Ancestor's Footprints with Bernice Alexander Bennett

This episode will focus on Memories That Heal: How Family Stories and Photos can support Healthy Aging.What if the photographs tucked away in your attic or family albums could actually improve brain health, strengthen relationships, and help people age with greater purpose and connection?Today’s guest is Rick Voight, CEO and Co-Founder of Vivid-Pix and publisher of Reunions Magazine. Rick is a lifelong innovator in photography, storytelling, and memory preservation. Raised in Rochester, New York — the historic home of Kodak — Rick developed an early appreciation for the power of photographs and memories. His passion centers on the emotional, social, and health benefits of reminiscing and storytelling — especially for older adults. Research increasingly shows that viewing photographs, sharing family stories, and engaging in family history activities can reduce loneliness, improve communication, strengthen intergenerational bonds, and support cognitive and emotional well-being.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ancestor-s-footprints-with-bernice-alexander-bennett--6436157/support.You can find Ancestor’s Footprints on Spreaker.com, Apple Podcasts, iHeart, Amazon Music, and many other platforms. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Today's episode features a conversation between host Bernice Alexander-Bennett and Dr. Warren Eugene Milteer Jr., an associate professor of history at George Washington University, about his book "Freedom in the Age of Slavery: A History of Free People of Color in Virginia." Dr. Milteer discussed his motivation for writing the book, which filled a gap in the historical record since the last full-length exploration of free people of color in Virginia was written in the early 20th century. He also shares insights about the challenges of researching this topic, including records loss and limited access to the voices of free people of color themselves.Milteer recounts in granular detail the discriminatory policies and resulting hardships that free Virginians of color faced, while also documenting the openings they created for themselves and the successes they enjoyed against overwhelming odds. Throughout, he highlights the commonwealth’s significance as the laboratory for legal discrimination throughout the nation, while never losing sight of the ways free people of color seized their opportunities wherever possible and built meaningful lives in the face of massive white resistance.Warren Eugene Milteer, Jr. is an associate professor of history at the George Washington University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2014. His publications include four academic books, Out of This Strife Will Come Freedom: Free People of Color and the Fight for Equal Rights in the Civil War Era (UNC Press, 2026), Freedom in the Age of Slavery: A History of Free People of Color in Virginia (UVA Press, 2026), Beyond Slavery’s Shadow: Free People of Color in the South (UNC Press, 2021), and North Carolina’s Free People of Color, 1715-1885 (LSU Press, 2020), the independently published Hertford County, North Carolina’s Free People of Color and Their Descendants (2016), as well as articles in the Journal of Social History and the North Carolina Historical Review. Milteer was the recipient of the Southern Historical Association’s Charles S. Sydnor Award for the best book in Southern history in 2022, the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association’s Ragan Old North State Award for nonfiction in 2022, and the Historical Society of North Carolina’s R. D. W. Connor Award in 2014 and 2016 for the best journal article in the North Carolina Historical Review.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ancestor-s-footprints-with-bernice-alexander-bennett--6436157/support.You can find Ancestor’s Footprints on Spreaker.com, Apple Podcasts, iHeart, Amazon Music, and many other platforms. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Andre Kearns's research comes from the perspective of an African American genealogy hobbyist. Advances in DNA testing offer African Americans the possibility of leapfrogging brick walls created by slavery to connect to ancestral roots by analyzing family history documented within DNA.  Andre will share strategies he’s used to advance his research as a hobbyist and highlight how he’s leveraged DNA testing to reveal white slave owning ancestors, uncover free people of color ancestors and re-connect family branches.  Andre Kearns has deep roots in the American south and a passion for discovering new ancestors and learning their stories. An African American, he knew he descended from enslaved persons and likely slave owners which DNA analysis has helped confirm. Through his research he also discovered ancestors that were free people of color long before the civil war, Native American, and multi-racial persons. Discovering this ancestry has unlocked previously unknown rich aspects of American history. Andre is a genealogy hobbyist. By day he works in the business and technology world, and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in Business Administration from Morehouse College. His website www.Cumbofamily.com is where he regularly shares his research findings through blog posts. He also regularly blogs on Race, Culture, History and Genealogy at www.medium.com under the name Andre Kearns.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ancestor-s-footprints-with-bernice-alexander-bennett--6436157/support.You can find Ancestor’s Footprints on Spreaker.com, Apple Podcasts, iHeart, Amazon Music, and many other platforms. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Many Americans of African descent have thought that connecting with their African kin was next to impossible, yet Carol Hector-Harris has done just that. Not only did she visit Ghana but she also met relatives. She is the fifth great-granddaughter of Africa-born Quock Martrick, who served in the Revolutionary War with George Washington in New York. She found Martrick's family, HER FAMILY, in Big Ada, Ghana. She also met members of her ethnic group, the Ga-Adangbe (the African lineage she discovered through DNA testing), which includes Sangmorkie Tetteh, who is with Carol in the photo. Carol Hector-Harris earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and a Master of Arts in Political Science from The Ohio State University. Currently she is working toward a Ph.D. at Ohio University’s Scripps College of Communication. An eleventh generation Bostonian, she lives in Columbus, Ohio with her husband, two sons, and eight grandchildren. Ms. Hector-Harris serves as the librarian for a Columbus Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ancestor-s-footprints-with-bernice-alexander-bennett--6436157/support.You can find Ancestor’s Footprints on Spreaker.com, Apple Podcasts, iHeart, Amazon Music, and many other platforms. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Rebroadcast Gather at the Table: The Healing Journey of a Daughter of Slavery and a Son of the Slave Trade --   -- is the chronicle of a shared journey toward racial reconciliation. Informed by genealogy, it deals with race, social justice and healing from the traumatic wounds of slavery. Over a three year period, the authors traveled through 27 states, visiting ancestral towns, courthouses, cemeteries, plantations, antebellum mansions, and historic sites.   Bernice Alexander Bennett welcomes Sharon Leslie Morgan and Thomas Norman Dewolf to share this compelling journey with us.   Sharon Morgan is a marketing communications consultant and a nationally recognized pioneer in multicultural marketing. An avid genealogist, she is the webmaster for OurBlackAncestry.com and is a founder of the Black Public Relations Society.  Thomas Norman DeWolf, author of Inheriting the Trade, is featured in the Emmy-nominated documentary film Traces of the Trade, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and on the acclaimed PBS series POV. DeWolf speaks regularly about healing from the legacy of slavery and racism at conferences and colleges throughout the United States.   Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ancestor-s-footprints-with-bernice-alexander-bennett--6436157/support.You can find Ancestor’s Footprints on Spreaker.com, Apple Podcasts, iHeart, Amazon Music, and many other platforms. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode.