CNN news 2012-02-10 加文本

cnn news 2012-02-10

AZUZ: A historical society in Virginia is running a unique genealogy project. It`s using information from millions of old letters, books and diaries to identify more than a thousand slaves whose names have been lost.

The historians running the project hope it`ll help Americans, both black and white, learn about their ancestors. Athena Jones has the details.

ATHENA JONES, cnn CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): African slaves first arrived in Virginia in 1619. Now in fading ink and yellowed paper, more of their stories are being told.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is just the beginning.

JONES (voice-over): A new online database allows users to track down information about their ancestors in this state, whether they were slaves, free blacks or slave owners, says Dr. Lauranett Lee.

DR. LAURANETT LEE, VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY: You can see all of the enslaved people that were listed in this broadside.

JONES (voice-over): More than 80 people came to the Virginia Historical Society`s first workshop to learn how to navigate their site, including a history teacher, who flew in from Indiana --

GALE CARTER, HISTORY TEACHER: I think it is just innately human to want to know our origins.

JONES (voice-over): -- an amateur genealogist, Robert Payne --

ROBERT PAYNE, AMATEUR GENEALOGIST: Researching black folk is difficult. So, anytime you can find a new resource, it is always good to investigate.

JONES (voice-over): The Unknown No Longer project and workshops, made possible with $125,000 in grants from the energy company, Dominion, is aimed at helping people fill in the gaps in their own family history, and, in the process, the nations.

LEE: We`re not only looking at African-American history, we`re looking at American history, from a Virginia perspective.

JONES (voice-over): The society has amassed more than 8 million documents, donated mostly by well-to-do Virginia families.

JONES: More slaves lived in Virginia than in any other state. And this city, Richmond, was at the heart of the U.S. slave trade. Many black men, women and children were brought here to be sold to other states.

JONES (voice-over): Some 3,200 names of slaves, free blacks and slaveholders have been entered into the database so far, and the site is updated weekly.

LEE: For so long people did not know who their ancestors were, did not know where to even go to look for it. And it`s important for people to know who they are, because having that sense of identity enables people to have a sense of dignity, a sense of knowing who they are within this American landscape.

JONES (voice-over): The documents, deeds and wills, papers granting slaves their freedom, and even passes that allowed slaves from one plantation to visit another, are now searchable for free with the click of a button. Assistant archivist Paige Newman walked me through a search of a slave inventory list.

JONES: So, you`ve got the names, the ages, their occupation.

PAIGE NEWMAN, ASSISTANT ARCHIVIST: And values.

JONES (voice-over): The Virginia Historical Society is helping to fill in the details of America`s slave history, uncovering pieces of the past, name by name -- Athena Jones, cnn, Richmond, Virginia.

AZUZ: Well, finally today, we`re going to check out a fundraiser for a North Carolina children`s hospital.

AZUZ (voice-over): More than 7,000 people hit the streets to take part in this five-mile run. And just in case you need to carb up in the middle, you`re in luck, because this race requires you to down a dozen donuts as well.

It is the Krispy Kreme Challenge. You run half the race, devour a dozen donuts or attempt to, and then run back. The participants helped raise more than $100,000, so they really put their money where their mouths are.

AZUZ: Sure, some might have suffered some horrific heartburn, but if you`re raising money for charity, it makes it all worthwhile, "donut?" Hopefully that "hole" story didn`t make you glaze over. But one thing you should know, donut puns, piece of cake. Enjoy the rest of your day. For cnn Student News, I`m Carl Azuz.