African American Genealogy Group

African American Genealogy Group of the Miami Valley (AAGGMV)

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The first meeting of the African American Genealogy Group of the Miami Valley (AAGGMV) was held on Saturday, July 31 in the meeting room of the Yellow Springs Public Library, Yellow Springs, Ohio.

An overflow crowd of more than fifty people braved ninety-degree plus temperatures to discuss advantages of membership in this new organization. Attendees came largely from three neighboring counties: Montgomery, Greene, and Clark; however some were from as far away as Mansfield, OH. and Racine,WI. Among the audience were several noted local authors of books on African American genealogy and publishers of individual family histories.

The crowd was addressed by four speakers. Mr. Robert L. Harris, a retired AF engineer, and organizer of the meeting, presented arguments for formation of the new group.

Mr. Art Thomas, a noted Springfield, Ohio lecturer and writer of African American genealogy, who has traced his ancestors back to the 1740's, gave a presentation of his personal experiences in genealogy, and identified several important works and authors in the field.

Mr. Bennie McRae, Trotwood Ohio, spoke about his award-winning Internet web site devoted to African American history. (His site won awards by The Dayton Daily News in 1998 and ‘99 for being among the best in the Miami Valley) He emphasized the link between genealogy and history.

Mr. Jonas Bender, the group's publicist, noted the national attention that media has paid to the growing field of genealogy in recent years, and pointed to African Americans mentioned in recent articles.

Dr. Olabisi Gwamna, from Nigeria, currently a professor of history at Wilberforce University, commented on genealogy's "reverse bridge," of Africans tracing their descendants to American slaves; and announced the upcoming Wilberforce International Conference on Slave Narratives with it's theme: "Chronicling Our Present; Remembering Our Past; Predicting Our Future." She invited the AAGGMV to organize a genealogy workshop for the conference. This invitation was accepted.

Ms. Deanna Ulvestad, Head Archivist for the Greene-County Room (Local History and Genealogy) at the Xenia Public Library, gave an overview of library holdings and resource materials supporting African American genealogy.

The formal meeting lasted two hours and flowed-over into many informal group discussions afterwards.

The next meeting will be held September 25, 1999 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. in Dayton or Trotwood, Ohio. Location will be announced later.