Ancestor's Footprints with Bernice Alexander Bennett

Beyond the 1870 Brick Wall with Descendants of St. Louis University Enslaved The Descendants of the St. Louis University Enslaved (DSLUE) is a descendant-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization devoted to the pillars of Remembrance, Restoration, and Reparative Justice. DSLUE works to preserve and honor the legacies of more than 70 men, women, and children enslaved by the Jesuits in Missouri between 1...

"The Story Lives On: Tracing Freedom, Faith, and Family Through Generations." Today's episode will feature Carol Turner who is a descendant of the historic Quander, Carter, Ford, Jasper, Lucas, Robinson, and Cherokee families. Her ancestry includes Nancy Carter Quander, who was freed from the estate of George Washington in 1801 and later married Charles Quander, helping establish one of America's...

Ancestor's Footprints is featuring author Terry J. Ligon’s groundbreaking book "Enslaved on the Trail of Tears: Race, Removal, and the Transformation of Indian Territory." His research challenges common oversimplifications about the Trail of Tears by revealing that thousands of enslaved African-descended people were forcibly removed alongside the so-called Five Civilized Tribes, with many being na...

The Choctaw Freedmen of Skullyville - Uncovering an Oklahoma Ghost Town This episode will explore the  story of Skullyville a once-thriving capital of the Choctaw Nation that faded into obscurity. Unlike the freedmen communities in Spiro, Fort Coffee, and Poteau, the town of Skullyville eventually became a ghost town. Historical accounts documented aspects of life there, yet often omitted the stor...

Today's episode features a new book: Behind the Gavel: Lessons from Chief Justice Bernette J. Johnson. This book is  co-authored by Chief Justice Bernette J. Johnson and the Honorable KaTrina Chantele Griffin.” “This inspiring book introduces young readers to the life lessons, values, and experiences that shaped one of the nation’s groundbreaking legal minds.”  The Honorable KaTrina Chantelle Grif...

This episode will focus on Memories That Heal: How Family Stories and Photos can support Healthy Aging. What if the photographs tucked away in your attic or family albums could actually improve brain health, strengthen relationships, and help people age with greater purpose and connection? Today’s guest is Rick Voight, CEO and Co-Founder of Vivid-Pix and publisher of Reunions Magazine. Rick is a l...

Today's episode features a conversation between host Bernice Alexander-Bennett and Dr. Warren Eugene Milteer Jr., an associate professor of history at George Washington University, about his book "Freedom in the Age of Slavery: A History of Free People of Color in Virginia." Dr. Milteer discussed his motivation for writing the book, which filled a gap in the historical record since the last full-l...

This episode featuring author Andrew Lawler will explore a lesser-known chapter of American history where enslaved people aligned with the British crown during the American Revolution.  At the start of the American Revolution, Black men took up arms to achieve freedom--by fighting for King George III. Hear how the people owned by patriots nearly squelched the Revolution in its cradle.  Andrew Lawl...

When Your Ancestors Choose You- Finding Binky This episode will explore what it means to carry the memory of your ancestors, the challenges of researching enslaved families, the emotional weight of the records, and the moment when genealogy becomes more than research, when it becomes a calling. Michael A. Willis is an award-winning author, speaker, consultant, blogger, and instructor with more tha...

This episode Celia: Justice After Death , explores the life and legacy of Celia , an enslaved, pregnant teenager and mother in pre–Civil War Missouri who resisted sexual exploitation and was executed in 1855 after defending herself against her enslaver. Her case exposes the stark injustice embedded in Missouri’s antebellum legal system—a system that denied enslaved women legal protection from sexu...

In today’s episode, titled  DNA, Genealogy, and the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre , we will discuss how DNA and historical research are helping identify victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre — one of the most devastating acts of racial violence in American history. Through genealogy, genetic testing, and community participation, families and researchers are working together to restore names and ident...

"Our Claiborne Parish: A Family History Research Project of Communal Kinship” traces the evolution of a family-led inquiry into a community-centered preservation model. Tracing six generations in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, her work has become a living portal of kinship—where paternal lines like Calloway, Bennett, Bugg(s) and Robinson converge with maternal families including Walston, Taylor, and...

