Art of Fact Genealogy and Family History

02/17/2025

THE BOOK NOOK:

DONNA ODOM, OUR FAMILY HISTORY LEAD HAS SOME BOOK AND NOVEL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YOU BASED ON AFRICAN AMERICAN FAMILY HISTORY OR GENEALOGY

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis
Follows Hattie Shepherd, as she leaves Georgia for Philadelphia during the Great Migration of 1923 in search of a new life and traces Hattie’s legacy through her children and grandchildren. Oprah’s Book Club pick.

All That She Carried, : The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake by Tiya Miles

The story of an artifact, a family, and a nation. A bag, embroidered with a wish, becomes a doorway to the past, transporting readers into a deeply stirring history that begins with a rupture — a young girl’s separation from her enslaved mother — and ends in reclamation. National Book Award winner, 2021

Slaves in the Family by Edward Ball
Between 1698 and 1865, close to four thousand black people were born into slavery under the Balls or were bought by them. In Slaves in the Family, Edward Ball recounts his efforts to track down and meet the descendants of his family's slaves. National Book Award winner.

AND FOR YOUNG ADULTS:

Mildred Taylor's ten young adult novels that chronicle the lives of several generations of the Logan family, from times of slavery to the Jim Crow era. Taylor's works are based on oral history told to her by her father, uncles, and aunt. Books include, in order:

Song of the Trees (1975)

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (1975)

Let the Circle Be Unbroken (1981)

The Friendship (1987)

The Gold Cadillac (1987)

Mississippi Bridge (1990)

The Road to Memphis (1992)

The Well (1995)

The Land (2001)

All the Days Past, All the Days to Come (2020)

Taylor has won the Newberry Medal (1977), the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement (2020), and the Children's Literature Legacy Award (2021).

02/17/2025

https://mailchi.mp/a2b9deb5e4d1/shsgkzg3pa?fbclid=IwY2xjawIgdS1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHUi-rZHPLq1uexpU7--l-Be1F0hEAuhfXvGcWIfq_pISQ9vvdOLIOscaMA_aem_68cXBzBAaV0xQ_fuN9-ekw

WHAT IS THE FAMILY HISTORY & GENEALOGY WORKSHOP ABOUT? Are you JUST embarking on the adventure of uncovering your family’s tale, or have you HIT a roadblock on your quest? Fear not, for this workshop awaits you! Immerse yourself in the thrilling realm of ancestry exploration alongside our vibrant ...

11/26/2024

It’s the holidays and the holidays mean family! So jump in headfirst into the thrilling adventure of uncovering your family tree with our fantastic crew of artists, historians, and history nerds! Whether you’re a newbie or a pro sleuth, everyone’s welcome, and guess what? It won’t cost you a dime! Plus, there'll be free snacks to fuel your exploration!

The first 10 people to sign up at the link below or by email at denisetheinstitute@gmail.com get:

a free Ancestry DNA test and
a family history kit to keep their family pictures and other important data!

10/25/2024

https://bit.ly/m/michellesjohnson

09/17/2024

CHECK OUT OUR WEBPAGE at the Institute of Public Scholarship

Potluck & Workshop - Sunday, September 29 at The Institute of Public Scholarship

09/17/2024

Art of Fact – Reclaiming, Renaming, and Remaking

Seeks to engage participants in reclaiming the internal and external spaces colonized by racism, racial trauma, and whiteness through a genealogical exploration of history and identity. The desire and ability to make a place more equitable is predicated on the equitable connection a person or a people has to that place. Due to racism, Black and brown people’s relationship to place has historically and by design, been inequitable. Black people have been and are still being— through the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, slavery, Reconstruction, and gentrification— forcibly removed from land, then to land, and from and to land again and again. The resulting racialized trauma’s negative impact on most of our Black ancestors has meant that many of our great, great, great grands would not talk about their lives in “the South”. Their reluctance or outright refusal in the past to talk about their lived experiences has led to the reluctance or inability of current mothers, fathers, grands, and greats to relay any historical information in the present. In fact, this disconnection to land, history, and thus identity has impacted even the youngest participants (who are in their early 20’s) in our first year of Art of Fact (AOF). Therefore, AOF, as a program of the Institute of Public Scholarship’s Humanities in Action program, seeks to “build on local, state and national [genealogical] conversations ... as a mechanism for social justice and dismantling inequity”.

- Denise Miller & Dr. Michelle Johnson

Send a message to learn more