Jefferson Parish Government: GAYNELL BRADY LEADS FREE VIRTUAL PROGRAMON AFRICAN AMERICAN GENEALOGY

Press release from the Jefferson Parish Government:

June 22, 2021

METAIRIE, LA - Gaynell Brady will lead a free genealogical presentation focusing on African American heritage at 6 p.m., Monday, July 12, via video conference online. Visit www.jplibrary.net/adults for more details, including how to join the discussion. The presentation also can be accessed through the library’s Facebook page.

This event is free of charge and is open to the public. Registration is not required.

Brady says there are many obstacles to overcome for African-Americans searching for their ancestors and she will discuss how to overcome them.

According to Brady, the vast majority of African Americans are descendants of the 400,000 black Africans brought to North America to serve as slaves in the 18th and 19th centuries. Since the enslaved had no legal rights, they are often not found in many of the traditional record sources available for that period.

Another obstacle to documenting African American ancestry, says Brady, is that marriages of the enslaved were not legally recognized prior to emancipation, and therefore, were not recorded in official records. Tracing enslaved ancestors requires identifying the slave-owning family and tracking documents connected with that family.

After emancipation, some of the formerly enslaved African selected a new a surname which represented or identified their trade, a leader in the community, or their father’s first name.

Gaynell Brady has served as an interpretive park ranger for the National Park Service and as a museum educator at the Louisiana State Museum, National World War II Museum, and River Road African American Museum. Brady also is the owner and operator of Our Mammy’s, an educational resource that encourages children of all ages to research their family histories and use them as inspirational tools to combat obstacles.

For more information regarding this presentation, contact Chris Smith, manager of adult programming for the library, at (504) 889-8143 or wcsmith@jplibrary.net.

In accordance with provisions of the American with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008, as amended, Jefferson Parish shall not discriminate against individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs or activities. If you require auxiliary aids or devices, or other reasonable accommodation under the ADA Amendments Act, please submit your request to the ADA Coordinator at least 48 hours in advance or as soon as practical. A 72-hour advanced notice is required to request Certified ASL interpreters. ADA Coordinator/Office of Citizens with Disabilities 1221 Elmwood Park Blvd., Suite 403, Elmwood, LA 70123, (504) 736-6086, ADA@jeffparish.net.

This press release was produced by the Jefferson Parish Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.