Introducing 10 Million Names

Cynthia Evans
Feb 14, 2025
579 views
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About this webinar

There are at least 44 million descendants of enslaved individuals alive today, but slavery separated families, erased names, and obscured facts. The 10 Million Names Project, recently launched by American Ancestors and its partners, aims to connect the family stories of these descendants to the 10 million men, women, and children of African descent who were enslaved in the U.S. prior to emancipation and to restore their names to history. Join Cynthia Evans and learn about the scope of this project, the objectives, and our methodology.

About the speaker

Cynthia Evans is the Director of Research for 10 Million Names. She manages and performs research for 10 Million Names projects. The 10 Million Names project is a collaborative project dedicated to re...
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Comments (53)

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  1. BO
    Bobbie OConnell
    1 year ago

    What an exciting and important project! Thank you, Cynthia, for sharing information about American Ancestors, the material you've already collected, and what your needs and goals are going forward.

  2. DO
    Deborah J Outland
    1 year ago

    Very interesting material. Thank you! I recently found some court documents that aportioned both land and several enslaved people to the heirs of my 4th Great-grandfather, and would love to have more information about how to assist in making their names available as widely as possible. Please consider addressing that more in similar presentations. Although I have seen a very few discussions of how to help, none of them have provided quite enough information to really participate.

    1
  3. JH
    Judith Harless
    1 year ago

    When I finally decided to take a white circa-1820 ancestor from "mythical" to documented, the first deed I read was for land with a "saltpetre cave." There was a lawsuit (yay!) and when reading the case files, the very next solid fact about my ancestor, sadly, was that he had briefly bought & sold a woman and her daughter to finance the purchase. Witnesses told of her subsequent fate! This made me try to recall the new project I had caught wind of, and now I know where to send the data.

  4. VM
    Vickie McCubbin
    1 year ago

    I think American Ancestors is a wonderful organization, interesting to learn information about this project.

    1
  5. CC
    Carla Coleman
    1 year ago

    This webinar is important to and for African American researchers who have information to share to help build this database of knowledge. Beginner researchers and genealogist will have webinars like this to help them to keep the hope of Connecting the Past with the Present. I am encouraged by today’s webinar. Thanks to Cynthia and Danielle

  6. EM
    Esin Murat
    1 year ago

    Thank you, Cynthia Evans and Legacy Family Tree Webinars, for introducing me to this invaluable and important project! While I’m not of African American descent nor a descendant of slaveholders, I felt so excited that I couldn’t even wait for the webinar to end before reaching out to 10MN@nehgs.org to volunteer. This is a brilliant initiative, and I’d be honored to contribute in any way I can :)

  7. NP
    Nancy Prisk
    1 year ago

    I have been a NEHGS (American Ancestors) member for many years ... but this is the first time I have explored the 10 Million Names Project. Looking forward to sharing some probate records from my Surry County, Virginia family members who sadly were slave holders. Perhaps through adding this information to your database descendants of these folks will be able to learn more about the communities where their ancestors lived. Thank you for having Cynthia's video live while she spoke.

    1
  8. DW
    Dana Williams
    1 year ago

    Concise and informative presentation about a monumental project!

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