Local & Family History

Then and Now: The Long Shadow of Domestic Violence

Newton County, Mississippi. Over a century ago. The neighbors knew. The family sensed the fracture. The…
The Ration Book: A Passport to Survival in Wartime America

During World War II, survival on the home front required more than just hard work—it required…
The Gate and the Overgrowth: Why We Can’t Let Shubuta’s Hanging Bridge Vanish

A Road That Ends in Silence I recently drove toward the Chickasawhay River, searching for a…
The Paper Wall: The Precarious “Freedom” of Black Southerners Before 1865

The Myth of the Great Divide When we look back at the decades before the Civil…
The Great Migration: Why the Belt Children Left — and Why Some Stayed

A Family at a Glance Before exploring the “why,” it helps to see where the Belt…
From the Balcony to the Brush Arbor: The Birth of the Black Church in Mississippi

Before the Civil War, the Black church in Mississippi was often a church within a church…
The DNA Truth: Using Genetic Testing with Wisdom and Care

In his episode of Finding Your Roots, LL Cool J discovers information about his family history…
The Architecture of Memory: Why Our Stories Matter

History is often taught as a series of dates and names belonging to the powerful or…
Breaking the 1870 Wall: Finding Our Ancestors in the Shadows

For anyone researching African American genealogy, the year 1870 often feels like a brick wall. This…
Sacred Ground: Reclaiming the Lost Archives of Newton County

Cemeteries are more than just resting places—they are historical records etched in stone. In Newton County,…