© 2024 WYPR
WYPR 88.1 FM Baltimore WYPF 88.1 FM Frederick WYPO 106.9 FM Ocean City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Help Me To Find My People

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division

A mother sold away from her children, a husband and wife torn apart by the slave trade. During and after the Civil War, African American families struggled to find out what happened to their loved ones, hoping to one day be reunited. Their stories have been collected from newspaper ads, letters, and diary entries. We hear from a historian who has learned their stories. We also talk with a genealogist who traced her family lore and discovered a relative who had enlisted with the US Colored Infantry and escaped capture by Confederate troops. 

Guests:

Dr. Heather Andrea Williams: author of "Help Me To Find My People: The African American Search for Family Lost in Slavery"; professor of Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Professor Williams will be at an event at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum tomorrow.

Angela Y. Walton-Raji: author of several books on African American and Native American genealogy. You can find more of her genealogical research at African Roots Podcast.com. Information about upcoming genealogy classes here.

Stay Connected
Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.
Maureen Harvie is Senior Supervising Producer for On the Record. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and joined WYPR in 2014 as an intern for the newsroom. Whether coordinating live election night coverage, capturing the sounds of a roller derby scrimmage, interviewing veterans, or booking local authors, she is always on the lookout for the next story.