history

This image is part of a weekly series that The Root is presenting in conjunction with the Image of the Black Archive & Library at Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. An early and quite precocious work by one of Spain’s greatest artists takes a new approach to a venerated moment…

Editor’s note: This article was originally published Dec. 24, 2012. For those who are wondering about the retro title of this black-history series, please take a moment to learn about historian Joel A. Rogers, author of the 1934 book 100 Amazing Facts About the Negro With Complete Proof, to whom these “amazing facts” are an homage.…

I am a first-generation American, and my family hails from Guyana (and before that, Germany). What resources are best for researching Guyanese roots? —Sharifa Rohlehr There are excellent resources for genealogical research in Guyana, especially if you are willing and able to travel. It is important to know that Guyana was originally colonized by the…

This image is part of a weekly series that The Root is presenting in conjunction with the Image of the Black Archive & Library at Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. A harrowing image of the inevitable end of earthly life sweeps off the heads of those who have achieved the…

This answer was provided in consultation with Meaghan E.H. Siekman, a researcher from the New England Historic Genealogical Society. Founded in 1845, NEHGS is the country’s leading nonprofit resource for family history research. Its website, AmericanAncestors.org, contains more than 300 million searchable records for research in New England, New York and beyond. With the leading experts…

This image is part of a weekly series that The Root is presenting in conjunction with the Image of the Black Archive & Library at Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. A large, tumultuous group of black congregants assembles before a modest clapboard church in Philadelphia. This watercolor rendering is one…

This image is part of a weekly series that The Root is presenting in conjunction with the Image of the Black Archive & Library at Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. In a portrait format usually reserved for the privileged classes, an elaborately dressed, elderly black man regards the viewer with…

Editor’s note: This column was originally published March 29, 2013. One of the most common types of questions I get from readers is about tracing Native American ancestry. As I have written before, in the case of African Americans, most have very little measurable Native American ancestry, and as 23andMe.com’s Senior Research Director Joanna Mountain…

I am an amateur genealogy enthusiast seeking help with my family tree research. How can I find records of slave trading in the U.S.? I know my grandparents on both sides of the family were born in Mississippi and Tennessee, but I’m pretty sure their parents didn’t arrive straight from Africa or the Caribbean to…

This image is part of a weekly series that The Root is presenting in conjunction with the Image of the Black Archive & Library at Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. Depicted in a rhythmic, almost dancelike motion, Mary, the Queen of Heaven, offers protection to her followers beneath her broad…