"This collection of stories Bernice Bennett presented to readers serves well to expose and address a movement of self identity, unity and empowerment during a time where Blacks were living through and leaving enslavement to seek freedom. The inclusion of descendants to tell their stories from oral histories, combined with primary and secondary source findings exposes the higher calling of the ancestors for their lines of descendants. The source documents reflect living proof of their actions to direct their fate. The template model guided descendants to reveal the actual proof of ancestors’ claims and is a component that authenticates their findings." - Marilyn Campbell, Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS), Greater Richmond, Virginia Chapter

 

Bernice Alexander Bennett’s “Black Homesteaders of the South” opens up a new area of historical research for family genealogists and historians. Her research found many Black people who took advantage of the Homestead Act of 1862 to gain land and put down roots in Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida and Mississippi... Bennett’s book is groundbreaking by her compilation of so many Black homesteaders and her follow up with their current descendants who discuss whether they still live on their ancestral property.

Bernice Alexander Bennett is an award-winning author, genealogist, nationally recognized guest speaker, storyteller and producer-host of the popular Research at the National Archives and Beyond BlogTalkRadio program. She is also the first recipient of the Ida B. Wells Service Award, given by the Sons and Daughters of the United States Middle Passage, for her dedication to broadcast stories about enslaved and indentured ancestors of African descent. She also received the Elizabeth Clark-Lewis Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) Genealogy Award in 2019 for original research in support of African American genealogy. Bennett is a volunteer with the Homestead National Historical Park Service and has devoted her grass-roots skills to identifying and encouraging descendants of Black homesteaders to share their stories.