Join our Culture Conversation with Michael O'Malley

 Join our Culture Conversation with Michael O'Malley on Wednesday, 8 October, 2025 at 8:00pm Eastern. 

Michael O'Malley is a Professor in the Department of History and Art History at George Mason University, and is the author of The Color of Family: History, Race, and the Politics of Ancestry. 

In The Color of Family, O’Malley teases out the various changes made to citizens’ names and relationships over the years, and how they affected families as they navigated what it meant to be “white,” “colored,” “mixed race,” and more. In the process, he delves into the interplay of genealogy and history, exploring how the documents that establish identity came about, and how private companies like Ancestry.com increasingly supplant state and federal authorities—and not for the better.

In addition to David Morrow, the host of Culture Conversations, O'Malley will be joined by Andre Kearns, a member of the NGS Board of Directors, who is mentioned in the book. 

Register NOW for this live Zoom event!