Conference Keynoter:
Keynote: "Futures in the Past: Family History and
the Making of a Modern Black Identity"
Tiffany R. Patterson, PhD
Tiffany Ruby Patterson is Associate Professor of African American and
Diaspora Studies, History, and American Studies at Vanderbilt University,
where she teaches African American and Black Atlantic History and is Faculty
Head of Stambaugh House in The Commons. She has published Zora Neale
Hurston and a History of Southern Life. She is Associate Editor of Black Women in United States History,
16 Vols. She is author of “Diaspora and Beyond: The Promise and Limitations of Black Transnational
Studies in the United States” in Les diasporas dans le monde contemporain. Un état des lieux edited by
W. Berthomiere and C. Chivallon. She is also co-author with Robin D.G. Kelley of “Unfinished
Migrations: Reflections on the African Diaspora and the Making of the Modern World,” African Studies
Review. Dr. Patterson is currently working on a volume of essays entitled Heart in Darkness: The Moral
Imagination of Zora Neale Hurston and a history of her family. Her forthcoming article, “Obama and the
Politics of Anger” will be published by University of Illinois Press in the Fall of 2011 in a book entitled
Obama, Clinton, and Palin: Historical Perspectives, edited by Liette Gidlow.
Her goal in teaching is to empower students to think critically and to trust
their own ability to navigate complex ideas with the aim of being first rate
leaders. She pushes her students to embrace with enthusiasm the hard work
required to become razor sharp intellectuals, humane citizens, and
contributors to a just and democratic world.
As part of this 29th Annual Family History Conference the workshop schedule
includes something for genealogists and family historians at every level. The
Friday workshop schedule includes: “Finding Our Way Through History”,
presented by Dr. Tiffany Patterson, “Using Non-Traditional Sources to Identify
Slave Ancestry” presented by Janis Minor Forté, two separate Beginning Genealogy Workshops
presented by Emerson Stewart and Mattie Amaker, “Writing your Autobiography” presented by Dr.
Cheryl Gaines, and ‘’Getting Organized’ presented by Stephanie Byrd.
In addition to the keynote event. On Saturday, the workshop sessions including: “Barrier Busting
Workshop” presented by a panel of expert genealogists including Janis Minor Forté, Angela F. McGhee,
Evelyn Nabors and Judith Samuel, “Finding Supportive Documents”, presented by Sheila Johnson Smith,
“Finding Cousins: Sources to Search for Living Kin”, presented by Bonita Wood and Margie T. Ferguson,
“Graded or Self-Graded- Learn By Example”, presented by Angela F. McGhee, “Photo Restoration”
presented by Ernest Rose and Thomas Tracy, “Archiving Documents”, presented by Tamar Dougherty
and Dino Robinson, “Query Writing”, presented by Belzora Cheatham and Betty Craft, “Beginning
Genealogy” presented by John C. Cooper, Jr., “Using Lineage Societies to Validate Research”, presented
by Roma Stewart.
The complete conference information and registration form follow. For more information, see our
website: www.aaghsc.org and click on the 2011 conference link.