Our Black Ancestry Foundation, Inc.

The People Behind the Portal

SAM Portrait
The founder and webmaster for Our Black Ancestry is Sharon Leslie Morgan -- writer, multicultural marketing expert, and PR "legend." She has served as a consultant to the Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society (AAHGS) and is a founding member of Afrigeneas. Her memberships include the National Genealogical Society (NGS) and local societies in areas of her family research. She writes guest blogs for NGS, Geni, FamilySearch and others. Morgan has taken STAR (Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience) training at Eastern Mennonite University and is actively involved with Coming to the Table, an organization that promotes linkages between descendants of enslaved people and the families that enslaved them for the purpose of healing from the trauma of slavery. Sharon is also the co-author of Gather at the Table: The Healing Journey of a Daughter of Slavery and a Son of the Slave Trade (Beacon Press, 2012).
 
 
 
 
Roman Portrait
The president of the OBA Foundation is Diana Roman. She is a descendant of the HAIRSTON family, one of the largest slaveholding families in American history. Over a 200 year period, her ancestors enslaved more than 10,000 people on 42 plantations in three states. Diana is dedicated to “making things right” by making her family records (and those of others) available to help African American researchers discover their roots. She maintains the Hairston Family Genealogy website, which is also sponsored by the Our Black Ancestry Foundation.