A retrospective on the black odyssey in America is scheduled for later this month at the National Archives at Atlanta.
It’s been 400 years since the first documented landing of Africans on American soil. The June 22 program, “1619-2019: African Americans’ 400-Year Journey Since Jamestown,” is free, but preregistration is required. The event is hosted by the National Archives at Atlanta, the Friends of the National Archives at Atlanta and the Metro Atlanta Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society.
Among the highlights will be speakers Maurice Hobson, a Georgia State University history professor; Mark Lowe, a certified genealogist who specializes in southern research; Ric Murphy, an AAHGS-national vice president for history and descendant of a Jamestown, Va., African indentured servant; Robyn Smith, an award-winning genealogy blogger; and Melvin Collier, who used DNA to connect with his African ancestral family.
The National Archives is located at 5780 Jonesboro Road in Morrow. Seating is limited. Check-in is at 8:30 a.m., with the program running from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. A box lunch will be provided for a donation. To pre-register, go to aahgsatl.org. For more information on the National Archives, see archives.gov/atlanta. National Archives at Atlanta Education Director Joel Walker can be reached at 770-968-2530 for information and group reservations.
Juneteenth Celebration at Atlanta History Center June 15 and 16.
A two-day Juneteenth Celebration at the Atlanta History Center will mark the end of slavery in the United States. The free weekend events begin at 11 a.m. on June 15 and culminate on June 16 at 2 p.m. with a “Conversation with Kenyatta Berry,” a professional genealogist and one of the hosts of the PBS series, “Genealogy Roadshow.” She will discuss her new book, “The Family Tree Toolkit,” which offers genealogy tips for beginning and intermediate researchers., followed by a Q&A session and a book signing. For more on this and other events, go to atlantahistorycenter.com, or call 404-814-4042.
Genealogical society’s special member features
Recently I asked readers to share helpful programs from genealogical societies. Susan from Talking Rock shared two programs from the St. Louis Genealogical Society (stlgs.org) she benefited from: One — “Ask Louie!” — allows you to submit questions. The other — “St. Louis City/County Biographies” — allowed her to submit an ancestor’s biographical sketch.
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