Gather at the Table: The Healing Journey of a Daughter of Slavery and a Son of the Slave Trade is the chronicle of a shared journey toward racial reconciliation. Informed by genealogy, it deals with race, social justice and healing from the traumatic wounds of slavery. Over a three year period, the authors traveled through 27 states, visiting ancestral towns, courthouses, cemeteries, plantations,...

Building Justice Through Ancestry: Archives, DNA and the New Infrastructure for Liberation This episode will focus on how genealogy and ancestry research can serve as tools for justice and liberation, particularly for Black and Brown communities across the diaspora. Christopher Smothers, a historian and genealogist, will share the importance of accessing public records and archives to reclaim name...

Becoming a Good Relative shares remedies for the debilitating shame that can overtake white Americans when we face our peoples’ colonial past and our current complicity with systemic white supremacy. It offers a unique methodology, supported by African American and Indigenous Elders. To counteract cultural appropriation, the book includes stories of reclaiming European ancestral memory. The append...

Kathy Lynn Marshall, author of "Finding Grammie' Secrets," shares her journey to uncover the untold story of her great-grandmother, Ella Roy, known as Grammy Carter. Born in 1866 in Alexandria, Virginia, Grammie was remembered for her elegance and caring nature but remained silent about her past, leaving generations curious about her experiences and wealth. When Kathy's mother received a medical d...

America's  Forgotten Patriots of the Northern Theater   shines a light on the overlooked heroes who fought for independence in the shadows of the Revolutionary War’s northern campaigns. From the rugged battlefields of Saratoga to the icy marches through New England, this compelling narrative uncovers the lives of the diverse and courageous individuals—American men, women and children of African an...

In Becoming Trustworthy White Allies , Melanie S. Morrison brings together essays, lectures, and real-life stories drawn from her decades of anti-racist work. With honesty and care, she names the challenges white people face on the path to allyship—and the practices that make genuine partnership possible: moving through shame and guilt, building accountable relationships with people of color, unea...

From Fragments to Foundation: Uncovering a Buried History of Tragedy and Triumph  The challenges and stories of the family’s past existed only in scattered fragments—few names, little memories, whispered speculations, and family tragedies. For author Melvin J. Collier, the mystery of his paternal lineage became a lifelong quest, one that would lead him through mounds of records, across centuries,...

Without Fear  tells how, during American history, Black women made human rights theirs: from worldwide travel and public advocacy in the global Black press to their work for the United Nations, they courageously and effectively moved human rights beyond an esoteric concept to an active, organizing principle.   Acclaimed historian Keisha N. Blain tells the story of these women—from the well-known,...

The Early County Massacre has been known as the “Grandison Goolsby War” for over a century, focusing on the events of December 30, 1915, when forty-six-year-old Grandison used gunfire to defend himself from a lynching mob. Lesser known is that the incident started two days earlier when Grandison’s son was attacked on his way to a wedding and that it all led to the Supreme Court of Georgia sending...

Reflections on Sarah Rector Her name was Sarah Rector.  She was a young black girl born in Indian Territory on March 3, 1902.  Her parents were Joseph and Rose Rector, all of  Taft, Indian Territory. Her story is similar to that of Danny Tucker another black child born in Indian Territory. He, like Sarah had a humble beginning, and he, like Sarah would make headlines for sudden wealth acquired by...

Reconnecting Creole of Color Lineages in Southwest Louisiana How do Creole of color families in Southwest Louisiana rediscover and reconnect their shared histories? In this episode, my guest Alex D. Lee guides listeners through community-driven methods for tracing lineage—blending DNA results with courthouse and notarial records, oral histories, and collective memory. Together, we explore the firs...

The Sound of What's Not Said When a descendant of an enslaved person reaches out to the family of the enslaver and receives no reply, what does that silence mean? Is the descendant of the enslaver obligated to respond—and if so, how? Does silence protect, deny, or refuse? Can healing happen without acknowledgment? The Sound of What’s Not Said invites us to confront the weight of silence between de...

Today’s episode is featuring Frederick Murphy of History Before Us. Frederick Murphy is a Filmmaker , Documentarian , Traveling Storytelle r, Preserver of Histor y and Mental Health Therapist.  Frederick Murphy has dedicated his career to exploring the intricacies of race and culture in America through a compelling and evocative lens. His work delves deeply into communities of color experiences, s...