President's Message

Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc.

P. O. Box 73067

Washington, DC 20056-3067

President's Message

Greetings!

I know all of you have been anxiously waiting for information on our conference – so here it is:

The 2008 Conference of the Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society will be held November 7-10 (Thursday through Sunday) with some activities on November 6th. The conference will be held at the Marriott Inn and Conference Center, 3501University Boulevard East, Adelphi, Maryland 20783 on the University of Maryland campus.

The University of Maryland is about 3-miles from Washington, DC and is accessible from Interstate 95; Thurgood Marshall-Baltimore/Washington (BWI) and Reagan/National (DCA) Airports; AMTRAK; and the Metro.

The Marriott hotel rates are $119 per night, good from November 3-10, 2008. Reservations may be made by calling the Marriott directly at 1 (800) 453-0309 or (301) 985-7300. Mention the Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society annual conference.

For additional information, please contact Charles Howard at (202) 722-0408 or at cah_howard@msn.com. More information will follow in upcoming issues of the Newsletter and on our website – but make your reservations now!

The Call for Papers is also in this issue and will be on the website – consider submitting a proposal and spread the word among your colleagues.

In celebration of African American History Month representing AAHGS, I was able to conduct a round of speaking engagements in Salt Lake City at the invitation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints (LDS), during a ten day period of February 2-12:

First stop was with the Genesis Group on Sunday – this was an incredibly unique opportunity to speak with the members of African descent and their families. It was especially important because again I was able to connect the story of faith in our varied traditions with family history. And you know, as things will happen when a group of genealogists get together – a member of the audience is a descendant of one of the families that also homesteaded with my folks in Cherry County Nebraska. When he asked did I know them – well, you can imagine the excitement when I mentioned books, and other sources. As with everyone there, it was a unique opportunity to introduce the work of AAHGS and just how personal it can all become.

A few days later I spoke to staff members of the Public Affairs office on the story of quilt patterns and the Underground Railroad. Using my grandmother’s quilt – which, yes I did carry all the way, and the pattern which she was most known for [Dresden], along with a key source Hidden in Plain View by Jacqueline Tobin and Raymond Dobard I “walked” the story through the northern passage through Ohio and ending in Buxton Ontario Canada.

Finally I served as the keynote speaker at the Annual Family History Library African American Research Series. As I addressed why we must do this work – of genealogy and history – I spoke of genealogy as truly an art form and in doing this creative process we are breathing life into our ancestors’ bones and giving them purpose/bringing them to light. The idea of this as an art form is not an original concept, but certainly has served as a source of inspiration to me. The turn out was incredible – they will need a larger room next year – many of the attendees flew in from Denver, Colorado, and there were a number of college students from the University of Utah – all wanting more information about AAHGS.

The trip included meeting with staff regarding the indexing project and as we finalize our agreement we will make certain to share more information very soon. These are exciting times for all of us, as there will be more and more historical and familial information available through this and similar efforts.

The absolute highlight for me was to be present for the premier of the documentary by the Utah Chapter of AAHGS, Stories of African American Utahs: The Wisdom of Our Years. This documentary, produced under the leadership of the Utah Chapter President Phyllis Caruth, told the stories of “ordinary people, living in extraordinary times and in extraordinary ways…”The seven seniors featured were Dovie Goodwin, James Green, Allan C. Jackson, Anna Belle Mattson, Florence Lawrence, Frank Satterwhite and Eva Sexton. The premier was held at the Calvary Baptist Church – which many of you will recall we visited during the 2006 conference. This documentary is a must see and you will, at the 2008 conference!

Well, that’s it for now. Remember to check with our website for conference updates and consider submitting your presentation proposal for this year’s conference.

Until the next time…

Khadijah Matin
President