Slavery records will soon be easily searchable online
Quote:
Millions of previously hard-to-access records on freed enslaved African Americans collected just after the start of the U.S. Civil War will soon be easily searchable online, likely allowing millions of people to trace their ancestry back farther than ever before.
FamilySearch, a large genealogy organization, announced Friday that in collaboration with several other organizations it will digitally release records collected through the Freedmen's Bureau and launch a nationwide volunteer effort to make the records searchable by indexing them by 2016.
Genealogists and historians call the move a tremendous step in helping the nation learn more about its past and a unique opportunity for millions to reconnect with ancestors and find living family members.
The records also come as the nation continues to discuss racial identity and the case of Rachel Dolezal, a woman who is biologically white but identifies as black. Dolezal stepped down as president of the Spokane NAACP amid questions about her racial identity.
I guess it's cool for genealogy buffs but I couldn't care less. We already know what happened in the past and regardless of whose ancestors did it, we all have a role to play in reversing the negative racial environment that exists today.
