Latest news with #enslaved
Yahoo
28-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Benin grants citizenship to descendants of enslaved people. US singer Ciara is among the first
Benin grants citizenship to descendants of enslaved people. US singer Ciara is among the first DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — U.S. singer Ciara is one of the first public figures to become a citizen of Benin under a recent law by the small West African country granting citizenship to descendants of enslaved people. The Grammy-winning performer's acquisition of citizenship at a ceremony Saturday in the city of Cotonou is part of a broader initiative by Benin to attract the Black diaspora, acknowledge the country's role in the transatlantic slave trade, and promote tourism focused on slavery-related sites of remembrance. 'By legally recognizing these children of Africa, Benin is healing a historical wound. It is an act of justice, but also one of belonging and hope,' Justice Minister Yvon Détchénou said at the ceremony. Here's what to know about Benin's efforts to welcome descendants of enslaved people: Benin's Afro-descendant citizenship law In September, Benin passed a law granting citizenship to those who can trace their lineage to the slave trade. It is open to anyone above 18 who doesn't already hold other African citizenship and can provide proof that an ancestor was deported via the slave trade from anywhere in sub-Saharan Africa. Beninese authorities accept DNA tests, authenticated testimonies and family records. Last week, the government launched My Afro Origins, the digital platform that processes applications. While Benin is not the first country to grant citizenship to descendants of enslaved people, its citizenship law carries added significance, in part because of the role it played in the transatlantic slave trade. A national reckoning with its role in the slave trade European merchants deported an estimated 1.5 million enslaved people from the Bight of Benin — a region that includes present-day Benin, Togo and parts of Nigeria — to the Americas. Beninese kings actively participated in capturing and selling enslaved people to Portuguese, French and British merchants. The former kingdoms and the communities they raided still exist today as tribal networks. Benin has long been working to reconcile with its legacy of complicity. It has openly acknowledged its role in the slave trade, a stance not shared by many other African nations that participated. In the 1990s, it hosted an international conference to examine how and where enslaved people were sold. In 1999, then-President Mathieu Kérékou apologized to African Americans during a visit to a church in Baltimore. 'Memorial tourism' Alongside this national reckoning, 'memorial tourism' around the legacy of the slave trade has become a key approach of Benin's government to attract Afro-descendants. Memorial sites are mostly in Ouidah, one of Africa's most active slave-trading ports in the 18th and 19th centuries. They include the Slave Route, which was the path marking enslaved people's final journey to ships, and the Door of No Return, a haunting doorway that opens to the Atlantic Ocean where they left Africa, and their families, for the last time. Sindé Chekete, the head of Benin's state-run tourism agency, said these sites give Afro-descendants the opportunity to learn about and honor the struggles and resilience of their ancestors. 'It may inspire some people to say 'I want to return to Africa and choose Benin to understand this history'," Chekete said. Following her citizenship ceremony, Ciara toured the historic city, where she walked the Slave Route to the Door of No Return. 'Between emotion, reflection and heritage, I experienced a profound return to what truly matters,' she said. Ciara is best known for chart-topping hits like 'Goodies' and 'Level Up,' her dynamic choreography, and her work in fashion and philanthropy. ____ AP's Africa coverage at: Mark Banchereau, The Associated Press
Associated Press
18-06-2025
- General
- Associated Press
2 Million Black Americans Born Prior to Emancipation in the 1900 US Census
New dataset from FamilySearch bridges generations documented in the 1900 United States census ' is excited and honored that FamilySearch is publishing a complete dataset through our project.'— Walter Hawthorne, MSU Professor of History SALT LAKE CITY, UT, UNITED STATES, June 18, 2025 / / -- Michigan State University (MSU) and FamilySearch International are happy to announce an extensive expansion to MSU's online collection Enslaved: Peoples of the Historical Slave Trade ( ), a project that documents the lives of formerly enslaved individuals of African descent. The newly expanded collection uses 1900 United States census data to significantly enhance the ability to discover formerly enslaved individuals and their families for genealogical and academic research. This exciting new, free resource can be accessed now at and MSU and FamilySearch determined that the 1900 census would significantly benefit MSU's initiative because of its potential to identify about 2 million people named in the census who were likely enslaved before emancipation in the United States. (Enslaved individuals were not named in many historical records, including U.S. censuses. Censuses taken after 1863 are sometimes the first records to include these individuals by name.) FamilySearch then worked with Brigham Young University's Record Linking Lab to identify the individuals in the census, along with links to the original census images on and records in the FamilySearch Family Tree. To search the 1900 U.S. Census, filtered for 2 million Black Americans born before emancipation, search the collection directly at 'FamilySearch is the premier genealogical website in the world. It has an immense amount of searchable data about individuals who appear in a great range of primary sources—from censuses to baptismal records to birth records and more. is excited and honored that FamilySearch is publishing a complete dataset through our project. This is a rare collaboration between a center that caters mostly to an academic audience and a nonprofit organization that caters to the general public,' said Walter Hawthorne, MSU professor of history and head of the project. Tracing people from the era of enslavement to the generations that followed emancipation presents exceptional challenges to descendants and researchers, Hawthorne noted. Progress has been made in recent years due to a growing number of archives, databases, and collections that help organize and make sense of records of enslavement. These resources have only recently become readily accessible for scholarly and public use. Such advancements come with the unique challenges of finding and accessing these databases online and the preservation of these projects and resources. is a constellation of resources built to address these challenges. Its primary focus is individuals who were enslaved, who enslaved others, or participated in the trading of enslaved persons. 'We're honored to contribute to this important project that brings greater visibility to the lives and legacies of formerly enslaved individuals,' said Stephen Valentine, FamilySearch executive vice president for North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa. 'In addition to sharing this valuable dataset, we're excited that scholars and descendants can access original historical images and linked family records in the FamilySearch Family Tree. These connections enrich academic research and empower families to discover and preserve their heritage in deeply personal ways.' The crowdsourcing capabilities of the free FamilySearch Family Tree have been instrumental to the development of multiple record-linking projects by Brigham Young University (BYU) and will enable the continued enhancement of MSU's 'Two Million Black Americans Born Prior to Emancipation in the 1900 United States Census' dataset as a portal to deeper research possibilities. Professor Joe Price, director of BYU's Record Linking Lab, explained that the new dataset, combined with Family Tree, will allow people to explore their family history and see their personal connections to any ancestors who were likely formerly enslaved. The rich data in the 1900 census will then open the possibility to link back to previous census records (1880 and 1870) and eventually to records that predate emancipation. As individuals contribute their own genealogical information and uncover new records, these contributions will strengthen scholarly research, enriching our understanding of the lives of formerly enslaved people and their families. Search the new 1900 United States census dataset today at and RELATED • Find your African American Ancestors on • Journal of Slavery and Data Preservation: 1900 U.S. Census Essay and Searchable Dataset • Tutorial to download the 1900 US Census dataset on Kristina Poznan [email protected] Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
