Becoming a Good Relative shares remedies for the debilitating shame that can overtake white Americans when we face our peoples’ colonial past and our current complicity with systemic white supremacy. It offers a unique methodology, supported by African American and Indigenous Elders. To counteract cultural appropriation, the book includes stories of reclaiming European ancestral memory. The appendices contain historical notes, questions for reflection, practical skills and rituals, and recommendations for further reading. This memoir offers practical strategies for wealth redistribution as well as spiritual teachings on mutual liberation. In addition, it encourages Americans of modest income levels to engage in reparative actions and giving. 

HILARY GIOVALE is a mother, writer, and community organizer. A ninth-generation American settler, she is descended from Celtic, Germanic, Nordic, and Indigenous peoples of Ancient Europe. As an active reparationist, her work is guided by intuition, love, and relationships.

https://www.goodrelative.com/book

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ancestor-s-footprints-with-bernice-alexander-bennett--6436157/support.

Kathy Lynn Marshall, author of "Finding Grammie' Secrets," shares her journey to uncover the untold story of her great-grandmother, Ella Roy, known as Grammy Carter. Born in 1866 in Alexandria, Virginia, Grammie was remembered for her elegance and caring nature but remained silent about her past, leaving generations curious about her experiences and wealth. When Kathy's mother received a medical diagnosis, they embarked on a race against time to discover Grammy's secrets, leading to a deeper understanding of her life and legacy. Kathy emphasizes her role as a genealogical detective, bringing forgotten women and African Americans into the historical narrative through speculative non-fiction and empowering others to reclaim their heritage.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ancestor-s-footprints-with-bernice-alexander-bennett--6436157/support.

America's Forgotten Patriots of the Northern Theater shines a light on the overlooked heroes who fought for independence in the shadows of the Revolutionary War’s northern campaigns. From the rugged battlefields of Saratoga to the icy marches through New England, this compelling narrative uncovers the lives of the diverse and courageous individuals—American men, women and children of African and Indigenous descent who served in the Continental Army and in local militias—whose sacrifices were critical to the American cause but were left out of traditional histories. Drawing on rare documents, firsthand accounts, and recent scholarship, this book restores these patriots to their rightful place in the story of America’s fight for liberty and freedom. Meticulously researched and powerfully told, it is a vital contribution to Revolutionary War literature that challenges what we think we know about the struggle for independence.

Ric Murphy is a historian, educator, author, and filmmaker. His most recent work is the Arrival of the First Africans in English America, which received the 2020 Phyllis Wheatley Award and became an award-winning documentary.  He is the founder and President General of the Society of the First African Families of English America, and is a scholar on the history and relationships of Americans of African, European, and Indigenous descent during America’s colonial and antebellum periods.  Through his works he has contributed immensely to the research, documentation, and preservation of African American history and culture from the arrival of the first documented Africans in English America in 1619 through the colonial period to the American Revolutionary War, and beyond. Murphy’s work and commentary have been cited by journalists and historians in major national media outlets and used in broader discussions of African American genealogy, historical commemoration, and military service. He has written numerous books, and served as editor of the book series, the recently released Forgotten Patriots of the Northern Theater

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ancestor-s-footprints-with-bernice-alexander-bennett--6436157/support.

In Becoming Trustworthy White Allies, Melanie S. Morrison brings together essays, lectures, and real-life stories drawn from her decades of anti-racist work. With honesty and care, she names the challenges white people face on the path to allyship—and the practices that make genuine partnership possible: moving through shame and guilt, building accountable relationships with people of color, unearthing suppressed ancestral stories, stepping out of social segregation, taking action to dismantle systemic racism, and rooting the work in cross-racial collaboration. This is a guide not for quick fixes but for lifelong commitment—inviting white people to show up with humility, consistency, and courage as trustworthy partners in the work of racial justice. 

Melanie S. Morrison is an author, speaker, and racial justice educator with thirty years of experience helping groups and communities navigate the deep work of transformation. She was the founder and executive director of Allies for Change, a national network of social justice educators, and lead facilitator of Doing Our Own Work, an intensive anti-racism program for white people. She is the author of six books, including Murder on Shades Mountain: The Legal Lynching of Willie Peterson and the Struggle for Justice in Jim Crow Birmingham. Her newest book, Becoming Trustworthy White Allies, was published in September by Duke University Press. For the past six years, she has been engaged in research and writing about her ancestors in Montevallo, Alabama, who accumulated wealth built on stolen land and enslaved labor, and she is working collaboratively with people in Montevallo seeking to forge truer, fuller narratives about the history of slavery in that region.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ancestor-s-footprints-with-bernice-alexander-bennett--6436157/support.

