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Welcome to Speak On It! History and Genealogy Conversations with Janice Gilyard and Cherekana Feliciano. Our show is geared towards individuals interested in genealogy and history. Our guests will share...
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Welcome to Speak On It! History and Genealogy Conversations with Janice Gilyard and Cherekana Feliciano. Our show is geared towards individuals interested in genealogy and history. Our guests will share their research experience and journey with you. Your family history matters and our guests will challenge and inspire you to continue researching, documenting, and sharing your family history.
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Episodes & Posts
Episodes
Posts
Transcribed
2 MAY 2025 · Join us for an enlightening conversation with Genetic Genealogist Lisa A. Fanning, as she shares her powerful work with the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre DNA Identification Project.
With over 30 years of family history research, Lisa has explored her deep Southern and Midwestern roots, focusing on the histories of enslavement, migration, and Tri-Racial Isolate communities. A descendant of Kate Anderson—born in 1670—Lisa has traced her lineage to early emancipated families in Virginia and free African American settlements in Indiana.
As a genetic genealogist, Lisa lends her expertise to impactful initiatives such as the DNA Doe Project and the Tulsa Race Massacre Project. She serves on the Board of the National Genealogical Society and the leadership team of MAAGI, and has presented both nationally and internationally, including for PBS and the United Nations.
Professionally, Lisa brings three decades of leadership experience from Washington, DC, where she championed diversity and expanded workforce opportunities across the U.S., Africa, and the Middle East. She is also an award-winning photographic artist and currently serves as Director of Culture, Community, and Impact at Indiana Tech. Lisa holds a B.A. in French and an M.A. in Intercultural Communication.
Transcribed
28 FEB 2025 · Join Janice Gilyard and Cherekana Feliciano for a conversation/interview with Dionne Patterson of UGR3DAY.
Dee Patterson, also known as Conductor Dee, is the CEO and Founder of
UGR3DAY Underground Railroad Experiences Inc. She is also an acclaimed
storyteller and conductor of the Underground Railroad experiences. A historian, Dee is
also a nationally certified cultural interpretive guide, a certified genealogist, curriculum
developer and education consultant. She brings her research-based narratives, poetic
storytelling, and creative energy to each UGR3DAY experience.
https://ugr3day.com/
Transcribed
21 FEB 2025 · Join Janice Gilyard and Cherekana Feliciano for a compelling interview with Orice Jenkins as he recounts his visit to Blakely, Georgia, alongside descendants and cousins of the Early County Massacre victims. Orice will share their powerful experiences from a weekend of commemorative events honoring their ancestors.
Orice Jenkins is a recording artist, performer, educator, and genealogy researcher from Hartford, Connecticut. His music has been featured in Jazz Times magazine and charted at #11 on the iTunes Jazz chart. Jenkins has performed extensively across all genres, including Hip-Hop, R&B, Jazz, Gospel, and Classical music. He serves as the Executive Director of Música Franklin, an afterschool music program for youth in Franklin County, Massachusetts.
Orice is also the author of Chesta’s Children, a genealogy blog that explores his deep stateside roots as a descendant of enslaved Americans. He ties his passions together in his lectures and historical presentations, commenting on the relationships between racism, culture, art, and family. He was a Contributing Author to the book: Black Homesteaders of the South and .
Transcribed
14 FEB 2025 · Join Janice Gilyard and Cherekana Feliciano for their interview with Dr. Denice Evans-Sheppard regarding Community History in Oyster Bay, New York (Long Island). She will share her connection via her ancestor, David Carll, a United States Colored Troop (US Civil War).
Dr. Denice Evans-Sheppard recently earned a Doctorate in Education Degree from Molloy University on December 13, 2023. She currently serves as the Executive Director of the Oyster Bay Historical Society for the past seven years and has provided the community with lectures, programs and curated exhibits promoting the significance of the Town of Oyster Bay’s incredible history. Her dissertation focused on The Unknown Bedrock: White Perceptions of African American Historical Contributions in the Hamlet of Oyster Bay, NY.
