GREENSBORO, N.C. — The African American Historical Society is helping North Carolinians research their family histories, and one member of the group says his own family history has roots in American history.
What you need to know: On Juneteenth, the African American Historical Genealogy Society will partner with the International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro to host presentations and workshops on finding your family roots.
AAHGS advocates for African Americans to research their family histories and share their discoveries.
Laurent Pierce created a family tree to show his family.
“Our family history is part of African-American history, and African-American history is part of American history,” Laurent Pierce said.
Pierce shared a family tree he’d just created for his paternal side of the family, which he said took six months to complete.
“It’s a way for them to actually see their photos and share what I’ve collected with them, not just on paper or on a computer,” Pierce said.
Pierce has always been a collector, but since retiring from Guilford County Schools, he has been delving deeper into his family’s origins, calling it therapy.
“It really means a lot. Sometimes kids ask questions, which is good, and then we actually answer those questions as well as look up the information on the computer,” Pierce said.
This work takes time, she said, and she’s not doing it alone, so she joined the African American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS), an organization that encourages African Americans to research their family histories and share their discoveries.
“What we find or discover, and also personal family history research, and we help each other. Some of our members have a hard time finding information or they hit a wall. So we give them suggestions and ideas for other resources they can use. There’s a lot of information already in the database. And they just have to scroll down and see what they want to read,” Pierce said.
For Juneteenth, AAHGS will partner with the International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro to host presentations and workshops on searching for family roots.
