Honor the Past + Celebrate the Present + Create a Legacy
National DNA Day commemorates the successful completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003 and the discovery of DNA’s double helix in 1953. This year marks the 15th Anniversary of the completion of the Human Genome Project and is a day that many in the genealogy community look forward to. The DNA testing companies generally offer great discounts during the week, and it is a great opportunity to buy your first DNA test, or to stock up on kits to test family members.
This post is a bit overdue. Okay, way overdue. Because life, bronchitis, a full time job and young kids sometimes get in the way of best laid plans! To be honest, I have also been quite intimidated thinking about all the things I need and want to include in this post!
Continue reading “RootsTech 2018 Wrap Up: The Keynote Sessions”
Seventeen.
The number of people who were killed Valentine’s Day 2018, by a man-child with an AR-15.
Seventeen.
The number of missed calls I had from my father on December 23, 2006, when I went to get my purse to go on my lunch break. It was a Saturday, and I was working part time at a department store between my day job and graduate school. We weren’t allowed to keep cell phones on us while we were on the clock.
Last weekend, I had the privilege of being an instructor at the Treasure Your Roots Conference here in Oklahoma City. A joint effort between the Oklahoma Genealogical Society, the Black Genealogical Research Group, the Oklahoma Historical Society and the Family History Center of the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the event welcomed over 200 participants to learn about various topics in genealogical research.
As 2017 comes to a close, I wanted to take the opportunity to highlight some of my activities this year. I wasn’t as productive in my overall blogging this year, but I improved upon content which I believe is more important. Also, I managed to get even more involved out of the blog-o-sphere in this avocation that I love. My hope is that 2018 allows me to set and reach new goals for my genealogical pursuits, both in my personal research and with the genealogical organizations in which I have become involved. Developing new relationships, organizational and leadership skills within this arena is something of great importance to me as I hope to transition at some point to pursuing genealogy professionally.
I had the privilege of attending two of several events held to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School. The courageous story of the “Little Rock Nine” as they are known, is one I learned early in my youth as a resident of Little Rock, Arkansas. The high school I attended was opened the same year as the Central crisis, one where the affluent white citizens of Little Rock could send their children in attempt to avoid inevitable progress. By the time I attended in the early 1990’s, all public schools had long been integrated, the legacy of those nine brave students paving the way for my generation and ones to come. This is part two of a two part post. See the first post here.
Continue reading “History, Art and the Hope of Reconciliation: Part Two”
I recently had the privilege of being interviewed for the Extreme Genes podcast to discuss one of my previous posts, Southern Heritage- It’s Complicated, where I deliberate the complexities of having slave owning ancestors. The episode aired this week, but both the post and interview occurred before the horrible events in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“Thousands of Southerners moved west for opportunity…..” Over the past years, Roots and Recall has received numerous queries dealing with families having moved from the Carolinas. It seems destinations in Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas have drawn the most attention.
Being a wife, mother of two littles, and working full time, leaves me little time for extra activities. In the space between family and work responsibilities I have managed to carve out time for my genealogical activities, though it has taken some new and interesting paths I hadn’t expected! Here’s an update on what’s been going on in my world of late.
I love the South. I was born in the South. Raised in the South. From my early days in Louisiana, to my formative years in Arkansas, the people, food, and history are deeply ingrained into my consciousness. Indeed, ingrained into my soul.
