Join Janice and Cherekana for a conversation with Linda Morris regarding how to conduct genealogy within a family group.  Linda will share her experience researching her family history with several cousins and the benefits of researching as a group. Linda is a member of The Black Family and History Society in Phoenix, Arizona and the Afro American Historical and Genealogical Society-New Jersey Chapter.  She is passionate about genealogy and over the past 10 years her genealogy research and DNA testing allowed her to connect with family through out the United States.  Linda believes that genealogy helps you discover and uncover your family history and build deep and lasting relationships among newfound family and friends. Although she has traveled to Africa in years past, genealogy inspired her to return and focus on her connection to West Africa. She and her daughter made the journey over a year ago. Her connection to genealogy, like her connection to ministry, has been God-driven and God-ordained. She could not have planned or imagined any of what has transpired in the last decade of discovery and mysteries revealed!

Join Janice and Cherekana as they interview author, host, and television producer, Dustin Dumas.  Dustin is an avid family historian and researcher. She learned the importance of preserving family history from her mother, LaVerne Dumas. Ms. Dumas gives presentations on conducting family research and has written extensively on her Civil War veteran ancestors, Henry Beard and Alexander Branscomb. She has been invited to present on her Civil War ancestors at the African American Civil War Museum in Washington D.C several times and through her direct lineage, has been admitted membership into the lineage groups, Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War and Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic. She is an author, host and producer. She hosts and produces the television shows, Dustin’s Kaleidoscope and What’s Up Around Town. She is the station manager of the award-winning South Orange Maplewood Television station (SOMAtv) which won its first ever award in its 27 year history under her leadership and direction. She has been part of community television stations in Illinois, California and New Jersey and enjoys helping people tell their stories.

Join Janice and Cherekana for an interview with Taneya Koonce of Academy of Legacy Leaders.  In celebrating Women's History Month, we are highligthing the work that Taneya does in the genealogy community.  We will also discuss some of the projects she is currently working on, the 1950 Census that will be released on April 1st, and the RootsTech 2022 conference. Taneya Koonce is an enthusiastic genealogist with a long-standing passion for exploring family history and more than 20 years of professional expertise in information science, research, and information organization. Through her initiative, the Academy of Legacy Leaders™, Taneya provides solutions that aid genealogy and family history enthusiasts in implementing strategic and systematic approaches to save, organize, and preserve family history, so they can focus on being leaders in sharing family memories & legacies over generations. Taneya also volunteers extensively in the genealogy community and is currently serving as President of the Nashville Chapter of the Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society.

Join Janice and Cherekana for a discussion with Karice "Ressie" Luck Brimmer as she shares from an Afrocentric viewpoint regarding the importance of history and genealogy.  Our History Matters works to bring awareness, acknowledgement, and appreciation for African American life and historic preservation in order to build more inclusive communities, formed with the mission to showcase the omitted histories of the people and sacred spaces of African Americans in the Dan River Region through genealogy and tourism. Karice Luck-Brimmer is currently a Community Initiatives program associate for Virginia Humanities responsible for supporting the History United Advisory Council in southern Virginia and the General Assembly African American Cultural Resources Task Force. Working primarily in the Dan River/Danville region, Karice collaborates with local community members to sustain a strong network of cultural organizations committed to positive change. Karice is a public historian and genealogist who has done extensive genealogical research on the Pittsylvania County area, specializing in community based family history. She is the founding president of the Danville/Pittsylvania County Chapter of the Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society (AAHGS). Karice is also a panelist on the genealogy web show BlackprogenLIVE. In 2019, she was appointed by Governor Northam to serve on the Virginia Board of Historic Resources.

Join Janice & Cherekana for a discussion with Dr. Orville Vernon Burton and Attorney, Armand Derfner regarding their book, Justice Deferred - Race and The Supreme Court.  The first comprehensive accounting of the U.S. Supreme Court’s race-related jurisprudence, a distinguished historian and renowned civil rights lawyer scrutinize a legacy too often blighted by racial injustice. Orville Vernon Burton is the prizewinning author of several books, including The Age of Lincoln. He is Judge Matthew J. Perry Jr. Distinguished Professor of History at Clemson University and Emeritus University Scholar and Professor of History at the University of Illinois.  Armand Derfner has been a civil rights lawyer for over fifty years. He has been counsel for, among others, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), and helped desegregate university systems and legislatures across the South. He argued his first Supreme Court case in 1968.

