The Darker Side of Genealogy
Mon Feb 13 2017 at 3:07:16
In early 2016 there was an advertisement for a genealogy website on American television which showed two nice-looking young black twins sitting in a room talking about genealogy. One of them says “I wish I could get into a time machine and just go back 100 years or 200 years and just meet these people.” I know I am not alone in thinking traveling to the past in America is really not a good idea for a black man or woman.
Many people take up the hobby of genealogy to learn who they are or where they came from. Reading the source documents of their ancestors lives, such as census records, wills, obituaries, pension claims, etc. often provides the genealogist with a sense of their relatives daily life and can evoke empathetic feelings in the researcher. However, sometimes the emotions can be a bit more equivocal.
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Mon Feb 13 2017 at 3:07:16
In early 2016 there was an advertisement for a genealogy website on American television which showed two nice-looking young black twins sitting in a room talking about genealogy. One of them says “I wish I could get into a time machine and just go back 100 years or 200 years and just meet these people.” I know I am not alone in thinking traveling to the past in America is really not a good idea for a black man or woman.
Many people take up the hobby of genealogy to learn who they are or where they came from. Reading the source documents of their ancestors lives, such as census records, wills, obituaries, pension claims, etc. often provides the genealogist with a sense of their relatives daily life and can evoke empathetic feelings in the researcher. However, sometimes the emotions can be a bit more equivocal.
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