Rooted: Preserving African American Family History

Over the past grant funding year, The Rooted Archives project has embarked on a transformative journey from its initial conception to the ambitious undertaking it has now become. What was originally envisioned as a streamlined project to promote genealogy and family history within the Minnesota African descendants of slavery community has evolved into a multi-phase endeavor, encompassing research, development, planning, and the promise of meaningful community engagement and historical content. In this report, I will share this project's evolution, the factors that have shaped the course it has taken, and the profound impact it is poised to make on the Minnesota community. At the project's inception, my vision was clear: to empower Minnesota African descendants of slavery with tools to help them explore their family histories, discover more about their pasts, and share these stories with others in the community. This was an ambitious undertaking to believe that I could complete in one short year full of learning. However, my ambitions driven by a desire to bridge historical gaps, empower individuals through knowledge and access, and foster cultural preservation are what pushed me to start this project. I had many unforeseen challenges as I set out to scope out the project. One of my first learnings was how much I'd promised before truly scoping out what was feasible with the resources and time I had allotted. As the project plan began to take shape, it became evident that there were significant blind spots that required immediate attention. My first crucial realization was that I needed a comprehensive understanding of the community's needs and aspirations to create a project that truly served its purpose. To address these blind spots and respond to the evolving project needs, the Rooted Archives project expanded into a broader, three-phase endeavor:
Phase 1: Research, Development, and Planning
Phase 2: Pilot Implementation
Phase 3: Evaluation and Measurement

With the guidance and approval of the Minnesota Humanities Center (MHC) grants administrator, the decision was made to realign my project's focus during this funding year to Phase 1: Research, Development, and Planning. This phase aimed to build a strong foundation for the subsequent phases, ensuring that the project would be well-informed and community-driven. Revised Goals for Phase 1 of Rooted Archives: Phase 1, now redefined, sought to achieve the following objectives:
- Develop a comprehensive project plan that encompasses all three project phases.
- Conduct outreach to engage with the Minnesota African descendants of slavery community.
- Confirm key assumptions: o Interest among community members in documenting and sharing family stories.
o The need for access to genealogy tools and knowledge.
o Skepticism regarding the use of DNA data.
o Cost-related barriers to quality testing.
o Measure interest in artistic archiving of family histories.
o Compile a list of community members interested in genealogy research and storytelling; Over the past grant funding year, The Rooted Archives project has embarked on a transformative journey from its initial conception to the ambitious undertaking it has now become. What was originally envisioned as a streamlined project to promote genealogy and family history within the Minnesota African descendants of slavery community has evolved into a multi-phase endeavor, encompassing research, development, planning, and the promise of meaningful community engagement and historical content. In this report, I will share this project's evolution, the factors that have shaped the course it has taken, and the profound impact it is poised to make on the Minnesota community. At the project's inception, my vision was clear: to empower Minnesota African descendants of slavery with tools to help them explore their family histories, discover more about their pasts, and share these stories with others in the community. This was an ambitious undertaking to believe that I could complete in one short year full of learning. However, my ambitions driven by a desire to bridge historical gaps, empower individuals through knowledge and access, and foster cultural preservation are what pushed me to start this project.

I had many unforeseen challenges as I set out to scope out the project. One of my first learnings was how much I'd promised before truly scoping out what was feasible with the resources and time I had allotted. As the project plan began to take shape, it became evident that there were significant blind spots that required immediate attention. My first crucial realization was that I needed a comprehensive understanding of the community's needs and aspirations to create a project that truly served its purpose. To address these blind spots and respond to the evolving project needs, the Rooted Archives project expanded into a broader, three-phase endeavor:
Phase 1: Research, Development, and Planning
Phase 2: Pilot Implementation
Phase 3: Evaluation and Measurement

With the guidance and approval of the Minnesota Humanities Center (MHC) grants administrator, the decision was made to realign my project's focus during this funding year to Phase 1: Research, Development, and Planning. This phase aimed to build a strong foundation for the subsequent phases, ensuring that the project would be well-informed and community-driven. Revised Goals for Phase 1 of Rooted Archives: Phase 1, now redefined, sought to achieve the following objectives:

* Develop a comprehensive project plan that encompasses all three project phases.
* Conduct outreach to engage with the Minnesota African descendants of slavery community.
* Confirm key assumptions:
* Interest among community members in documenting and sharing family stories.
* The need for access to genealogy tools and knowledge.
* Skepticism regarding the use of DNA data.
* Cost-related barriers to quality testing.
* Measure interest in artistic archiving of family histories.
* Compile a list of community members interested in genealogy research and storytelling.
This funding year has been a journey full of key learnings for the Rooted Archives project from its initial conception to its current Phase 1 state. Breaking out the project into phases and giving it the time needed to plan for success allowed me to implement strategy and think about how this project could live beyond a one-time endeavor and become a movement. It allowed me to dream and have conversations with expert community builders about my hopes for community and pushed me to think beyond what I had initially believed was possible. The planning phase was an accomplishment in which I took much input from community members to build something they would deem worthy and community-centric. Outreach efforts were designed to establish trust, foster open dialogue, and ensure that the project remained rooted in the needs and aspirations of its intended participants. The outreach phase of the project was planned and executed to ensure I had a comprehensive understanding of the community's perspectives, challenges, and desires. Several strategies were employed to connect with community members: The project team organized meetings with the Minnesota African descendants of slavery community. These meetings included representatives from local community organizations, historians, genealogy, and individuals with a vested interest in preserving their family histories. These discussions provided valuable insights into the community's expectations and concerns. To cast a wider net and gather quantitative data, I developed a survey for all those who expressed interest in the project. This allowed community members to share their thoughts, preferences, and expectations regarding the Rooted Archives project. Questions focused on interest in genealogy, the perceptions of DNA testing, and the desire for artistic archiving. Recognizing the significance of an online presence and the need to spread awareness, the project created and maintained an active online presence through acquiring a dedicated project website and social media tags. These channels served as hubs for information dissemination and community engagement through data collection surveys. To ensure a nuanced understanding of individual experiences and motivations, I also conducted one-on-one interviews with select community members. These interviews provided qualitative data that complemented the quantitative insights gained from surveys.

The Phase 1 goals were about understanding the community's needs, interests, and aspirations. I used a combination of quantitative data, qualitative insights, stakeholder feedback, and tangible outcomes to evaluate the success of Phase 1. I was able to lay a strong foundation for the subsequent phases of the Rooted Archives project. The insights gained during this phase not only validated the project's direction but also ensured that the project remained community-driven and culturally resonant.