Welcome back to the African Roots Podcast! You can reach me at AfricanRootsPodcast.
Well we have had a week throughout the country with some serious weather. We in the mid-Atlantic are buried on tons of snow. Yesterday I hope was the final hurrah of winter, when it snowed and snowed the entire day. So today is a day of digging out completely! I hope that you are all safe and warm and dry. The task at hand besides digging out–is to write it down and tell this year’s weather story.
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In the meantime–genealogy does go on. Coming up next week in Charleston SC. The Avery Research Center is hosting a lecture by Dr. Leslie Harris, March 12 at 6pm. Dr. Harris will discuss the book, “Slavery and Freedom in Savannah”. The event will provide an opportunity for discussion and to look at Freedom and how it came to the Low Country.
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Out west in California, in Sacramento, the 10th African American Family History Seminar. This will occur next Saturday March 14 and the Family Research Center. The special keynote speaker is Tony Burrough and a large number of topics are covered. Common Names, Native American Research, the Freedmen’s Bureau, DNA, and a Beginners class, and so much more! This will take place from 8 to 4, an all day event. I always enjoy showing support for so many groups that are out there!
This being March, I invite people in Maryland to attend an all-day program for Native American research. I will present 4 workshops all day at the SE Anchor Branch of the Enoch Pratt Library. I will be presenting resources for general research, blended families and 10th and 20th century records, so I hope that you will join me on that day.
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I was so happy to see an event that will honor a much admired researcher, Dr. Ira Berlin. We appreciate the work of historians and depend upon their work to gain knowledge of the area, and the people who interest us. Well, coming up in April, at the University of Maryland, College Park, a two day event will honor the legacy and scholarship of Dr. Ira Berlin. This conference will be at the McKeldin Library.
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I saw a posting from a blogger this week who decided to create something called the Slave Name Roll Project. It began in February and the creator has decided to share data, and sort it by place of origin. It is wonderful to see what is shared. Thankfully many more people are willing to share this data which can be found in private collections, or a unique record set. The blog is called Tangled Roots and Trees, where Family and History Come Together. I am not sure who the owner is—can’t find the name of the contributor, but I am still happy to say thank you!
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I was excited to see info from the Family Search blog. Top African American genealogy resources. Congratulations to all of those websites and blogs that were mentioned.
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This is March, which is also Women’s History Month. This is the time to honor the many women in the family. We know that for many, the pulse of the family revolves around many of the women, the mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters and the female nurturers in the household. This is the time to perhaps honor those women in the family around whom many heartwarming stories revolve.
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Last night’s episode of Bernice Bennett’s show. Her guest was Antoinette Harrell, who spoke about the genealogical value of Civil Rights records. We don’t know that there are many records that reflect our history as well. We are all survivors of their efforts, and the many indignities that they endured. Explore those records as you weave the family story. Bernice Bennett’s show can be heard every Thursday evening on Blog Talk Radio. The show can be downloaded if you miss it last night.
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Also hats off to our friends in the Irish American community, as they celebrate Irish American heritage. Many of us in the African American community know that we have genetic European ties, and perhaps someday we may put energy into exploring this part of our past and may receive assistance to explore that par of our history as well.
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Stay warm this week and hope that you who have to dig out, will not exert yourselves too much and do stay safe while undertaking that enormous task. Thank you all for taking time to tune in, and please ave a good week of research.
In the meantime, the task continues, so please remember to keep researching, keep documenting and keep sharing what you find.