Historically, African Americans have faced significant challenges with discovering their ancestral history due to lost or difficult to find genealogical records. Now, the Center for Family History (CFH) at the International African American Museum (IAAM) is helping to bridge that gap. Recently the CFH launched its new Genealogy Research Area and Reference Library. These resources give visitors access to millions of online genealogical records, including more than 1,300 books, and offers them the benefit of real-time expertise from onsite CFH genealogy experts.

“Conventional wisdom has been that African Americans cannot trace their ancestry in the U.S., prior to 1870,” said CFH Director Brian Sheffey. “With the addition of these resources to the Center for Family History, the museum is making significant strides to change that misperception.”

The tech forward CFH Research Area features iPad stations where visitors can search 32 popular genealogy and African American historical websites to begin or further the journey of uncovering their family history.

Visitors are asked to bring a USB-C or a standard USB flash drive to save generated genealogy documents to help maintain the center’s paperless environment.

Nearby, the CFH Reference Library is home to over 1,300 books covering a wide range of genealogy topics. Books reservations are available online at www.libib.com/u/iaamcfh for registered library patrons only. To become a patron of the Research Library, visitors must email their interest to cfh@iaamuseum.org along with their first and last name.

The CFH offers free digital resources on family genealogy. Those seeking additional guidance on uncovering the history of their ancestry can register for a virtual one-on-one consultation. The cost is $79 for a 45-minute session. Consultations are offered Monday–Friday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Reservations can be made online.

You can read more in an article published in the postandcourier.com web site at: bit.ly/3W0zA50.