Currently, Denice serves on the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Action (IDEA) Committee for the Oyster Bay East Norwich School District and has collaborated with multschool districts in Great Neck, Syosset, East Woods to discuss an insider’s perspective of Indigenous and African Americans during the colonial period on Long Island. Denice is a tribal member of the Montauk Tribal Nation and has been actively involved with the reinstatement of their tribal recognition since 1997.
Denice is mostly known for being a family historian and historical gatekeeper of the Carl family
history which encouraged further research of the history of her great, great, grandfather, Civil War
soldier, David Carll of Oyster Bay, who voluntarily served in the N.Y. 26 th USCT Regiment. Her research had been utilized to further assist her cousin, celebrity/actress Vanessa L. Williams on the Channel 4 WNBC “Who Do You Think You Are”. Moving forward to 2022, Denice collaborated with relatives, Vanessa Williams, Iris Williams and Francis Carl to garner an Emmy nomination and a successful win for a 10 min historical segment during Black History Month. As a direct descendant of David Carll, she was presented with the Emmy award as a family research contributor through television Ebony Roundtree, producer for WABC Channel 7 Network.
https://www.oysterbayhistorical.org/
Transcribed
7 FEB 2025 · Join Janice Gilyard and Cherekana Feliciano for an interview with Cheryl Wills and Ethan West, descendants of Sandy Wills (U.S. Colored Troop). This is an update to two prior podcast interviews with Cheryl and Ethan and how their determination to confirm where their ancestor was buried and to do everything possible to make sure that he was honored and received a proper burial. The results of their dedication is remarkable.
Cheryl Wills is a nationally recognized award-winning television personality for Spectrum News’ flagship national news network, New York 1 News, headquartered in New York City which is aired on select cable systems throughout the United States and Japan’s MXTV. She is also the host of the talk show “In Focus with Cheryl Wills”
Ethan West is a Family Historian and the Founder of Elyria Black Legacy Connection. He has conducted extensive research on his ancestors, contributed to a number of social media platforms sharing his journey to research, document, share, and preserve his family history. Numerous media outlets have covered his journey, and we look forward to him sharing with us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7zLW15S-Rg&t=22s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGQybuYerV4&t=6s
Transcribed
31 JAN 2025 · Join Janice and Cherekana as they interview Ja'el (YaYa) Gordon for a conversation regarding protocols for contacting DNA matches.
Louisiana native, Ja’el “YaYa” Gordon is a Professional Historian and Genealogist who specializes in interpreting antebellum history, genetic genealogy, Descendant group research, and conducting oral history interviews. Ja’el has over twenty years of experience as a researcher with a special focus on the Deep South antebellum/plantation history. Most notability, Ja’el is a Contributing Writer and Researcher for ARRAY’s newest learning companion, the Queen Sugar 101 Learning Companion (queensugar101.org), which is based on the critically acclaimed Oprah Winfrey Network series QUEEN SUGAR created by filmmaker Ava DuVernay.
Her expertise also includes repository research, collection curation, exhibition installations, transcribing and indexing, cemetery preservation, database management, and conducting genealogy and history-related workshops. Ja’el holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Southern University and A&M College at Baton Rouge, a Master of Arts in Museum Studies from Southern University New Orleans and is a Ph.D. Candidate in Higher Education at Jackson State University.
https://jaelyayagordon.contently.com/
Transcribed
24 JAN 2025 · Join Janice Cross Gilyard and Cherekana Feliciano for an interview/conversation with Denise Griggs, author of the new book, I Know Who I Am On The Family Tree - A Children's Guide to Genealogy. Denise has been the family genealogist for over 35 years. With the help of family, cousins, Internet friends, and others, she has discovered ancestors from various continents and countries. Some countries are Africa, Australia, England, Ireland, and North America. Denise has researched her maternal ancestors from eighth-century England to southwest Mississippi. She has written a book about it entitled, A Mulatto Slave, The Events in the Life of Peter Hunt, 1844-1915. The book received the Phillis Wheatley book award from the Sons and Daughters of the United States Middle Passage and earned a Finalist Award from the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Ms. Griggs also author’s books for children on subjects of diversity and theology.
