Diversity & Inclusion Events

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Summer Sankofa Series Workshop with Nicka Sewell-Smith

June 11, 2024
6pm
Location
Virtual
Access & Features
  • Open to the public
  • Registration/RSVP
Flyer with Nicka Smith and image of a Sankofa bird

Join the Lemon Project Genealogy Research Initiative for the fourth year of the Summer Sankofa Series Workshops. We're excited to announce that Nicka Sewell-Smith will join us virtually for "We Weren't Taught How to Smile" on June 11 at 6 pm.

We Weren’t Taught How to Smile

King Atlas, Sr., a formerly enslaved man, faced certain death on March 16, 1889. The cause of his scuffle with two white men was moot as Jim Crow’s tight grip on northeast Louisiana was a nightmare compared to the dream of progress seen just a decade earlier during Reconstruction. Yet, King’s two aggressors faced consequences, he survived, was not charged or fined, and the incident further ignited a fire within that continues to burn in his descendants to this day.

Learn the prolific story of a Black from the Mississippi Delta who went from enslavement by the family of President Andrew Jackson to the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement, birthing everything from voting rights leaders, Freedom Riders, city, state, and federal officials, and scores of community activists who carry the indomitable spirit of their ancestor into their passions, pursuits, and work in the 21st century.

Biography: Nicka Smith is a host, consultant, and documentarian with more than 20 years of experience as a genealogist. She has extensive experience in researching the enslaved and their communities and is a valued expert in genealogy research along the Mississippi Delta.

Nicka has diverse and varied experience in media with a background in audio, video, and written communications. She's appeared on TODAY Show, CNN, MSNBC, was featured on an Emmy winning episode of the series Who Do You Think You Are, and has been interviewed by Oakland Tribune, The Undefeated, National Geographic, and TIME. She is the host of BlackProGen LIVE, an innovative web show with more than 130 episodes focused on people of color genealogy and family history.

She is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, a member of two lineage societies (Sons and Daughters of the Middle Passage (SDUSMP) and the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR)), and a past board member of the California Genealogical Society (CGS) and the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California (AAGSNC). Nicka served as the chair of the Outreach and Education Committee for AAGSNC, and she is the former project manager for the Alameda County, CA Youth Ancestral Project where more than 325 youth were taught the value of family history.

Additionally, Nicka is the family historian and lead researcher for the Atlas family of Lake Providence, East Carroll, Louisiana, and guides and coaches an active group of family historians at the Who is Nicka Smith Patreon community. 




Sponsored by: The Lemon Project: A Journey of Reconciliation

Contact

Jajuan Johsnon, [[w|genealogy]]