W&M Featured Events

This calendar presented by William & Mary

[PAST EVENT] Researching Free People of Color in NC and VA: 1800 – 1865, Summer Sankofa Series w/ Renate Sanders

July 13, 2023
6:30pm - 7:30pm
Location
Virtual
Access & Features
  • Open to the public
  • Registration/RSVP
Photo of Renate and Sankofa bird

Summer Sankofa Series 2023, hosted by the Lemon Project Genealogy Initiative, continues with "Researching Free People of Color in NC and VA: 1800 – 1865," a workshop by Renate Yarborough Sanders, on July 13 at 6:30 p.m. over Zoom. This presentation focuses on the lives and circumstances of Free People of Color in Virginia and North Carolina, laws enacted to control them, and record types for researching this population. 

Renate Yarborough Sanders is the descendant of formerly enslaved ancestors, enslavers, and free people of color. She authors two blogs: “Into the LIGHT” and “Genea-Related;” and produces a “(Mostly) African American Funeral Programs” online database.  

Renate is a member of the National Genealogical Society, the North Carolina Genealogical Society (Publicity Director), the Afro-American Genealogical and Historical Society (member of National Editorial Board and Vice-President and Newsletter Editor for the Hampton Roads Chapter), the Wake County Genealogical Society, and the Tyrrell County Genealogical and Historical Society. She is also a member of the lineage society, “Sons and Daughters of the United States Middle Passage.” Renate cohosts “Let’s Talk North Carolina Genealogy,” an online platform and YouTube show, presenting genealogy programing and virtual events for North Carolina researchers; and she has served as panelist and guest on numerous web shows and podcasts. Renate has provided genealogy education for several institutions of higher learning, businesses, and descendant groups, and is an instructor for the Midwest African American Genealogy Institute (MAAGI). Her research has been featured on PBS Radio and in a National Geographic cover story and podcast. Currently, Renate is engaged in researching descendants of enslaved persons owned by Wake Forest University (then College).  

Renate lectures on a variety of genealogy topics but specializes in teaching beginning to intermediate research methodology and sharing specific techniques for researching ancestors of color – both pre- and post-Emancipation. She is a retired elementary school educator, mother of two daughters, and grandmother of three beautiful granddaughters (and a granddog). 

Contact

Dr. Jajuan Johnson, [[jsjohnson02]]