She is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), formerly serving as Chapter Parliamentarian. She is also a volunteer for the National Park Service, and the Natchez U.S. Colored Troops Monument Committee in Natchez, Mississippi. For the past several years, Denise has been the Exhibit Chair for the board of the Greater Sacramento African American Genealogy Society. She graduated with honors from a Christian University. She is presently the Publisher and Owner of Glass Tree Books® and Blue Eclipse Publishing®. She has several family genealogy presentations on her YouTube channel, D.I. Griggs Media. Denise loves family, friends, history, technology, research, writing, speaking, art, and travel.
Transcribed
17 JAN 2025 · Join Janice Gilyard and Cherekana Feliciano for our conversation/interview with Robyne Walker Murphy.
Robyne is a nationally recognized art and social justice thought leader and cultural strategist. From
2016-2022, Robyne served as the Executive Director at Groundswell, a social justice youth
development program that uses the transformative power of public art-making to ignite personal
and societal change. Before her position at Groundswell, Robyne held positions at the National
Guild for Community Arts Education and Dreamyard where she served as the director of the
DreamYard Art Center in the Bronx. Under her leadership, DreamYard Art Center was recognized
by the Obama White House as one of the top programs in the nation. Since stepping down from
Groundswell, Robyne has worked as an arts and cultural strategist and consultant for organizations
such as the Ford Foundation, The Cricket Island Foundation, and The Billie Holiday Theatre.
Currently, she is the Leadership Strategist and Curriculum Developer for the Brooklyn Arts
Leadership Collaborative, an initiative of the Brooklyn Museum and the Joe and Clara Tsai Social
Justice Fund, which aims to support the work of eight Black and Brown-led arts organizations with
budgets under 500K.
Robyne has conducted workshops and delivered keynotes at conferences and
institutions across the country on art and social activism at institutions such as Harvard University,
Lincoln Center, Seattle Art Museum, University of Chicago, American University, and many others.
She is a member of New York City’s Cultural Advisory Committee, a Metropolitan Museum of Art
Women’s History Month Honoree, and Chair of the Board of Directors of 651ARTS. Robyne
graduated from Clark Atlanta University (B.A. in English) and the University of Washington, Seattle
(MFA, Acting). She resides in Brooklyn with her husband, Tarik Murphy, and her son, Ras.
Transcribed
10 JAN 2025 · Join Janice Gilyard and Cherekana Feliciano for an interview with
Danielle Romero. She is a storyteller and historian who started her YouTube channel, NYTN, to uncover her hidden Louisiana heritage and share the stories of her ancestors. Her work blends personal exploration with a passion for understanding American identity through history and genealogy.
Transcribed
6 SEP 2024 · Join Janice & Cherekana for a conversation with Joyce Willis, featured guest on Finding Your Roots/Viewers Like You. Joyce is a native of Philadelphia PA. She attended the High School for the Creative and Performing arts and is a graduate of Temple University. She has been a civil servant for 11 years and has 1 beautiful daughter. Her interest in genealogy began as a child when she would hear some of the stories passed around by the “grown folks.” Although not much was said around the children, a desire to search for family history was kindled by some of the conversations about relatives She never met. Once she and other family members tested on Ancestry.com, many questions were finally answered. Buy there is always more to uncover!
Welcome to Speak On It! History and Genealogy Conversations with Janice Gilyard and Cherekana Feliciano. Our show is geared towards individuals interested in genealogy and history. Our guests will share...
show more
Welcome to Speak On It! History and Genealogy Conversations with Janice Gilyard and Cherekana Feliciano. Our show is geared towards individuals interested in genealogy and history. Our guests will share their research experience and journey with you. Your family history matters and our guests will challenge and inspire you to continue researching, documenting, and sharing your family history.
show less
Information
| Author | Speak On It! |
| Organization | Speak On It! History & Genealogy Conversations with Janice & Cherekana |
| Categories | History |
| Website | www.spreaker.com |
| speakonitjancher@gmail.com |
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