hope to see some of you tomorrow in Richomnd, and also for those of you out west in California, I hope to see many of you in about three weeks at the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree .
Well time has passed yet again, and I thank you for being there and for tuning in. Thanks for your announcements of events, and also for just taking time out of your day.
In the meantime, I hope we meet and of course I hope that you will continue to keep researching, keep documenting and keep sharing what you find.
