As the United States marks the 250th anniv ersary of its founding\, the America250 commemoration invites reflection o n the full and complex histories that make up the American story. African American family histories&mdash\;shaped by enslavement\, emancipation\, re silience\, and community&mdash\;are essential to that story.
\nBecau se most Africans were brought to what became the United States before the American Revolution\, America250 offers a powerful opportunity to recogniz e African Americans as foundational to the nation&rsquo\;s story from its very beginnings.
\nBlack History Revealed: Getting Start ed with African American Genealogy is a full-day\, interacti ve workshop designed to help participants uncover\, reclaim\, and preserve African American family histories using proven research strategies and es sential genealogical tools.
\nThe workshop will begin at 9:30am in t he Auditorium at the Martin Luther King\, Jr. Memorial Library. There will be a break for lunch from 1pm-2pm. The workshop will then continue at 2pm with specialized breakout sessions in the Conference Center which is loca ted on the fourth floor. \;
\nAttendees are welcome to attend an y portion of the workshop or stay for the entire day. \;
\nRSVP is en couraged but not required. Please join us for what promises to be an educa tional and enlightening day.
\nThe full day schedule with session in formation and presenters' bio are below.
\nMorning Session (9:30 AM &ndash\; 1:00 PM): Foundations &\; Tools
\nWelcome &\;
Framing the Day
The workshop opens with a welcome situ
ating African American genealogy within the America250 commemoration\, hig
hlighting how family history research connects personal ancestry to broade
r themes of freedom\, citizenship\, and belonging in the United States.
Getting Started with Genealogy: Four Steps to Uncovering
Your Family History
Participants will learn a clear\,
step-by-step framework for beginning&mdash\;or restarting&mdash\;their gen
ealogy journey\, with emphasis on organizing known information\, identifyi
ng research gaps\, and building a sustainable research plan.
<
strong>10 Essential Tools for Tracing African American Ancestry
This session introduces the most important resources for African
American genealogy\, including free and subscription-based tools such as F
amilySearch and Ancestry\, with guidance on how and when to use key record
s created before\, during\, and after emancipation.
Lunch Break (1:00 PM &ndash\; 2:00 PM): Lunch on Your Own Attendees may bring their own lunch\, purchase food from Marianne's Cafe located on the first floor of the library\, or get lunch at a nearby restaurant.&nbs p\;
\nAfternoon Breakout Workshops (2:00 PM &ndash\; 4: 00 PM): Your Family History Research in Action
\nT he afternoon is designed for hands-on application with a focus on you. Ple ase be sure to bring your own personal device to work on your genealogical research.
\nParticipants will work directly on their own family res earch in small breakout groups organized by experience level:
\nEach breakout is facilitated by your workshop leaders who are experienced genealogists\, with additional support availab le to help participants navigate records\, evaluate evidence\, and develop next steps.
\nWhat You&rsquo\;ll Leave With:
\nIn the spir it of America250\, this workshop affirms that uncovering African American family histories is both an act of remembrance and a meaningful contributi on to understanding America&rsquo\;s past\, present\, and future.
\nAndre Kearns is a native Washingtonian\, a nation
ally respected genealogist\, author\, and public \; speaker\, and the
Founder and CEO of Black Ancestries
\, a genealogy research and storytelling firm \; dedicated to help
ing people of African descent uncover\, celebrate\, and preserve their fam
ily \; histories. A graduate of Morehouse College and Harvard Business
School\, Andre brings analytical \; rigor\, historical insight\, and
compelling narrative to the practice of genealogy.
Over the past t wo decades\, Andre has specialized in African American genealogy\, with a particular \; \;focus on tracing lineages through slavery\, emanc ipation\, and freedom using archival records\, DNA evidence\, and communit y-based research methods. His own family research reaches back to the earl y seventeenth century\, including African ancestors present in colonial Vi rginia prior to the American Revolution&mdash\;an experience that informs his deep commitment to placing African American families firmly within the nation&rsquo\;s founding history.
\nAndre serves in leadership role s within national genealogical organizations and regularly presents at lib raries\, conferences\, and cultural institutions across the country. His w ork has been featured in major media outlets and scholarly journals\, and his forthcoming book\, Finding Cornerstone Stories: Uncovering Inspiration in Your Family&rsquo\;s History (2026)\, reflects his belief that genealo gy is not only about discovering names and dates\, but about restoring vis ibility\, dignity\, and belonging to the American story.
