Have You Heard About 10 Million Names in the News?

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Bannner for https://10millionnames.org/

 Lately, American Ancestor's new project has been everywhere in the news, from Michael Strahan  going to Shankleville on Good Morning America, NPR's All Things Considered, to the Rev. Al Sharpton show on MSNBC. 

Their mission: "10 Million Names is a collaborative project dedicated to recovering the names of the estimated 10 million men, women, and children of African descent who were enslaved in pre- and post-colonial America (specifically, the territory that would become the United States) between the 1500s and 1865."

American Ancestors, who is spearheading this project, is also known as the New England Historic Genealogical Society, based on Boston, Massachusetts. FamilySearch says about them, 

Founded in 1845, the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) is the oldest such society in the United States. They maintain an Internet database of over 100 million names, including vital records, compiled genealogies, and scholarly journals.

An Introduction to the 10 Million Names Project was offered free August 24, 2023 from 2-4pm ET. More information here; the recording is now on Youtube (short intro) and Introducing the 10 Million Names Project (1 hour).

They say, 

There are at least 44 million descendants of enslaved individuals alive today, but slavery separated families, erased names, and obscured facts. The 10 Million Names Project, recently launched by American Ancestors and its partners, aims to connect the family stories of these descendants to the 10 million men, women, and children of African descent who were enslaved in the U.S. prior to emancipation and to restore their names to history. 

I've (Valorie) been involved in Wikitree's US Black Heritage project, which aims to "create the largest online public database of connected African-American families." This is dear to my heart, and I'm so heartened to see American Ancestors, with all their deep resources, reach, and scholarly heft, embark on this huge project.

We here in Washington state have local historic events that are being researched and more names are being preserved.  There is the Buffalo Soldiers Museum in Pierce County, the Roslyn Coal Mining in Kittitas County and coal mining in east King County as well. The Black Diamond Museum and Historical Society is working with South King County Genealogical Society on Black Miners of Franklin Project, tracing the black miners and families who were brought here in 1891. These are just a few of the opportunities in our own neighborhoods.

The 10 Million Names Project is an important part of the American story, and it will take all of us, national organization or local society, to fully tell it. Because so many of the enslaved were not named in public records, descendants of those who bought, sold and used their forced labor can find the names in the records of their ancestors. As we know, the more of the story we uncover, the more nuanced our understanding becomes. It's true that "the past is another country" and also that our shared history is what shaped who we are.


Valorie Zimmerman






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