Ancestor's Footprints with Bernice Alexander Bennett

Join author, Daniel J. Sharfstein for a discussion of his book and research - The Invisible Line - Three American Families and the Secret Journey from Black to White. Defining their identities first as people of color and later as whites, these families provide a lens for understanding how people thought about and experienced race and how these ideas and experiences evolved—how the very meaning of...

Join author Craig Steven Wilder for a discussion of his recent book - Ebony&Ivy: Race, Slavery, and the Troubled History of America's University. Craig Steven Wilder is a professor of American history at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has taught at Wiliams College and Dartmouth College. Many of America's revered colleges and universities - from Harvard, Yale, and Princeton to Ru...

Do you know about the African American 371st Infantry of World War I that fought in France?  Did you know that Sonya R. Hodges has dedicated her life to research and honor the men who fought in World War I to honor the memory of these dedicated soldiers? Please join Sonya R. Hodges- Grantham and Douglas Culbreth for a discussion of the role played by the African American 371st Infantry Regiment in...

Part 2 David Wellington will share his twenty-eight years of research of discovering  his roots from slavery to freedom and how this discovery has brought about a Sense of Healing, Love of Family, Education, Liberation, and Unity. David Wellington is working with the Prince George's Afro-American Historical and Genealogy Society to celebrate the emancipation of Maryland slaves scheduled for Novemb...

Part I David Wellington will share his twenty-eight years of research of discovering  his roots from slavery to freedom and how this discovery has brought about a Sense of Healing, Love of Family, Education, Liberation, and Unity. David Wellington is working with the Prince George's Afro-American Historical and Genealogy Society to celebrate the emancipation of Maryland slaves scheduled for Novemb...

  Fathers of Conscience Mixed-Race Inheritance in the Antebellum South   Join Author Bernie D. Jones for an engaging discussion about her book - Fathers of Conscience - Mixed-Race Inheritance in the Antebellum South.    Fathers of Conscience examines high-court decisions in the antebellum South that involved wills in which white male planters bequeathed property, freedom, or both to women of color...

Join Sarah Abel for a discussion of her research in genetics and identity. EUROTAST is a Marie Curie Initial Training Network (ITN), supporting a new generation of science and humanities researchers to uncover and interpret new evidence on the history and contemporary legacies of the transatlantic slave trade. The network will be running for four years from 2012 to 2016, and will enable 13 PhD res...

Genealogists tend to think of slavery as a southern issue only. Not so: slavery existed for decades in northern states as well. And freedom didn't come easy -- the law often provided for only for gradual manumission, and freedmen themselves were often unwelcome in the north. Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL The Legal Genealogist Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ance...

"The Robbins Family at War" - it is about a Native American family who lived through colonial wars of the 17th and 18th centuries, and finally emerged victorious in the Civil War as a part of the mixed-race community.  Five members served in the U.S. Colored Troops.  Three fought from Suffolk, VA to Richmond and helped enforce Juneteenth.  Two served in Florida and South Carolina. After the war, t...

Join author, lecturer, television and radio host Antoinette Harrell for a discussion of her new book The Department of Justice -Slavery,  Involuntary Servitude and Peonage. The 13th Amendment to the Constitution outlaws slavery and certain forms of involuntary servitude. The Department of Justice files contain complaints made by persons (victims) who were being held against their will or forced to...

Flight to Freedom: "The Fields Family and Freedom’s Fortress”  What would you risk to gain freedom for your family? Martha Ann Fields, her children, and her husband Washington Fields risked all to escape enslavement in Hanover County, VA to reach freedom at Fort Monroe – known as “Freedom’s Fortress” – in Hampton, Va. during the Civil War. “Flight to Freedom” is a dramatic interpretation of their...

Robyn Smith has been researching her family and others for 17 years. An engineer by day, Robyn makes good use of those research and problem-solving skills in the field of genealogy. She specializes in Maryland research, African-American and slave research and court records. Robyn has a strong interest in promoting the documentation of families and communities, and emphasizing the use of proper gen...

  It is an African American tradition to hold on to and treasure certain Funeral Programs because they represent a final and public tribute to the life of family members, friends and associates.  Ms. Sutton began actively collecting Funeral Programs and Newspaper Obituaries in1986. Today she has a 15 volume collection of 2" loose-leaf binders full of them consisting of at least 1000 people.  She w...

