Exploration in African American Genealogy

The West Baton Rouge Museum introduces a new series exploring the challenges of genealogy research for African Americans. Participants will dig through their own family trees over the course of a three-week interactive workshop series, featuring notable guest speakers recognized in the field of genealogy. Research manager at AncestryProGenealogists Noah Lapidus will share how to break the barriers of Emancipation to identify enslaved ancestors. Professional historian and genealogist Ja’el “YaYa” Gordon will speak on Antebellum Era Research. And Alex Da’ Paul Lee, Sr., an archivist for St. Landry Parish Clerk of Court and Genealogist will discuss his research journey, which led to his preserving thousands of family photos and documents to connect with thousands of relatives via social media. Luis Interiano of the West Baton Rouge Library will share valuable collections and research tools available to locals, and Debbie Doiron Martin “The Cemetery Lady” will discuss cemetery documentation. After the workshop, participants and experts will be invited back for a round table discussion on their experience and their families. 10 am–noon. Free. westbatonrougemuseum.org.