SE speaker to discuss genealogy

By Rema Atiya/se news editor

SE Campus is holding African-American Genealogy, a presentation and exhibit by Debbie McKelvy, noon-1:30 p.m. Feb. 22 in ESED 2318.

McKelvy will speak about African-Americans in the late 1800s to early 1900s as well as her own family members who were living at that time.

“Most people do not know about their family past,” she said. “I have photos and documentation of my family history dating back to the early 1900s.”

McKelvy’s great-grandfather is a focus of her presentation. She will tell about him and his struggles as an African-American back then.

“I want people to know what it was like in those days for the African-Americans,” she said. “Most people do not know that African-Americans were educated back then.”

Not only is her point to show the struggles that are close to home from those times, but she also intends to show the reasons why it is important to know a family’s history.

“My children now ask me why we do certain things like the way we decorate our Christmas tree,” she said. “These traditions were passed down from family generation to generation, and I think it is important for my children to know why we have these traditions in our family.”

She sees the importance for her children to understand traditions, but she thinks it is also important for everyone to understand their history, not only young African-Americans.

“I hope after my presentation that everyone, but especially African-Americans, go and try to take a look at their family history,” she said.

McKelvy does hope to touch the African-American audience. However, she wants to reach everyone of every ethnicity with this presentation.

“I think everyone needs to be more involved in everyone’s different ethnicities,” she said. “America is a melting pot of ethnicities, and America is built on every different race of people, which makes it important to understand everyone’s background.”