Damon L. Fordham shares some of the historical research he has conducted on unknown and well known African Americans in South Carolina.  From the Upstate to the Lowcountry, African Americans have had a gigantic impact on the Palmetto State. Unfortunately, their stories are often overshadowed. The research work that Damon has done and is currently doing is changing this and making a major impact on so many. A native of South Carolina, Damon L. Fordham is a respected educator and devoted historian. True Stories of Black South Carolina and Voices of Black South Carolina are among his publications, and he has taught at Charleston Southern University, the College of Charleston, and The Citadel.  He also conducts informative historical tours in Charleston, South Carolina. He draws upon all of these experiences to share with us.

Join Janice Gilyard and Cherekana Feliciano for an interview with Cheryl Wills  - I Am The Voice for My Ancestors.  Cheryl will share her passion for researching her family history, the amazing legacy of the ancestors she discovered, and how this journey has impacted her life.  Her research has led to the publication of several books, making presentations at schools weekly, and television appearances. Cheryl Wills is a nationally recognized award-winning television personality for New York 1 News, located in New York City. She is also the host of the talk show In Focus with Cheryl Wills. Cheryl is very passionate about family history and she’s an author of several books on this topic.  She is most proud to be the newly designated Commander and Lifetime Descendant Member of the New York Chapter of the Sons and Daughters of the United States Colored Troops – a national organization of Civil War descendants who raise awareness about black soldiers who served during the The Civil War.

Join Janice & Cherekana for a conversation with Dee Patterson. Dee will share uncommonly told stories of the Underground Railroad. The creativity within the escapes, the brave travels and powerful demonstrations of faith and community are captivating. Learn about the places, people and pathways that led to freedom from Dee. Dee Patterson, also known as Conductor Dee, is the CEO and Founder of UGR3DAY Underground Railroad Experiences Inc. She is also an acclaimed storyteller and conductor of the Underground Railroad experiences. A historian, Dee is also a nationally certified cultural interpretive guide, a certified genealogist, curriculum developer and education consultant. She brings her research-based narratives, poetic storytelling, and creative energy to each UGR3DAY experience.

Aunt Donsy's Trunk -  Elaine T. Jones shares the story of an old steamer trunk that used to belong to Aunt Donsy, now a coffee table in a a family member's home where the Searcy family gather after her father's funeral.  It was one of the few family posessions left from the previous generation.  Aunt Donsy's trunk became a conduit as her family pieced together the fragments of information each one knew.  Like putting a puzzle together as their family history began to unfold.  The righteous, and the unscrupulous; the determined and the pretenders; the strong and the fragile. Elaine T. Joines is a graduate of Drexel University and Temple University.  She is a retired educator, business owner, fashion designer, community worker, and motivational speaker who began her writing career after her four daughters were adults.  Aunt Donsy's Trunk is a book that was always in Elaine's head.  Because she is now the family matriarch, she felt compelled to make sure the record was clear and understandable about the foundation and development of her family.  Elaine hopes the story of her family will help the reader have a better understanding of the trials and tribulations their ancestors suffered in yesteryear, respect the opportunities offered to them today and tomorrow, and learn from the life experiences of others.

Join hosts Janice and Cherekana of Speak on It! to celebrate 10 years of broadcasting on Research at the National Archives and Beyond with Bernice Alexander Bennett. Bernice Alexander Bennett is an award-winning author, genealogist, nationally recognized guest speaker, storyteller, and producer-host of the popular Research at the National Archives and Beyond BlogTalkRadio program. She is also the first recipient of the Ida B. Wells Service Award given by the Sons and Daughters of the United States Middle Passage for her dedication to broadcast stories about enslaved and indentured ancestors of African descent. She also received the Elizabeth Clark-Lewis Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) Genealogy Award in 2019 for original research in support of African American Genealogy. Bennett is on the Board of Directors for the National Genealogical Society.