Genealogy Workshop + Lecture with Dr. Kendra Field '99

In conjunction with the ‘Emancipation’ exhibition, Dr. Kendra Field ’99 will give a public lecture at 5:30 p.m. that will explore the long history of African American genealogy from the Middle Passage to the present, preceded by a genealogy workshop for Williams students from 4 to 5 p.m.

Dr. Kendra Field, Associate Professor of History and Director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at Tufts University, will present a public lecture at 5:30 p.m. titled “The Stories We Tell:  Understanding the Long History of African American Genealogy” that will explore the long history of African American genealogy from the Middle Passage to the present, drawing upon stories and experiences within Field’s own family history.  Field will touch upon the diversity of methods employed by historians and genealogists; descendants’ often uneven access to the familial past—itself a legacy of American slavery; and the emergence of the recently-launched 10 Million Names project. No registration is required.

Preceding the lecture, Dr. Field will lead a student workshop on “Tracing our Ancestors:  Family History and Genealogical Methods” at 4 p.m. This lecture and workshop will introduce Williams students to the history of African American genealogy, and to the place of family history and genealogical methods in accessing histories of slavery and its aftermath. Dr. Field will introduce students to diverse methods employed by historians and genealogists; the particular challenges of accessing the names and stories of  enslaved ancestors; and the recently-launched 10 Million Names project. Registration is required for this workshop here.

Dr. Kendra Field is Associate Professor of History and Director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at Tufts University. She is the author of Growing Up with the Country: Family, Race, and Nation after the Civil War (Yale, 2018), which traced her own ancestors’ experiences in slavery and the post-emancipation era.  Her forthcoming book, The Stories We Tell (W.W. Norton) is a history of African American genealogy and family storytelling from the Middle Passage to the present. Field abridged David Levering Lewis’ W.E.B. Du Bois: A Biography (Henry Holt, 2009), and her scholarly articles have appeared in the Journal of American History, the Journal of African American History, Southern Cultures, and the American Historical Review. As a public historian, Field co-founded the African American Trail Project and the Du Bois Forum, a retreat for writers, scholars, and artists engaged in Black intellectual and artistic traditions. She served as project historian for the Du Bois Freedom Center, the first museum in North America dedicated to the life and work of W.E.B. Du Bois; co-curated “We Who Believe In Freedom: Black Feminist DC,” the inaugural exhibition (2023) of the National Women’s History Museum; and serves as Chief Historian for the 10 Million Names Project.

More Information

Facebook