When 2020 turned on its head, many Black people joined forces to shout that “Black Lives Matter,” among other things.
With social uprising impacting Black communities (and other minorities) in greater ways, it was also important to have conversations about this country’s history racist history of racism, systemic and systematic oppression of Black people in America with many curious to learn more about their lineage, Black Enterprise Magazine reported.
With Ancestry.com it is another way for Black people, and other communities of color, to see where they are from.

 

Recently, Ancestry showcased the world’s largest digitized and searchable collection of Freedmen’s Bureau and Freedman’s Bank records, according to the article. Now, over 3.5 million records can help descendants of previously enslaved individuals in the U.S. learn more about their history and families, according to the article.

Ancestry told the magazine that the collection can bring fruitful family breakthroughs because it is probably the first time newly freed African Americans would show up in records after Emancipation in 1863 — numerous enslaved people were previously excluded from standard census and federal documents, according to the story.

“Free access to this collection will enable meaningful Black family history discoveries for generations to come,” says Nicka Sewell-Smith, Professional Genealogist. “Finding your ancestors’ names and stories on Ancestry is possible and unearthing them can shine a light that helps guide us going forward. Learning about the resiliency of those who came before us and the obstacles they overcame inspires us to know we can do the same.”

Read the full story here.