Just sharing this from another genealogy list. Deb ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joe" <joegreene@urnet.net> To: <KYMORGAN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, August 08, 2005 9:59 PM Subject: [KYMORGAN] Student Genealogy Camp > The Genealogy Summer Camp described below is a type of activity all our > children and grandchildren need to go to - regardless of race, creed, > color, ethnic or national background - all of them - too much family > history is being lost because family history - genealogy is not seen as > 'cool' - 'kewl' by younger generations. . . > > Cordially - Joe Greene > > ********************************************** > Students at genealogy camp trace their roots > > http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/08/08/genealogy.camp.ap/index.html > > NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- Jameel Reese expected to spend his summer > swimming, hanging out, goofing off with friends. Instead, he spent it > finding family. > > Jameel discovered his great, great, great grandfather by -- of all > things -- going to camp. He and six other black children age 7 to 15 > attended Youth Genealogy Camp, which seeks to nurture an appreciation > for the struggles of those who came before them. > > "He was trained to be a casket maker while he was still a slave," the > soft-spoken 12-year-old said of his ancestor. "He was sold when he was > 11. He must have cried a lot then." > > The monthlong day camp is the brainchild of Antoinette Harrell-Miller, > founder of the nonprofit African American Genealogy Connection. > > "So many kids have no idea of their own history," she said. "They don't > stop and think about how their family got here or how they lived." > > Harrell-Miller discussed the idea of the camp on her local cable-access > TV show, "Knowing Your Family History." She and a group of parents > financed the camp, spending about $1,200 on this first year. > > "Parents started calling me and saying they wanted their kids to > attend," she said. > > The campers pored over records in the library and The Amistad Research > Center at Tulane University. They also visited cemeteries and older > family members and went to parish courthouses. > > They dug through birth and death certificates, deeds, registrations and > voting lists. > > "We took them to federal and state offices so they could learn how to > get records," Harrell-Miller said. "The thrust of the camp was to teach > them how and where to get information." > > Younger campers, who might have struggled with some of the more > difficult searches, were asked to bring pictures of relatives from home. > > "It's pretty rough to have to get up early in the summer and drag > yourself down to the library, but it was worth it," said 12-year-old > Jordan Rock. "I found out about 'Wild Man' Rock, who was a Mardi Gras > Indian master. And L.C. Beauregard, he was in my family and he was a > mulatto policeman in the 1880s." > > As fascinated as Jordan was with his ancestors, his 15-year-old sister, > Amandia, was even more amazed by the discovery of a white member of the > family tree. > > "She was my father's great, great, great grandmother," Amandia said. "I > was shocked. I never thought of myself as being white in any way." > 'A story about me' > > Akanke McKinsey, 10, said she thought the camp might be boring, but it > wasn't: "It was like reading a story about me," she said. > > Akanke proudly displayed a picture of a 1910 federal grand jury that > shows her ancestor Homer Cyprien. "He was the first black man invited to > sit on a federal grand jury in Louisiana," she said. > > Discoveries like that, and the sense of family history they give a > child, are important for the city of New Orleans, said Mayor Ray Nagin. > > "This may be one of the keys for unlocking what is one of the biggest > problems in our city," he said. "Our young men, more than anyone else, > need to know their history. They are the ones dropping out of school and > getting into drugs and crime and shooting each other." > > Harrell-Miller said she welcomes white campers next summer. She said it > is easier for people with European ancestors to trace their genealogy > because records have been better preserved, she said. > > Harrell-Miller has backed a bill filed by Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu > that would establish a national archive for the preservation of vital > records relating to slaves and their descendants. > > "I thought about it when I went to Ellis Island," Harrell-Miller said. > "There were records there for people of European descent to discover > their heritage, but where do African-Americans go?" > > Records are now scattered in courthouses, county seats and historical > societies, she said. > > "Many times they have been lost or destroyed," Harrell-Miller said. "We > need to have a central place for them before more are lost." > > Meanwhile, the camp has created some junior genealogists. > > "I've done my family tree on my father's side," said 7-year-old > Sarauniya Zulu. "It was a lot of work and I still have to do my mother's > side." > > Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material > may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. > > Find this article at: > http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/08/08/genealogy.camp.ap/index.html > > > > ==== KYMORGAN Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe from KyMorgan, you need to send the word UNSUBSCRIBE (and only that word) to the rootsweb list computer. The address is kymorgan-l-request@rootsweb.com . Or for the digest, it is kymorgan-d-request@rootsweb.com . >