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People enslaved on a
Cockspur Island, Georgia plantation
(Photo Credit: CORBIS)
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With so many books, films and other
resources available, one could easily spend a lifetime immersed in the study of
family genealogy and its related history. Yet, there are particular challenges
for African American researchers that may make our task more difficult than
most. Once you decide to become “the family historian” the following books and
films will help with your discovery as well as coping with the painful things
you may find.
GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH
For those new to
genealogical research, I recommend Black
Roots: A Beginner’s Guide to Tracing the African American Family Tree, Tony
Burroughs (Fireside Books, 2001). For deeper historical context, there is Finding a Place Called Home: A Guide to
African American Genealogy and Historical Identity, Dee Palmer Woodtor
(Random House, 1999).
SLAVERY IN AMERICA
PBS has been a
leader in presenting programs on the African American experience. Africans in America :
America
Many think slavery
was limited to the Southern states. Complicity:
How the North Promoted, Prolonged and Profited from Slavery, Anne Farrow et
al (Random House, 2007) debunks that myth and elucidates on how slavery was
integral to American prosperity.
FAMILY HISTORIES
Several excellent books detail relationships between slave owners and the
people they enslaved. Most notable for me are The Hairstons: An American
Family in Black and White, Henry Wiencek (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2000), The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation: Stories of My Family's Journey
to Freedom, John F. Baker (Atria
Books, 2009) and Mississippi to Africa: A Journey of Discovery, Melvin
Collier (Heritage Books, 2009).
Stories of mixed
race families have also come to light. These include Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered
He Was Black, Gregory Howard Williams
(Plume, 1996); One Drop: My
Father's Hidden Life - A Story of Race and Family Secrets, Bliss Broyard
(Little Brown, 2007); Passing Strange: A
Gilden Age Tale of Love and Deception Across the Color Line, Martha
Sandweiss (Penguin, 2009) and The House
at the End of the Road: A Story of Race, Identity and Memory, W. Ralph
Eubanks (Harper Collins, 2009).
HEALING
Slavery inflicted a
traumatic wound on American consciousness – both black and white. The more you
delve into your family history, the more you will appreciate how true this
statement is.
The Hidden Wound, Wendell
Berry (Houghton-Miflin, 1970) was one of the earliest books I read by a white
person who honestly confronted “our country’s racial dilemma.” Post
Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America's Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing, Dr. Joy Angela DuGruy (Uptone Press, 2005) helped me understand the
damaging effect of the slavery experience on contemporary African Americans.
Both of these books informed my writing as I worked on Gather at the Table:
The Healing Journey of a Daughter of Slavery and a Son of the Slave Trade, Thomas Norman DeWolf & Sharon Leslie Morgan (Beacon Press, 2012).
Finally, The Human Family Tree (National
Geographic, 2009), which traces the human journey through time, proves through
DNA analysis that the human race was born in Africa and all people are related.
Sharon Leslie
Morgan is the founder of OurBlackAncestry.com, a website dedicated to African
American family research. She is co-author of Gather at the Table: The
Healing Journey of a Daughter of Slavery and a Son of the Slave Trade (Beacon Press, 2012). This blog
expresses the views of the author and should not be attributed to the National
Genealogical Society.
Editor's Note: This is the third in a sequence of four posts by Sharon
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