The Bicentennial Celebrations of 1976 led me to a lifelong interest in the Eighteenth Century, and a search for the hidden figures and untold stories — including that of my Black and Native American ancestors in rural North Carolina and Florida.

I tried to uncover their story while completing degrees at elite universities – an undergraduate degree in History from Harvard University, Masters Degree in Cultural Anthropology from Duke University, law degree from University of North Carolina, and a Masters in Library Science from Florida State University. I did not find them there, but I gained the skills that I use as a librarian and lawyer.

I eventually found them by looking at the archives differently, and by using the digital tools that did not exist back in 1976. I found four centuries of direct ancestors, and the stories of Black and Native American women who used the law to fight for freedom.