Our story
Reclaiming What Was Taken
Black Ancestry was built on a simple belief: every family deserves to know where they come from. We exist to make that possible for Black Americans.
500+
Research databases
1M+
Records indexed
50K+
Community members
1865
Earliest records
Our mission
History Belongs to Everyone
We've built the largest collection of African American research tools available in one place — curated databases, expert guides, and a community of researchers dedicated to piecing together what history tried to erase. Black Ancestry exist to change that. For generations, the records that document Black American life were scattered, suppressed, or simply never created. Enslaved ancestors were listed as property, not people. Families were separated without documentation. The paper trail that most Americans take for granted was systematically denied to ours.
Black Ancestry was created out of a desire to fill in the gaps in America where a dedicated and complete African American genealogy site never existed before. It is our hope that you are able to connect with family members and ancestors from the past and present.
Every name recovered is an act of resistance. Every family tree completed is a legacy restored.
How we started
Born from a Personal Search
Black Ancestry began when our founder spent years trying to trace her family back beyond slavery — hitting the same walls that every Black genealogist knows. Plantation records with no names. Census entries that listed only ages and genders. A trail that went cold at 1870.
What she found along the way was a fragmented landscape of resources: some at the National Archives, some at HBCUs, some in church basements, some digitized by volunteers working without funding. Powerful tools — but invisible to most people who needed them.
Black Ancestry was built to change that. One platform. Every tool. No more searching in the dark. Now we have a voice and we can save what is ours for generations to come.
What we stand for
Our Core Values
Dignity
Every ancestor deserves to be remembered as a full human being, not a record number or a line in a ledger.
Access
Genealogy research should not require expensive subscriptions or insider knowledge. We make the tools free and findable.
Community
The best genealogy breakthroughs happen when researchers share what they know. We build spaces for that collaboration.
Accuracy
We curate carefully. Every database and guide on this platform has been vetted by researchers who specialize in African American history.
Start Your Search Today
Join thousands of Black Americans who have already found what history tried to hide.