From Fragments to Foundation: Uncovering a Buried History of Tragedy and Triumph

 The challenges and stories of the family’s past existed only in scattered fragments—few names, little memories, whispered speculations, and family tragedies. For author Melvin J. Collier, the mystery of his paternal lineage became a lifelong quest, one that would lead him through mounds of records, across centuries, and deep into the genetic code itself. Determined to “leave no stone unturned,” Collier embarked on an exhaustive search to piece together the buried history of his father’s great-grandfather, John “Jack” Bass—a brave Civil War soldier from Vicksburg, Mississippi, who narrowly escaped death and left an enduring legacy despite living only about 40 years.

This remarkable journey not only brought John Bass’s story to light but also carried Collier back seven generations to 18th-century North Carolina, revealing a saga of unbreakable resilience, insurmountable loss, and great triumph. Along the way, Collier’s research blended the power of traditional genealogy with groundbreaking DNA analysis, uncovering stunning truths, including a direct connection between the Bass family and the Igbo people of present-day Nigeria. Through personal discovery and expert guidance, he reveals how DNA can revolutionize family history research, sharing 23 practical DNA tips and a roadmap for tracing African American roots before and after emancipation.  Rich with historical detail and infused with the thrill of discovery, From Fragments to Foundation is both an inspiring family memoir and an educational guide for anyone eager to unearth their own ancestral past. It’s a story of determination, identity, and the unbreakable thread that binds us to those who came before.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ancestor-s-footprints-with-bernice-alexander-bennett--6436157/support.

Without Fear tells how, during American history, Black women made human rights theirs: from worldwide travel and public advocacy in the global Black press to their work for the United Nations, they courageously and effectively moved human rights beyond an esoteric concept to an active, organizing principle.
 
Acclaimed historian Keisha N. Blain tells the story of these women—from the well-known, like Ida B. Wells, Madam C. J. Walker, and Lena Horne, to those who are still less known, including Pearl Sherrod, Aretha McKinley, and Marguerite Cartwright. Blain captures human rights thinking and activism from the ground up with Black women at the center, working outside the traditional halls of power. 

By shouldering intersecting forms of oppression—including racism, sexism, and classism—Black women have long been in a unique position to fight for freedom and dignity. Without Fear is an account of their aspirations, strategies, and struggles to pioneer a human rights approach to combating systems of injustice.

Keisha N. Blain is a historian and professor at Brown University. She is a Guggenheim, Carnegie, and New America Fellow and a New York Times bestselling author. She has published eight books, including the multi-prize-winning book Set the World on Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom (2018); and the National Book Critics Circle Award finalist Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer's Enduring Message to America (2021). Her latest book, Without Fear: Black Women and the Making of Human Rights (W.W. Norton, 2025), offers a sweeping history of human rights framed by the work and ideas of Black women in the United States from the early nineteenth century to the present.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ancestor-s-footprints-with-bernice-alexander-bennett--6436157/support.

The Early County Massacre has been known as the “Grandison Goolsby War” for over a century, focusing on the events of December 30, 1915, when forty-six-year-old Grandison used gunfire to defend himself from a lynching mob. Lesser known is that the incident started two days earlier when Grandison’s son was attacked on his way to a wedding and that it all led to the Supreme Court of Georgia sending that same son to death row five years later. Author Orice Jenkins tells the full story of Ulysses Goolsby and the massacre more than one hundred years later, highlighting the relationships between the victims and survivors and emphasizing the noble accomplishments and sacrifices of Grandison and Mary Goolsby.

Orice Jenkins is a recording artist, genealogist, educator, and author, born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut. He began researching his family history upon discovering that Whitney Houston’s grandparents were from his grandmother’s hometown of Blakely, Georgia. Since then, he has traced his ancestry back to 1745 in Central Virginia, uncovering the stories of several formerly enslaved Americans.

