NORFOLK, Va. — Many people may not understand how something as simple as genealogy invokes a power structure that disadvantages African Americans.
For hundreds of years, the enslaved were considered property. Names had no real meaning but as labels for the enslaved that served as identifiers for their enslavers.
But in many cases, those names are all African Americans have to begin to sew together the fabric of their family histories.
In the documentary Roots Recovered: Reclaiming Our Names, here are four takeaways:
Some call it the 1870 brick wall
The first time African Americans were listed on the federal census was in 1870. Before that, our names were scattered about in historical documents often with no surnames.
Genealogy research has gotten a lot easier
It's due to an increasing amount of digitized records online. There are also several collaborative platforms, such as Ancestry.com that allow a person to connect with others through DNA. Slave deeds, Freedmen's Bureau records, estate records, and more can be found by logging on.
A big research project is underway
Boston-based 10 Million Names may be the most ambitious project yet to recover the names of the formerly enslaved. These 10 million people of African descent connect to some 44 million descendants. A group of genealogists, historians, and scholars is behind the project they expect it to take several years.
Knowing your ancestry is empowering to future generations
When a person can pinpoint an ancestor in a time and space, with a name, it's meaningful. It humanizes that ancestor.
Family stories serve to the benefit of our children, promoting within them, pride and honor. Genealogy research also nurtures empathy. When we become students of each other's stories, we foster a better understanding of history and clarification of where we stand as a society today.