OVERVIEW
The Mobile African American Genealogical & Historical Society, Inc, is a non-profit 501(c)3, founded in September 2018, in response to the increasing number of African Americans who expressed a desire to have a Society to teach and research their family roots. Our primary goals are to promote genealogical research, provide resources for historical and genealogical research, establish a network of persons with like interests, and assist members finding and documenting their histories.
MAAGHS is dedicated to the support of genealogy research through seminars, workshops and serves Alabama. Our members learn and grow together and are vital to the life of the organization.
Mission STateMent
“A People without knowledge of its History, is like a tree without roots.” Marcus Garvey
The African American Genealogy Group’s mission is to educate, provide resources, and create a community for anyone interested in African American family history and genealogical research. We serve those who are interested in researching their family history locally, regionally, and nationally.
VISION STATEMENT
We envision a world where people who are interested in researching African American family history can find the information and resources to meet their goals.
PRESIDENT – Mary Jones-Fitts
VICE PRESIDENT - Lovie Warren
TREASURER – Lovie Warren
SECRETARY – Cheryl Richardson Hill
In February 1989, Gettysburg College's Harry Matthews established an African American genealogy program to increase black student attendance. Matthew's work was only one of the more recents efforts to encourage black Americans to trace their genealogy - a topic first disparaged in an article from the June 6, 1850 edition of Philadelphia's Public Ledger associating African lineage with that of monkeys. One of the earliest notes of "negro genealogy" in Alabama was a declaration in the December 5, 1916 Andalusia Star that anyone of such lineage would never vote in Covington County.
By February 1994, papers like the Montgomery Advertiser revealed Frazine Taylor of the Alabama Department of Archives and History among other scholars were changing African American genealogy from a weapon of racist stereotypes to one of connecting black citizens to their enslaved ancestors . Taylor held workshops throughout the 1990s and 2000s guiding black researchers in navigating "genealogical brick walls" like the 1870 federal census that made tracing the journey from slavery to freedom difficult.
By February 2007, Mary Jones Fitts and Lovie Warren worked with the Black Belt African American Genealogical and Historical Society in sharing research regarding Black life in Marengo County. They have now combined efforts with Mobile teacher Courtney Davis-Ellis to continue helping Black genealogists uncover and pass down their family histories to future generations.
The Birmingham African American Genealogy Group, Inc. is the oldest African American genealogy group in the state of Alabama. In 1999, Josephine Martin and Mary Jones-Fitts founded the Birmingham Alabama American Genealogy Study Group. At the time, there was an ever increasing number of African Americans who expressed a desire to research their families and their "roots" in the Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama area. They collaborated with the Birmingham Genealogy Society and under their umbrella, the BAAGG was born. The first meeting was held in February 1999, at the Birmingham Public Library.
Sankofa, a term of the Ghanaian Twi language, means to “go back and get it.” The Black Belt African American Genealogical and Historical Society has used the term as the blueprint for its foundation. Brenda “B.J.” Smothers founded the organization in 2006 with the main purpose of studying and exchanging information among people interested in African American genealogy, family history and historic preservation, specifically in the Black Belt area. BBAAGHS is a non-profit organization focused on studying and sharing information about African American genealogy, family history, and historic preservation, specifically within the twelve counties of Alabama's "Black Belt" region - which is a geographic area historically known for its large enslaved African American population before the Civil War. The society aims to preserve and document the stories and heritage of these communities through research and education.
Developed in 2020, the Faunsdale Connection Reunion (named by our Detroit, Michigan descendants) is a Gathering of Generations of descendants from the Faunsdale Plantation in Faunsdale, Alabama, and Somerset Plantation in North Carolina. In October 1843, 81 slaves journeyed from Somerset Place, North Carolina, to Faunsdale, Alabama. This reunion connects the descendants from all over the United States. View the documentary "The Alabama Experience: The Story of Faunsdale Plantation" HERE.