What Good Is Genealogy?

In her article, "What Good Is Genealogy?," author Judy Rosella Edwards writes, "This is a common question. My answer is that it gives us a chance to correct the past, where necessary, and create a better future." That answer is at the heart of a movement that has grown out of one New England family's search into their own genealogy, as documented in the PBS movie "Traces of the Trade."

New African American database traces slave ship routes

As noted in a recent article on Digital Journal, "African Americans Receive Major Boost in Genealogy Tracking," a new database reported by Alexandra Marks by the Christian Science Monitor on December 30, 2008, will allow African Americans to trace the slave ship routes as far back as the 16th century, and their genealogy, in the same way that Europeans have been able to track their migration. This is a result of research by hundreds of scholars over 40 years, a project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The researchers compiled maps, images and relevant materials from 35,000 slave-trade routes that took place from Africa to parts of North American, Brazil, Europe and the Carribbean. This is a first, and an important one for a large group of people who had before been cut off from knowing about ancestral roots in the same way others have been able to do

"Meeting David Wilson" airs Friday, Apr 11

"Meeting David Wilson" a feature length documentary about the enduring legacy of slavery in today’s young black society airs Friday, April 11 at 9 p.m. ET. David Wilson, a 28-year-old African-American journalist, travels into his family's past to find answers to America's racial divide. Along the way, he meets another David Wilson, the descendant of his family's slave master. This discovery leads to a momentous encounter between these two men of the same name but whose ancestors were on the opposite sides of freedom. A DVD of the film will be available April 11.

Alex Haley's "Roots" now available on DVD

As reported in the Denver Post, "Reviving Roots," the monumentally resonating TV production of Alex Haley's "Roots," is now available on DVD. "Roots: 30th Anniversary Special Edition" (Warner Home Video, $59.98), the four-disc edition has nine commercial-free hours of the miniseries "that forced Americans to engage what Denver Post TV critic Clark Secrest called at the time 'the central and gruesome fact in American history.'" The DVD also contains compelling bonus material, especially "Roots: One Year Later," narrated by Lou Gossett Jr. and "Crossing Over: How Roots Captivated an Entire Nation."

Genealogists Discover Descendants on Anti-Slave Trade Petition

The UK Parliamentary Archives web site at www.parliament.uk/slavetrade has seen a flurry of activity since it went live, March 19, 2007. The site features a digitised, transcribed version of the petition from Manchester 1806 which is the biggest surviving parliamentary anti slave trade petition. Already individuals are finding names believed to be ancestors. David Prior of the Parliamentary Archives said: "I am bowled over by the feedback we are receiving from people who have recognised names on the petition. Anyone whose ancestor signed the petition will have a unique insight into that person's opinion on this issue at that time."

The 1807 Act of Parliament to abolish the British Slave Trade was the culmination of one of the first, and most successful public campaigns in history. The petition supported the Foreign Slave Trade Abolition Bill of 1806 and was signed by inhabitants of Manchester. It was laid before the House of Lords on 14 May 1806. Also available online is part of the 1807 Act itself and a much smaller pro slave trade petition. These documents along with others will feature in a comprehensive web site being launched by the Parliamentary Archives in May. Both the Manchester abolition petition and the 1807 Act will be key exhibits in The British Slave Trade: Abolition, Parliament and People exhibition in Westminster Hall from 23 May to 23 September 2007. It will be open to the public, free of charge. For further information please contact Ruth Cobb, at 24 Hour Museum.