FREE and open to the public
Chris Rabb, consultant, writer and social commentator, will visit Durham for a one-night-only presentation on genealogy, identity and family culture, Thursday, October 18, 2007; 7-9 p.m. at the Hayti Heritage Center, 804 Old Fayetteville Street, Durham. Mr. Rabb will discuss how genealogy and the legacy of the civil rights movement contribute to personal identity and family culture, especially for black Americans.
Genealogy is a deeply personal hobby that is growing in popularity. For the black community, the study of genealogy holds particular significance. “Many people in this community are interested in genealogy, as evidenced by the use of the North Carolina Collection,� said Lynn Richardson, local history librarian at the Durham County Library. “Regardless of race, people want to know where they came from. But for black people who had their family wrested from them during slavery, the ability to recover their family history is a way to recover a piece of themselves.�
Despite the fact that the internet has made genealogical research easier, barriers to discovering family lineage still exist, particularly for black Americans. Incomplete or missing slave records can make research difficult. In addition, some black families are reluctant to discuss the past. Chris Rabb, who has traced his own family tree using DNA evidence, has a unique perspective on the sometimes frustrating but ultimately rewarding process of genealogy.
Chris Rabb has been covered by or featured on C-SPAN, NPR, XM Radio, The Wall Street Journal, Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Air America, LibertyTV, PoliticsTV, The Bev Smith Show, and other nationally syndicated radio shows hosted by Tavis Smiley, Michael Eric Dyson and Al Sharpton.
He is a graduate of Yale College and also earned an M.S. in Organizational Dynamics at the University of Pennsylvania. Chris is a 2001 American Marshall Memorial Fellow, and was elected as a Democratic Committeeman in May 2006, serving his Mt. Airy neighborhood of northwest Philadelphia. A native of Chicago, he is the proud husband of Professor Imani Perry, and father to two sons, Freeman Diallo and Issa.
An Evening with Chris Rabb is made possible due to a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Durham Library Foundation. The event is a partnership with the John Hope Franklin Collection in the Rare Book, Manuscript, Special Collections Library at Duke University and St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation Inc. at the Hayti Heritage Center.