Orice is a member of the Sons and Daughters of the U.S. Middle Passage and the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society. He has presented his findings at The College of William & Mary, Yale University, FamilySearch’s RootsTech Conference, and the International African American Museum’s Center for Family History. His research has been featured in The Washington Post, National Parks Magazine, PBS’ Finding Your Roots, and on the National Park Service website.
Orice is the author of The Early County Massacre: Goolsby vs. The State of Georgia, a book chronicling the family of Grandison Goolsby, a prominent farmer who was extrajudicially lynched in Early County, Georgia in 1915. Orice also publishes a blog called Chesta’s Children, and serves as the Executive Director of a youth music program in Greenfield, Massachusetts.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ancestor-s-footprints-with-bernice-alexander-bennett--6436157/support.

Reflections on Sarah Rector

Her name was Sarah Rector.  She was a young black girl born in Indian Territory on March 3, 1902.  Her parents were Joseph and Rose Rector, all of  Taft, Indian Territory. Her story is similar to that of Danny Tucker another black child born in Indian Territory. He, like Sarah had a humble beginning, and he, like Sarah would make headlines for sudden wealth acquired by oil rich land.

Early in her young life, Sarah received a land allotment like all who were members of the Creek Nation. Like thousands of blacks once held in bondage by  the Five slave-holding tribes, (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole Nations) she and her family members received land allotments prior to Oklahoma statehood.  It was a general practice that Freedmen often receive land considered to be of less value for farming as did citizens declared as Indians By Blood, and Inter-Married Whites.  However, the story changed when oil was discovered on her land allotment, near Taft, Oklahoma.

In 2010, Angela Walton-Walton authored a blog titled “Remembering Sarah Rector, Creek Freedwoman.”The narrative of Sarah Rector has been recounted by numerous individuals, and the public will soon have the chance to delve deeper into this subject matter with the release of the upcoming film titled “Sarah’s Oil.”

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ancestor-s-footprints-with-bernice-alexander-bennett--6436157/support.

Reconnecting Creole of Color Lineages in Southwest Louisiana

How do Creole of color families in Southwest Louisiana rediscover and reconnect their shared histories? In this episode, my guest Alex D. Lee guides listeners through community-driven methods for tracing lineage—blending DNA results with courthouse and notarial records, oral histories, and collective memory. Together, we explore the first steps families can take to begin their search, how to navigate challenges like name changes and migration, and how collaboration within communities can transform research outcomes. We also reflect on the ethics of sharing stories that reveal painful truths about race, identity, and enslavement—and how families can safeguard their histories while honoring those who came before.

Alex D. Lee is a genealogist and public historian who specializes in African American and Creole of color lineages across Louisiana and the Gulf Coast. Through Alex Genealogy, Alex helps families reconstruct ancestral stories using archival records, DNA results, and community oral histories, translating research into accessible narratives, educational programs, and heritage tourism. Alex partners with nonprofits and cultural institutions to preserve cemeteries, curate family reunions, and bring overlooked histories to the forefront.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ancestor-s-footprints-with-bernice-alexander-bennett--6436157/support.

The Sound of What's Not Said

When a descendant of an enslaved person reaches out to the family of the enslaver and receives no reply, what does that silence mean?
Is the descendant of the enslaver obligated to respond—and if so, how?
Does silence protect, deny, or refuse?
Can healing happen without acknowledgment?

The Sound of What’s Not Said invites us to confront the weight of silence between descendants of the enslaved and enslavers—and to consider what reconciliation requires when one side chooses not to speak.

Charles F. Holman, III has been a genealogist for more than half a century. Genetic Genealogist CeCe Moore from the show “Finding Your Roots,” has called Charles “a pioneer among Black Americans researching their family ties to before the Civil War.”

He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, and became one of the youngest lawyers in the history of Michigan. His choice of law as a profession was rooted in the path chosen by his maternal great grandfather, a formerly enslaved man who became one of the first lawyers of color in his state.

As an Assistant United States Attorney Charles won national recognition from the US Attorney General and the Director of the FBI for successfully prosecuting persons who burned black churches in the South.

Charles' work in civil rights has been fueled by his interest in uncovering his ancestors' lives in early America. He views himself as standing on the shoulders of those who came before him. He has reunited with long-lost cousins whose families were separated due to slavery. In addition, he met white cousins who descend from those who enslaved his black ancestors.

In the summer of 2024, the Washington Post featured Charles in a front-page article highlighting his groundbreaking research which proved that before his paternal great-great-grandfather became a conductor on the Underground Railroad, he and his family had been enslaved by the ancestors of Presidents Bush.

Charles is a member of the National Genealogical Society, the Sons and Daughters of the United States Middle Passage and the Sons of the American Revolution.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ancestor-s-footprints-with-bernice-alexander-bennett--6436157/support.