The African American Genealogy Group, a local group of researchers is helping African-American people who want to find their ancestral roots, reports Ukee Washington for CBS News Philadelphia.

While the internet has made genealogy more accessible, the legacy of slavery makes it harder for Black people to find their histories, as census records before emancipation, in some cases, are nonexistent. 

The African American Genealogy Group works to address this. 

Lanzy Witherspoon can attest to their diligent work.

“Genealogy is like a puzzle for me. And when I figure it out, I find my family,” said Witherspoon. 

Over the years, Witherspoon has helped her father find his sister; found a 105-year-old cousin and got to meet her before she passed away, helped her great-grandmother find 20 of her half-siblings after she had spent her entire life thinking she was an only child; and even learned she had family connections to a Civil War veteran whose name is engraved on a memorial in Washington, D.C. 

The genealogy group spread the word across Black neighborhoods and online to help others locate their roots.

For Witherspoon, genealogy has changed her life and she isn’t done.

“There’s always something else to learn,” she said. 

Read more about the impact the African American Genealogy Group can have on the Black community in CBS News Philadelphia. 

_____