Center for Family History at the International African American Museum

05/20/2026

The South Carolina Federation of Museums is now seeking sponsors for the 2026 Annual Conference in Aiken, South Carolina!

This year’s theme, Witness to History: Place, Storytelling & Collective Memory, will bring together museum professionals, cultural organizations, and community leaders from across the state for three days of learning, networking, and collaboration.

By partnering with SCFM 2026, you’ll help support professional development, advocacy, and the continued preservation and sharing of South Carolina’s stories. Sponsorship opportunities are available at multiple levels.

📍 Aiken, South Carolina
📅 September 9–11, 2026

Learn more and become a sponsor here:
https://scmuseums.com/scfm2026/2026-sponsor/ or by emailing [email protected].

05/19/2026

It took some patience and some sleuthing through various FamilySearch data sets...but I finally found some Freedmen's Labor Contracts for Richland County, SC (Including Columbia). There aren't many - but I managed to find 3 of the 7 contracts I need for some current research I am doing for CFH. They haven't been indexed, so they won't appear in general searches or by using Full Text search - Brian

05/16/2026

Genealogy is more than research - it’s a journey into memory, identity, and lived experience. In this episode of the CFH Podcast, we explore how uncovering family histories - especially those shaped by enslavement, displacement, and survival - can impact us emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. As genealogists, family historians, scholars, and community researchers dig deeper into ancestral records, the stories they uncover often carry both truth and trauma.

05/16/2026

See you in about 10 minutes!

Genealogy is more than research - it’s a journey into memory, identity, and lived experience. In this episode of the CFH Podcast, we explore how uncovering family histories - especially those shaped by enslavement, displacement, and survival - can impact us emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. As genealogists, family historians, scholars, and community researchers dig deeper into ancestral records, the stories they uncover often carry both truth and trauma.

Genealogy is more than research - it’s a journey into memory, identity, and lived experience. In this episode of the CFH Podcast, we explore how uncovering f...

05/16/2026

05/12/2026

🔥 History. Legacy. Power. Community. 🔥

Join descendants, scholars, storytellers, and changemakers from across the country for Together We Rise — the official launch of the Descendants Forum, a groundbreaking collective uniting Descendant-led organizations to transform memory into movement.

Featuring powerful voices including Jamelle Bouie, Thavolia Glymph, and Soledad O'Brien, this virtual gathering will spark bold conversations about history, healing, advocacy, and the future of Descendant-led leadership.

🗓 May 18, 2026
⏰ 8:00 PM EDT
🌍 Virtual Event

This is more than a launch — it’s the beginning of a movement. Come rise with us. ✨

🎟️ Register for free here:
https://www.slavelegacyhistorycoalition.org/events-1/together-we-rise-the-collective-launch-of-the-descendants-forum-may-18-2026-8-00-pm-edt

05/04/2026

I love that the work that I do—the African American genealogical & historical field—still surprises me.

I had no idea South Carolina had a deep, documented history of Black cowboys!!! Not just stories passed down, but real lives, real skill, real legacy—right here in the Lowcountry and beyond.

And that’s exactly why the latest IAAM digital exhibit matters: https://tinyurl.com/IAAMBlackCowboys

Google Arts & Culture & the International African American Museum's Curatorial Team have created a powerful, visually rich historical experience that does more than just inform—it restores. It invites you to see Black life, labor, and expertise in spaces where it has too often been overlooked.

Through immersive storytelling, images, and carefully researched narratives, this exhibit expands what we think we know about the African American past—and reminds us that Black history is not a sidebar. It is the story.

Kudos to the IAAM’s Curatorial team who did an amazing job researching the history of Black cowboys in South Carolina (with just a wee bit of collaborative research help from Center for Family History at the International African American Museum) for the museum’s latest digital exhibit.

Take a few minutes. Click through. Sit with it.

Because history like this doesn’t just teach—it reconnects.

👉 Explore it here: https://artsandculture.google.com/story/CwXxBPnnP86TLA

If this moved you even a little, like, share, and send it to someone in your circle. These are the stories we carry forward—together.

05/04/2026

I love that the work that I do—the African American genealogical & historical field—still surprises me.

I had no idea South Carolina had a deep, documented history of Black cowboys!!! Not just stories passed down, but real lives, real skill, real legacy—right here in the Lowcountry and beyond.

And that’s exactly why the latest IAAM digital exhibit matters.

Google Arts & Culture & the International African American Museum's Curatorial Team have created a powerful, visually rich historical experience that does more than just inform—it restores. It invites you to see Black life, labor, and expertise in spaces where it has too often been overlooked.

Through immersive storytelling, images, and carefully researched narratives, this exhibit expands what we think we know about the African American past—and reminds us that Black history is not a sidebar. It is the story.

Kudos to the IAAM’s Curatorial team who did an amazing job researching the history of Black cowboys in South Carolina (with just a wee bit of collaborative research help from Center for Family History at the International African American Museum) for the museum’s latest digital exhibit.

Take a few minutes. Click through. Sit with it.

Because history like this doesn’t just teach—it reconnects.

👉 Explore it here: https://artsandculture.google.com/story/CwXxBPnnP86TLA

If this moved you even a little, like, share, and send it to someone in your circle. These are the stories we carry forward—together.

Explore the undertold story of Black Cowboys in South Carolina, past and present.

05/03/2026

I am really pleased to say that my Genealogy Adventures co-host Donya Willliams and I will be speaking on Friday, 22 May at 3 pm in St Petersburg, Florida. We'll be covering the 101 on how to do African American genealogy. After all, how can you begin the journey of finding your ancestors' burial places if you don't know the names of the ancestors and where they lived.

Registration and tickets are required. You can register and purchase tickets here: https://www.usf.edu/arts-sciences/chronicles/events/2026/black-cemetery-conference.aspx

University of South Florida

02/04/2026

I’ll be in Asheville, North Carolina on Saturday, February 21, 2026, for a community genealogy workshop at the YMI Cultural Center.

This session focuses on the methodology I've created around researching an ancestor’s pathways of enslavement - a critical thinking-led approach to identify specific kinds of slavery-related records and documents. I’ll walk through a 40-minute show-and-tell session using real examples from archival research, followed by a 15- to 20-minute Q&A where we can dig into your enslaved genealogical questions, challenges, and discoveries.

The program will conclude with an informal meet and greet, giving us time to continue the conversation one-on-one.

Bring your curiosity, your family stories, and your research questions. All experience levels are welcome, whether you are just starting out or deep into the archives.

Register for free at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tracing-our-roots-genealogy-workshop-with-brian-sheffey-tickets-1982235739457