A Mississippi Brick Wall

Jenuinely shares her Mississippi African-American brick wall on her blog.

Garthia Burnett Remembers . . .

Garthia Burnett, assistant news editor of the Commercial Dispatch, remembers what it was like growing up as an African-American in the Columbus area as she reflects on the African-American Heritage Tour she took Saturday which was sponsored by the Columbus Historic Foundation. It's a very interesting editorial!

African-American Genealogy Workshop in New Orleans

The Historic New Orleans Collection will be hosting its annual genealogy conference. It looks like a great event with Reginald Washington and Elizabeth Shown Mills lined up as the speakers. If you've never heard these two speak and you can make it to New Orleans, you need to make a special effort to be in attendance. Here's the full press release:

Genealogy workshop to focus on Tracing African American and Female Lineage

July 2007, New Orleans, LA — On Saturday, August 18, The Historic New Orleans Collection will host its ninth annual genealogy workshop from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street. Dedicated to exploring African American genealogy, the day-long program will feature one morning session and two afternoon sessions. Registration is required and ranges from $25.00 to $35.00.

Reginald Washington, a member of the Research Support Branch of the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C., will open the event with a presentation titled “Using Federal Records for African American Genealogical Research.” Washington will discuss the use of census records, military service and pension files, and Freedmen’s Bureau and Freedmen’s Bank records in conducting genealogical research.

Historical researcher and writer Elizabeth Shown Mills will lead two afternoon sessions, both focused on reconstructing the lives and lineage of African American females. In her presentations, Mills uses central characters from two overlapping historical novels—Cane River by Lalita Tademy and Mills’s own Isle of Canes―to demonstrate how each work recreated the lives and ancestry of four enslaved females.

The first afternoon session, “Philomene & Her Foremothers of Cane River,” will focus on the genealogical research methods used to trace the lineage of an aging freedwoman in 1900 back through three generations of enslaved women. The second afternoon session, “Coincoin of Isle of Canes,” centers on biographical research and finding records to reconstruct the lives of an 18th-century slave and freedwoman.

Seating is limited for the genealogy workshop, and all participants are required to register by calling (504) 523-4662. The registration fee is $25.00 until 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 11. After that point, participants may continue to register for a fee of $35.00, as space is available. All registered participants will receive a preservation kit and refreshments. Lunch, however, is not provided. A complete schedule of activities follows.


The Historic New Orleans Collection’s Ninth Annual Genealogy Workshop
Topic: African American Genealogy
Date: Saturday, August 18, 2007
Time: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.Registration is required. Visit http://www.hnoc.org/ or call (504) 523-4662 for details.

Schedule of Events
8:00–8:45 a.m. Registration
8: 45 a.m. Session I: “Using Federal Records for African American Genealogical Research”
Presented by Reginald Washington
10:00 a.m. Break
10:15 a.m. Session I resumes
11:45 a.m. Lunch (on your own)
1:15 p.m. Session II:
“Philomene & Her Foremothers of Cane River” Presented by Elizabeth Shown Mills
2:30 p.m. Break
2:45 p.m. Session III: “Coincoin of Isles of Canes”
Presented by Elizabeth Shown Mills
4:00 p.m. Closing Remarks

The Historic New Orleans Collection’s Ninth Annual Genealogy Workshop is sponsored by Hollinger Corporation and Louisiana Binding Services. Their support is gratefully appreciated.

Editor’s Notes:
Interviews with the speakers and/or representatives from The Historic New Orleans Collection may be scheduled by contacting Teresa Devlin (teresad@hnoc.org, (504) 598-7170).

Founded in 1966, The Historic New Orleans Collection is a museum, research center and publisher dedicated to the study and preservation of the history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South region. For more information about The Historic New Orleans Collection, please visit http://www.hnoc.org/ or call (504) 523-4662.

The Historic New Orleans Collection – Preserving our Past for a Brighter Future.

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Contact:
Teresa Devlin, The Historic New Orleans Collection
(504) 598-7170 / teresad@hnoc.org

Oprah's Mississippi Roots

Maggie Reads, a blogging librarian, has a review of Finding Oprah's Roots. She talks about the difficulty of African-American research in the state:

Mississippi records, like many southern states, had a lackadaisical
attitude toward black race record keeping prior to the 1900s. When African
Americans were included in the list of others, they were recorded with
nicknames. Amazingly, these nicknames were white generated, and they may or may not have been the name a person actually went by.