Reparative Genealogy

Reparative Genealogy is the act of researching our heritage, acknowledging our connections to slavery, and daylighting the history of those our ancestors enslaved.

While we can't change history, or our ancestors' actions, we can take responsibility for finding slavery-era family records.  We can provide them online so that descendants of the enslaved can begin to find their ancestors.  Repatriation of these records is not just symbolic - engaging in this form of repair connects the present to the past, and the living with those who came before them. Connecting families to ancestors is a solid first step toward reparative relationship-building.

"We wish to honor and credit our mentor and friend genealogist Sharon Morgan of Our Black Ancestry for providing the inspiration for our work."

Briayna and Lotte

Watch: "What's in Your Bones?" by Norma Johnson

Wisdom of the Akan people of Africa

“Sankofa” teaches us that we must go back to understand our roots in order to move forward. That is, we should reach back and gather the best of what our past has to teach us so that we can achieve our full potential as we move forward. Whatever we have lost, forgotten, forgone, or been stripped of can be reclaimed, revived, preserved, and perpetuated.

Planning Your Research: Initial Steps

"Thank you for freeing trapped souls still in bondage so that they may be reunited with family."

Next Steps: An Overview

Once we have collected the vital records for our immediate family, grandparents and great-grandparents, if possible, we are ready to consider building our family tree.  There are many more considerations, however: what platform or software will we choose?  How will we find slaveholders in our trees?  What do we do when we find them?

 

Page through this slide show by Sharon Morgan, co-author of Gather At The Table, and founder of Our Black Ancestry to gain clarity on the process.

Repatriating Slavery-Era Records

Once we are familiar with the process of tree-building and have learned how to find, interpret, and tag census and slave schedule records in our trees, we are ready to begin repatriating these records.

Reparative Relationship-Building

Ultimately, our trees become hollow if we don't reach out and expand our family affiliations.  Contacting linked descendants, African Americans we may be related to through DNA or through our family's slaveholding past, can be intimidating.  "How will they respond?  What do I have to offer?" are common refrains heard in circles like Coming To The Table's Linked Descendants group, which provides support for people hoping to initiate contact. These are also common refrains in African American genealogy circles! While some people will decline our requests to connect, others are actively seeking these connections.

Watch: Linked Descendents Phoebe Kilby and Betty Kilby Baldwin

What can we hope to accomplish in connecting with the descendants of those our ancestors harmed?  Phoebe Kilby traced her family's connection to slaveholding and later met a linked descendant, Betty Kilby Baldwin.  Watch the video to hear more of their reparative story; read their book, "Cousins," to gain inspiration for your own journey.

The Kilby Family Endowed Scholarship Fund