CBH Talk | Voices from the Past: Tracing Black Lineage and the Power of Genealogy
Being the narrators and experts of our own pasts comes with unique challenges for Black Americans. What we know about our families matters—and everyone deserves the ability to honor their ancestors’ stories.
CBH’s new exhibition, Trace/s, explores the crucial work of Black genealogists who challenge the common misconception that the stories of enslaved people are lost to history. Join us for an evening of conversation and insight with two leaders in the field: Stacey Bell, President of the New York Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, and D. Joshua Taylor, President of the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society. Moderated by CBH Chief Historian Dominique Jean-Louis, this dialogue will illuminate the resources, complexities, and breakthroughs in genealogy—centering Black experiences while also opening up the broader field of family history research.
This program is presented in connection with the exhibition "Trace/s: Family History Research and the Legacy of Slavery in Brooklyn."
Pictured above, Lott family tree
Participants
Stacey Bell is the President of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAGHS), Jean Sampson Scott Greater New York Chapter. She is a member of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, the Sons and Daughters of the US Middle Passage, and the Association for Professional Genealogists and National Genealogy Society.
Stacey specializes in genetic genealogy, using advanced research strategies to assist adoptees, individuals with misattributed parentage, and families searching for missing persons. With extensive experience leading workshops, panels, and conferences, Stacey’s work also includes film and multimedia projects.
A dedicated investigator with a passion for uncovering and preserving African American heritage, she began her genealogy journey as a ten year old sitting on the porch of her maternal great grandparents in the South Carolina Low Country. Through oral tradition, they introduced her to the stories and heritage of her Gullah/Geechee ancestors. She recognized early on that the importance of understanding how their life choices impacted future generations of her family which led to her lifelong avocation.
She serves on the boards of multiple organizations, including the Board of Directors of the Girl Scouts of Greater New York, and was a key partner and consultant on the Center for Brooklyn History exhibition, “Trace/s: Family History Research and the Legacy of Slavery.”
D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS, FUGA, is the President of the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society(NYG&B), an organization dedicated to preserving, documenting, and sharing family history and stories from across New York State. A nationally known and recognized genealogist, Joshua was named President of the NYG&B in 2016 and is an Officer, Trustee ex Officio, on NYG&B’s Board of Trustees.
Previously, Joshua held senior leadership positions with Findmypast and the New England Historic Genealogical Society and has volunteered in leadership positions for the Federation of Genealogical Societies and other organizations.
A prolific author and popular speaker, Joshua has been a coordinator for courses at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) and the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP) and is the recipient of RootsTech’s Distinguished Presenter Award. He has been a featured genealogist on Who Do You Think You Are? and was a host on the PBS series Genealogy Roadshow. Joshua holds a Master of Library Science degree in Archival Management and a Master of Arts degree in History from Simmons College. In 2017, Joshua was named as one of Library Journal’s Movers and Shakers, and in 2022, he was named as a Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association (FUGA).
Dominique Jean-Louis, Ph.D is the Chief Historian of the Center for Brooklyn History at the Brooklyn Public Library. Previously, she held the position of Associate Curator of History Exhibitions at New-York Historical Society, where she co-curated Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow (2018), Our Composite Nation: Frederick Douglass' America (2022), and is the co-curator of Black Dolls (2022).
She is a former Mellon Predoctoral Fellow in Museum Education at the Museum of the City of New York. She received her B.A. in Comparative Ethnic Studies from Columbia University, and her Ph.D in US History from New York University, with her doctoral research focusing on race, education, and immigration in post-Civil Rights Era Brooklyn. Dominique regularly writes and lectures on Blackness in America, schools and education, and New York City history.
