CROTON-ON-HUDSON, NEW YORK, Nov. 8, 2021 -- The all-volunteer US Black Heritage Project has announced the Black Heritage Family Builders Program. Genealogy volunteers with experience researching African-American families are now offering to build a family tree for anyone with Black heritage for free, without any obligation, and with privacy protections.

"Understanding our past and honoring our ancestors is vital to understanding ourselves," says US Black Heritage Project Coordinator Denise Jarrett. "If you have always wanted to find out about your family's heritage, but don't know where to begin, our WikiTree volunteers are eager to help you get started."

To request this free service, a person only needs to provide the volunteers with enough information to connect to a single African-American family member who can be found in the 1940 US Census or other public records from the 1940s. The connection to this person can be fully private. Information from before the 1940s will be public on the WikiTree platform so that it is available to all descendants and cousins.

"I believe every African American should trace their family tree, but it can be hard or expensive to get started. The Family Builders Program will generously assist thousands of Black Americans in restoring the names of their ancestors."

--Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr., Professor of African and African American Research at Harvard University and host of PBS TV's "Finding Your Roots"

The goal of the Family Builders Program is to make it easier for all African Americans to connect with their roots and family members. It also contributes to the US Black Heritage Project's goal to add 50,000 African-American profiles to WikiTree in 2021. Every African-American tree that is grown and connected makes more connections possible.

For more information, see the US Black Heritage Family Builders home page.