Finding Your Ancestors in the Freedmen Bureau Records between 1865-1872.  Selma Stewart  will discuss and provide examples of what is available and how to use Virginia Freedmen Bureau Records that are digitized and available on-line at www. FamilySearch.org. Selma Stewart is an avid family researcher and genealogist. She is the current President of the Afro American Historical and Genealogical Soc...

The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation: Stories of My Family’s Journey to Freedom with John F. Baker Jr. Genealogy expert John F. Baker Jr. was born in 1962, in Springfield, Tennessee and has lived his entire life just a few miles from Wessyngton Plantation, in a town populated by hundreds of descendants of its slaves. His book, The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation: Stories of My Family’s Jo...

Robyn Smith has been researching her family and others for 17 years. An engineer by day, Robyn makes good use of those research and problem-solving skills in the field of genealogy. She specializes in Maryland research, African-American and slave research and court records. Robyn has a strong interest in promoting the documentation of families and communities, and emphasizing the use of proper gen...

Located in Sandy Spring, Maryland,  the Theatre Ministry of the Olive Branch Community Church developed “Stories on the Way to Sandy Spring” in honor of the 2011 observance for Maryland Emancipation Day.  This vignette, based on three fictional characters, was written by Sophonia Simms and directed by Adam Simms.    Like those in the Stories, many escaped to freedom – found gainful employment and...

Genealogist Angela Walton-Raji has committed herself to sharing information with the descendants of the Freedmen of Indian Territory--which is now Oklahoma. She is the author of  the book Black Indian Genealogy Research: African American Ancestors Among the Five Civilized Tribes. The book serves as a guide to researching the history and lives of the 20,000 Freedmen of Indian Territory, who have be...

Bernice Bennett welcomes archivist Claire Kluskens -  a specialist in immigration, census, and other records of high genealogical value at the National Archives in Washington, DC for a discussion of the Microfilm Publication M1895, Slave Manifests of Coastwise Vessels filed at New Orleans, Louisiana, 1807-1860 (thirty rolls).  These records are part of Record group 36, Records of the U.S. Customs...

Join retired attorney, genealogist and tour provider Sarah Cato for a discussion of the 56th United States Colored Infantry recognition program  The St. Louis African American History and Geneaology Society spearheaded the recognition of the 56th United States Colored Troops, and an Ad Hoc Committe is working to have memorial stones placed at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. 175 soldiers...

Redicovering Your Kinship Village through documentation and DNA testing.   9pm eastern, 8pm central, 7pm mountain, 6pm pacific Motivational speaker and genealogist Michael Williams will share his epic 17-year adoption search and reunion experience plus his DNA breakthroughs to Rediscover his Kinship Village. As a motivational keynote speaker, Michael shares his journey to verify family lore throug...

The Reverend Peter W. Clark: Sweet Preacher and Steadfast Reformer with Elaine Parker Adams This book tells the story of the Reverend Peter W. Clark, a black Methodist minister during the post-Reconstruction period and early 20 century of Louisiana. Clark’s early life in Louisiana and his struggle for literacy during the time of the Civil War and its aftermath are discussed in the opening chapter....

Join genealogist, Sharon Batiste Gillins for a discussion of Record Group 105 of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. She will share her experiences in locating records in this rich genealogical resource available at the National Archives. The Freedmen's Bureau was established in the War Department by an act of Congress on March 3, 1865. The life of the Bureau was extended twice...

Join my special guests April Hynes and Reverend Fred Morton for a discussion of the Wanderer Project. This project is important to anyone interested in American history, and especially the African American experience. The Wanderer is the last documented ship to bring a cargo of slaves from Africa to the United States on November 28, 1858. April Hynes’ grandfather discovered an African Face Jug on...

 The Barbados and Carolinas Connection with Rhoda Green Most Barbadians today are unaware or disinterested about their linkages to the Carolinas. However, Rhoda Green recognizes that the past impacts the present each day.  The present, however, can promote forgetfulness, ignorance and sometimes denial.  This reality motivates her to provide a vehicle for sharing, collaboration and an opportunity t...