|
My Afriquest: Our Readers and Volunteers Speak
|
Tell the world why you volunteer for Afriquest.
Tell readers why you think Afriquest is important.
Or share a success story about a record you found here.
You can compose text or upload a video.
To submit your testimonial, click "Testify Now!"
|
|
What does Afriquest mean to you?
 |
|
|
 |
|
Joyce Reese McCollum
United States
Afriquest is the perfect name for this site. So many of us are on personal quests to find our heritage that began in Africa generations back. It is a heritage that has never been told - lost thru the Middle Passage and auction houses of slavery. This wonderful site will allow us to share our heritage and reunite with lost kindred. We now have the means to identify our ancestors and fill in the timelines of their lives, struggles and achievements. Afriquest is long overdue. Not only can we memorialize our ancestors, we can connect with others who share our collective pasts.
I volunteer for myself, those who came before, and those to follow so that the circle will remain unbroken. The story of Africans in America goes far beyond what is limitedly depicted in school books. Ive often heard that history is written by the victors. Afriquest allows history to be written by the inheritors and descendents of those who persevered, endured and pressed on for their children and their childrens children- for us. I encourage everyone to volunteer, tell your stories, honor your ancestors and leave a legacy for the children of the future.
|
 |
|
Toni
United States
Hi, Im Toni Carrier, I volunteer for Afriquest because records of African American heritage have been undervalued and underpreserved in our country.
I volunteer because there is a generation of African American elders alive today who can connect with these records if we can get them out there where people can find them.
Every document, image or story posted on Afriquest brings us one step closer to preserving African American heritage, and honoring the Africans and African Americans who shaped so much of our countrys history.
---toni
|
 |
|
Vicky Daviss Mitchell
United States
I volunteer because it is important to know that the shoulders that we stand on, are represented for generations through the records that are made available. African Americans have been limited to resources for years and volunteering gives a leg up to those that wish to persue that dream of finding a loved one. It gives me great pleasure to know that the enormous amount of records that we share will cement our heritage for years to come.
I personally volunteer because my vision of knowing that my ancestors lived and breathed is paramount to me being who I am. I actually may be putting a record out there that is the life story of one of my ancestors or the ancestor of one of my neighbors. Can you imagine seeing a long ago document that was in your own ancestors handwriting or knowing that your ancestor owned land during a time when it was near impossible, or that many babies were delivered by your ancestors hands.. These are just a few reasons why I volunteer.
|
 |
|
Quan Pruitt
United States
My quest - to tell the stories/oral histories of former slaves so that history will not be lost and for all the sacrifices that our ancestors endured to survive the hardships of American Slavery. Most of all, for my great grandmother sold at auction as a child and was given as a wedding gift, She endured her family being sold and seperated never to see them again except in memory.
I volunteer because that oral history is disappearing. Maybe by perserving that history it will reunite a family. Because you must know, understand and accept your roots. You cannot move forward without being proud, standing tall and nurturing those support roots in order to progress forward with new roots.
|
 |
|
Tara D. Fields
United States
Hello, my name is Tara, and I have been doing volunteer genealogical and historical research since 1995. Early on in my work, I found that the African American community was truly underserved. Little in the way of documentation could be found. So I started with surveying African American cemeteries and moved on to transcribing and abstracting other types of records such as slave deeds.
Afriquest is a perfect way of sharing my work with the target audience: African American researchers. It doesn matter that I am not African American myself - the need and the desire is the same: to learn, to share, to explore.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
