The workshop “Resources for Researching African-American Genealogy” will take place Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon in 110 AIME Building and will teach students, faculty and other members of the community how to conduct family history research.

The workshop is a part of the UA African-American Heritage Month, according to a UA news release.

Pamela Foster, UA assistant professor of community and rural medicine, said the workshop will have Franzine Taylor as guest speaker.

Taylor, author of “Researching African American Genealogy in Alabama: A Resource Guide,” will be teaching the workshop, Foster said.

Foster said she personally knows Taylor and decided to invite the expert to teach at the workshop. In addition, Foster said Taylor knows a great deal about black genealogy and is nationally renowned for her work in the state archives in Montgomery.

“We found a real treasure,” Foster said.

Priscilla Davis, president of the UA Black Faculty and Staff Association, said the department of gender and race studies teamed up with the UA Black Faculty and Staff Association to create the workshop.

“We think it’s a good project to sponsor,” Davis said.

Foster said the workshop will be active, with Taylor teaching participants specific skills to learn about their families’ histories.

“People can begin their own genealogy research,” Foster said.

Foster said learning genealogy research techniques can be useful for Americans whose backgrounds are often mixed due to the variety of cultures in America.

“Everybody is interested in finding out where they came from, especially here in America,” Davis said.

Foster said black genealogy is different from others because black genealogy stops at the time slavery was abolished. Foster said Taylor will teach black people different ways to research through the time of slavery to bridge the gap between them and their ancestors.

“We have to be a little bit more creative,” Foster said.

Foster said the key to creating a genealogy is to document family history. She said some people may find they are related to someone who was famous in history, while others may not like what they find. Foster said some people may be apprehensive to learn their genealogy because they may find out that their ancestors weren’t good people.

“Some of them may not be good, but it gives you a background of who you are,” Foster said.

Foster said the workshop can be useful for more than just genealogy research. Foster said the workshop can also be good for people who are interested in general history or who want to learn better research skills.

Foster said people who research genealogy use basically the same tools as anyone doing other kinds of research. Genealogy research uses family interviews, records and data to find the information.

“I call it data-mining,” Foster said.

Foster said the UA Black Faculty and Staff Association acts as a bridge to the community, so they make their events open to the public.

“We’ve got a lot of RSVPs from people outside of the University who are coming to the event,” Foster said.

Admission to the workshop is free.

Foster said the organizations will serve breakfast and lunch to people who attend the workshop.

If you go

What: “Resources for Researching African-American Genealogy”

Where: AIME Building 110

When: Saturday, 10 a.m. – noon