Did Jean Toomer consider himself black, mixed or American? Rudolph P. Byrd and Henry Louis Gates Jr. commissioned biographical research that included census records, two draft registrations, his marriage license to the white writer Margery Latimer, and his statements to the news media in an effort to disect Toomer’s conflicted racial identity.
A new exhibit that opens Saturday, Feb. 12 in Indianapolis at the Eiteljorg Museum. The exhibit stems from a National Endowment of Humanities consultation grant awarded to the Eiteljorg in 2001 to study the related histories of African-Americans and Native Americans.
Article detailing the genealogy research of Mildred Baynes of South Cumminsville, Ohio. Baynes’s research uncovered the story of slaves on the Glass and Burge plantations, including her ancestors, who found themselves caught up in Sherman’s “March to the Sea.”
Article detailing William Hollands roots dig and the results that led him to learn of his family’s origins in Cameroon and Ghana.
African American elders lament the younger generation’s disinterest in Black history and their family history.