As the United States celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding, the Memorializing the Enslaved in Arlington Project in conjunction with the Center for Local History invites you to help tell a more complete American story. African American family histories—shaped by enslavement, emancipation, resilience, and community—are essential to understanding that story.
This Genealogy Workshop: “Black History Revealed: Expanding the American Story with African American Genealogy” is a free, half-day interactive workshop free to the public that is designed to help participants uncover, reclaim, and preserve African American family histories using proven research strategies and essential genealogical tools. Please bring your laptop or smartphone.
Join interactive workshops to beter understand the place of African American family histories in the American (and Arlington) story.
Learn how to use essential tools and records in the morning then work on your own family research in afternoon breakout sessions–all guided by genealogy experts, courtesy of a Virginia Humanities grant to the Memorializing the Enslaved in Arlington project.
Morning Session (10:00 AM – 12:00 PM): Foundations & Tools:
- Getting Started with Genealogy: Four Steps to Uncovering Your Family History
- 10 Essential Tools for Tracing African American Ancestry
Lunch Break (12:00 PM – 1:00 PM)
Afternoon Breakout Workshops (1:00 PM – 2:30 PM): Your Family History Research in Action
Participants will in small breakout groups organized by experience level:
- Beginner – Learning where to start and tracing families back to the 1870 census.
- Advanced/Brick Walls – Reconstruct the post-emancipation generation (circa 1865–1870) using census records, Freedmen’s Bureau materials, and related sources and applying targeted strategies to address complex research challenges and explore slavery-era records.
Each breakout is facilitated by professional genealogists, with additional support available to help participants navigate records, evaluate evidence, and develop next steps.
Presenters Include: Andre Kearns, Lisa Fanning, Tyrone Goodwyn, and Luke Alexander from Black Ancestries, a genealogy research and storytelling firm dedicated to helping people of African descent uncover, celebrate, and preserve their family histories.
For Additional Information and to Register Click HERE
