In addition to revealing how external events and their environment shape individuals’ lives through the generations, family trees can be used to trace genetic traits, like a predisposition to addiction or depression. Clinical psychologist Donald Grant noted that sometimes Black Americans are forced to contend with the emotional fallout that results when they “pull up that article showing that your great-great-grandfather was lynched by a mob in South Carolina.” However, sometimes these genealogical searches reveal horrific tragedies.

Both reported that this knowledge helped instill a newfound pride in themselves and their families as well as a sense of belonging and connection to this country. Peter Sampson was proud to have found a relative who fought for the United States in the Civil War. An NBC News article entitled Family trees fill in the gaps for Black people seeking their ancestral roots conveys some of the experiences of Black Americans who have researched their family history.Īmber Jackson was thrilled to discover that her great-great-grandmother’s grandfather was a member of the “Cambridge 28,” a group of enslaved people in Maryland who were led to freedom along the Underground Railroad by former slave and abolitionist Harriet Tubman in 1857. They represent the stories of all the interconnected individuals who comprise its branches and often reveal how a person and their descendants are shaped by living in a certain place, time, and circumstances.įor many Black Americans, the legacies of slavery and unequal treatment under the law in post-slavery America have created gaps in their family histories.

Yet family trees are more than a simple diagram of family members’ biological relationships. Every known generation of a family’s lineage can be mapped out in a family tree that visually represents their past and present-and even hints at their future.

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