Research at the National Archives and Beyond

Join Janice Gilyard and Cherekana Feliciano for a conversation with Charles Holman regarding the parents of his great-great grandmother who escaped slavery. Charles is the great-grandson of an enslaved person who in freedom became a civil rights leader and one of the first lawyers of color in his state.  Since that time nearly 150 years ago, civil rights has been a dedicated mission in Charles’ family as well as Charles’ personal calling

Join Janice Gilyard and Cherekana Feliciano for a conversation with Ethan West as he shares his research regarding his West ancestors (Dolph and Millie West), various research trips through Tennessee, and the powerful connections and relationships that evolved from his journey.  It is empowering to know your lineage and it is essential to understanding what needs to be done now and in the future. Everyone has a story!

Join Janice Gilyard and Cherekana Feliciano for a conversation with Akosua Moore and Kimberly Morgan. Akosua Moore and Kimberly Morgan were two strangers brought together through genealogical and historical research. At the center of their connection is a man named Stephen Binyard, who is Moore's ancestor and is buried in Edgerly Cemetery in Beaufort, South Carolina. The two women met in person for the first time in 2014 and during this first encounter, they discovered that not only were they researching the same person but they also shared the same dream - to do genealogical research with Dr. Henry Louis Gates for "Finding Your Roots". Since then, not only has their research into Stephen Binyard uncovered a larger history about the lives of the formerly enslaved people buried in Edgerly Cemetery and who were once enslaved on Edgerly Plantation, but the two women have also realized their dream of working for "Finding Your Roots"!

Join Janice & Cherekana for a discussion with Command Master Chief (CMC), United States Navy, Larae Frazier Baker. CMC Baker was selected for the Command Senior Chief program and then selected for CMC in 2016. Several months later, she was chosen for CMC reporting onboard the USS Gravely (DDG 107), Norfolk, VA from 2016-2019. While assigned, she was deployed to the SIXTH Fleet AOR as the Standing NATO Maritime Group ONE (SNMG-1) Flag Ship in support of NATO partnerships. CMC Baker is currently serving onboard USS Arlington (LPD 24), Jacksonville, FL. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Work Force Education from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Her decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (4 awards), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (4 awards), and various unit and campaign awards.

Join Hosts Janice and Cherekana of Speak On It ! with Leslie Anderson for a conversation about Stories from the 1st U.S. Colored Cavalry. The 1st U.S. Colored Cavalry included free men, freedmen, freedom-seekers, and white officers from the United States and around the world. Who were they? Where did they come from? Where did they go? And what of those who didn’t survive? Many who returned to civilian life established families and contributed to their communities. Others struggled with debilitating injuries, madness, and broken hearts. This program examines the pre-and post-war lives of selected troops and officers by using pension applications and sources from local history. Learn about strategies and sources that you can apply to your research.   Leslie Anderson, a native Virginian, is the owner of Anderson Historic Research, LLC, and a former reference librarian at Alexandria Library, Local History/Special Collections Branch. Named a Virginia Humanities Scholar in 2020, she won the 2013 NGS Family History Writing Contest. Her publications include, Virginia Slave Births Index, 1853-1865 (Project Editor), Alexandria (Co-author), and the Magazine of Virginia Genealogy. Leslie holds a Master of Science in Library Science, and her genealogical education includes GRIP, IGHR, and Gen-Fed. She’s a member of AAHGS, NGS, and VGS. She blogs at "1st U.S. Colored Cavalry: Private Lives, Public Records."

Join Janice and Cerkana of Speak on It! for a discussion with Dr. Evelyn McDowell, chair of Rider University’s accounting department in Lawrenceville, NJ.  She co-chaired the task force who recommended the removal of the name “Van Cleve” from an 18th-century house on Rider University’s campus following the discovery that its namesake, Benjamin Van Cleve, supported slavery. Rider University removed the name “Van Cleve” from an 18th-century house on its campus following this discovery. McDowell is a founding board member of the National Society of the Sons & Daughters of the United States Middle Passage, a lineage society that works to preserve the memory and history of slavery.

Join hosts Janice and Cherekana for a conversation with Melvin J. Collier, Author, Genealogist, Presenter, and Blogger.  Melvin will share information regarding his website:  Roots Revealed and his book, 150 Years Later: Broken Ties Mended. Melvin J. Collier has been conducting historical and genealogical research for over 25 years, starting at the age of 19. He is a former civil engineer, who used his passion for African American history and historical preservation to foster a career change. He then earned a Master of Arts degree in African American Studies, Clark Atlanta University, in 2008, with additional graduate coursework in Archival Studies from Clayton State University.

Join hosts Janice and Cherekana for a conversation with author, Kathy Marshall:  Lots of Roots investigation led Kathy Marshall on another thrilling journey into her family’s tangled historical past, finding black and white ancestors she’d never known, leading to places she’d never been, and uncovering secrets that did not want to be told. The family only knew that Grandpa Austin Marshall smoked sweet-smelling cigars, sported a white linen suit, jingled coins in his pockets, and was born in Columbus, Georgia. So how did he put his son through medical school on a Pullman porter’s salary? Marshall will share some of her research methodologies, which may help you find results too.

Join host Janice and Cherekana for a conversation with Warren Eugene Milteer Jr, Assistant Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  We will discuss his new book, Beyond Slavery’s Shadow: Free People of Color in the South. Warren is also the author of North Carolina’s Free People of Color, 1715-1885 (LSU Press, 2020), the independently published Hertford County, North Carolina’s Free People of Color and Their Descendants (2016), as well as articles in the Journal of Social History and the North Carolina Historical Review. Milteer was the recipient of the Historical Society of North Carolina’s R. D. W. Connor Award in 2014 and 2016 for the best journal article in the North Carolina Historical Review.

Join hosts Janice and Cerekana of Speak On It! for a conversation with Rodney Sam about the Legacy: Marie Senegal - his African Ancestor. Marie is Rodney Sam's paternal 7th great-grandmother and the oldest known ancestor of African descent.  She was born in 1699 in Africa and was in the French colony of Louisiana by the 1720s. She is described as "Marie Senegal" and was emancipated out of slavery in 1769 by Andre Masse, an early French trader, and rancher, in Louisiana with her family. Rodney descends from her daughter, Marie-Flore, who was manumitted over a decade earlier. Rodney Sam is a graduate of Prairie View A&M University. His family has deep Louisiana Creole roots that extend to the beginning of the colony. He is passionate about learning about the history, genealogy, and culture of his Louisiana Creole ancestors.