Bernice Alexander Bennett at Lauritzen Gardens

100 Bancroft Street,Omaha NE 68108

16 August, 2021

Description

Deep family roots will be the topic of this talk with award-winning genealogist, podcast host, and author Bernice Alexander Bennett. Deep family roots will be the topic of this talk with award-winning genealogist, podcast host, and author Bernice Alexander Bennett. Bennett, a New Orleans native and current resident of Maryland, enjoyed a 35-year career in domestic and international health before becoming a genealogist. Now she focuses on helping others discover their genealogical health. Bennett has documented her African American roots in the Orleans, St. Helena, Livingston parishes of Louisiana, and Edgefield and Greenwood counties of South Carolina. "I had just an opportunity to … to trace my grandmother all the way back to slavery -- her family back to slavery, and to meet the slave owners' descendants," Alexander Bennett said on the show, The Takeaway. A family photo of her ancestors led to a rich discovery of papers that recorded the sale of her great-great-grandfather Andrew being sold for $288. The Black Homesteader Project is a multi-year endeavor started by Richard Edwards, director emeritus of the Center. The project rebuilds the histories of Black communities in Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico and has received support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Parks Service, and the 400 Years of African American History Fund, among others, since its inception. Bennett speaks widely on genealogy and most recently published "Tracing Their Steps: A Memoir." The book received the Next Generations Indie Award in 2021 for the African American (Non-Fiction) book category and was a semi-finalist in 2021 for the Winning Writer's Book award. She also hosts two podcasts, "Research at the National Archives" and "Beyond Blog TalkRadio." The Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska is a regional research and outreach Center interested in the study of and appreciation for the people, cultures, and natural environment of the Great Plains. The Center operates the Great Plains Art Museum, publishes Great Plains Quarterly and Great Plains Research, presents public lectures, and holds interdisciplinary conferences. Much of its work is accomplished by its Fellows and Associate Fellows across the region.