\n< img src="https://static.libnet.info/frontend-images/editor/dclibrary/LisaF anning.jpeg" width="153" height="174" alt="" style="float: left\; margin: 0px 20px 20px 0px\;" /> \;Lisa Fanning\, an Indiana native an d former DC transplant\, is a genealogist\, genetic genealogist\, and \; \;family historian who has spent the past 30 years unraveling the rich tapestry of her family's American \; \;history in the south and Midwest. \;Fueled by a lifelong passion for discovery\, her resear ch delves into \; \;the histories of enslavement and migration in middle Tennessee\, Kentucky\, and Georgia. She has also \; \;exp lored her heritage among Tri-Racial Isolate communities in North Carolina\ , free African American \; \;settlements in southern Indiana\, an d the extraordinary journey of the Anderson family\, emancipated \; &n bsp\;in 1712 in Norfolk\, VA. Lisa is proud to be the 8th great-granddaugh ter of Kate Anderson\, the matriarch of \; \;the Anderson family\ , who was born in 1670. \;
\nLisa is also a genetic genealogist who volunteers her expertise for groundbreaking initiatives such as the DN A Doe Project\, the Tulsa Race Massacre DNA Identification Project\, and t he DNA Search Squad\, using DNA and genealogy research to help identify th e unidentified. \;
\nShe is an elected member of the Board of Di rectors of the National Genealogical Society and serves on the leadership team of the Midwest African American Genealogy Institute (MAAGI). Lisa has delivered numerous presentations on her family history and contributed as a genealogy consultant for Before the Bulldozers: Historic Southwest D.C. Exposed. She was featured on WOIO Cleveland 19's Unidentified television program and participated as a panelist in a national PBS virtual event for Season Ten of Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates\, Jr. Most recent ly\, Lisa spoke at an event during the United Nations Permanent Forum on P eople of African Descent (UNPFPAD) Fourth Session in New York City and des igned a two-day community genealogy workshop for the City of Tulsa\, Oklah oma. \;
\nBeyond her contributions to genealogy\, Lisa is an awa rd-winning artist with a distinguished professional career spanning three decades. She has been a driving force in diversifying the U.S. workforce b y building educational and career pathways for underrepresented groups in international affairs\, higher education\, and healthcare. Lisa holds a B. A. in French and an M.A. in Intercultural Communication\, specializing in French language and culture. She is a genealogy/genetic genealogy consulta nt and serves as the senior Genetic Genealogist for Black Ancestries.
\ n
\;Tyrone Goodwyn&rsquo\;s mother was a Jacobs. \; Her family started as Angolan servants o
n Eastern \; \;Shore Virginia in mid-1600s and moved to southeast
NC as free people of color by mid-1700s. \; \;There\, they were
Revolutionary War patriots and foundational to free communities along the
south \; \;and Midwest. \;
\;His father&rsquo\;s line hailed from central Virginia\, Dinwiddie County. \; His 2024 res earch tied father&rsquo\;s \; \;grandmother to one of a set of In digenous American girls who were stolen from South Carolina and \; &nb sp\;enslaved in Dinwiddie around 1700.
\n\;Born and raised in T idewater Virginia\, Mr. Goodwyn is a graduate of The College of William an d \; \;Mary\, Old Dominion University\, and George Mason Universi ty. His degrees are in Marketing\, and \; \;Information \; &n bsp\;Systems.
\n\;Retired from Telecomm IT leadership\, he is c urrently working with Colonial Williamsburg and Custis \; \;museu ms identifying the persons enslaved by the Custis/George Washington/Robert E. Lee \; family \; \;dynasty\, from 1600s Eastern Shore to 1800s Mt. Vernon and Washington DC. To further that work\, he founded the Gabriel Jacobs EPOCH Initiative in the History department of Old Dominion University\, where he directs two history interns.
\nHe is the Vice President of the North Carolina Genealogy Society\, and a member of the N ational Genealogical Society and the Virginia Genealogical Society. He is also a member of the DC and \; the Hampton Roads chapters of African American Historical &\; Genealogical Society\; and the League of the De scendants of the Enslaved of Mount Vernon.
\nWith his cousins Luke A lexander and Kevin Graham\, he speaks across NC and SC on free men of colo r who created America via Revolutionary War service. Dozens were Jacobs an d their kin. Hundreds fought\, overall.
\n
Luke Alexander is a genealogist and community historia
n focusing on African-American and Indigenous heritage in the Carolinas. H
e has ancestry from several of the earliest recorded \; families of A
frican origin in America\, along with being of direct descent from the Lum
bee\, Waccamaw and Cape Fear Native-American nations.
Luke serves as vice-president of the Benjamin and Edith Spaulding Descendants Foundati on\, Inc. engaged in philanthropic activities in his ancestral hometown Fa rmers Union\, NC. \; Additionally\, Luke currently serves on the Boar d of Directors of the North Carolina Genealogical Society. Luke is also an inducted member of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) \; with lineage from his 4th great-grandfather William (Loughry) Lowry (1758-1847 )\, a patriot ancestor of the Lumbee and Tuscarora communities of Robeson County\, NC.
\n\;Luke has provided historical commentary on-air for WECT News\, the NBC affiliate in Wilmington\, NC. With co-author Andr e Kearns\, Luke was published in the Afro-American Historical \; and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) Journal (2020) and the inaugural SOFAFEA Jour nal (2022) with articles on their shared ancestor Emanuel Cumbo\, a free m an of Angolan descent who \; owned land near Jamestown\, Virginia cir ca 1667. Luke is also an administrator of DNA research projects with Famil y Tree DNA (FTDNA) and GEDmatch.
\n\nhttps://dclibrary.libnet.in fo/event/15672729 URL;VALUE=URI:https://dclibrary.libnet.info/event/15672729 ATTACH:https://static.libnet.info/images/events/dclibrary/Genealogy.jpg END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR