Roots Television | Og Blog

Og is amazed by the memories that are shared with listeners in our new clip, Voices From the Time of Slavery, Part 2, from the American Memory Project. In an interview with Fountain Hughes, a 101 year-old former slave, conducted by Herman Norwood in June 1949, Mr. Hughes matter-of-factly recounts some youthful experiences that almost seem beyond comprehension. Og highly recommends that you listen to this poignant short interview. To view more memories, you might want to visit American Memory Project.

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What a great new four-part series we’re offering up to all viewers! In National Underground Railroad: Activities and Accomplishments, a lecture from the AAHGS Conference, Spencer Crew fills us all in on the history and drama of the underground railroad – and due to his credentials as both a historian holding a Ph.D. from Rutgers, and in his current position as the Executive Director of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, who would be in a better position to help us understand this very remarkable time in the history of the United States?

Dr. Crew’s definition of the Underground Railroad can be summed up as the well-organized intersection of activities of various people and organizations that help one another to escape to freedom. And the movement worked very well, indeed. While most of us think that the Underground Railroad was active only during the Civil War, we learn in this lecture that while it was less prominent, it surely existed in one form or another since the beginning of slavery in this country. Estimate of the number of slaves who successfully escaped using it? Approximately 100,000. BUT, that number pales when compared to the number of individuals enslaved in the U.S. in the 1860’s -- an astounding 4 million! To learn more significant facts, including the political and economic impact of slavery, why there was such significant resistance to the Underground Railroad, and how this became the first interracial activist movement in this country, Og urges you to watch this very informative series.

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“On my honor I will do my best…” everyone probably knows this as the beginning of the oath of the Boy Scouts of America. But Boy Scouting has never been as much fun as it is now that you can earn a Genealogy Merit Badge to go along with the more traditional ones. In a new short show, BSA Genealogy Merit Badge: An Introduction, Starr Hailey Campbell tells us some of the steps our Boy Scouts will take to earn this exciting badge – interviewing a relative, obtaining an original record, learning about family, etc. Sounds like we’re going to have another whole generation of respectful genealogists!

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That does it! Another day of programming that impresses the heck out of Og! In today’s new series, taken from a lecture at the 2006 AAHGS Conference, you’ll discover what an amazing font of information Angela Walton-Raji is when it comes to African and Native American genealogical research. If you’ve ever had the pleasure to conduct your own research in these areas, you know how many challenges you can count on encountering along the way, but this lecture answers some basic questions for us that will cut our research time significantly. Take a look at these tips!

1. Start your research (like any good genealogist) with an oral history of your family – and here we learn that it never hurts to have a little something in hand to share with your interview candidate to prime the pump. But also listen and learn why and how oral history can be particularly important in this type of research!
2. Learn which Federal Census is most important when researching Native Americans, and why -- and even where to find the hidden gems these censuses contain.
3. What are the most useful Tribal Records?
4. Why some people are originally designated as belonging to a tribe, only to have their designation later changed to a person of color – and why members of the same family often show up with several different racial designations.
5. Learn why it’s very important to know more about the people who are indigenous to a particular land.

After watching this series, Og feels better equipped to handle this type of research and knows you will, too!

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In a new video we recently added to our programming, Life as a Kid, residents of Athens County, Ohio, recount and share their memories of various aspects of their childhood. The Appalachian Media Access Center and the Athens County Library Systems trained volunteers of all ages to help collect this wonderful oral history, where we learn about the games, clothes, schools, mischief and food that surrounded the lives of the children raised during the Depression.

While so many things have changed over the years, Og was impressed by the fact that almost everyone who spoke recalled his or her childhood fondly. The games have changed, things have become more complicated, resources have become more plentiful, and access has granted us untold opportunities – but even when you had to literally build your own toys there was still great joy in the playing; when there was not enough food there was charity; when there was no work there was sharing; and when you had to leave school before graduation to help support your family there was no bitterness.

Please take some time to savor the precious memories of this captivating oral history compiled by the Athens County Library and Dogstar Video.

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Og would like to call your attention to a new series that we’ve recently added to our lineup, Trails Back, Tracing Ancestors in Slavery Through Census, Probate & Land. In this new three-part series, Beth Wilson, a highly skilled teaching genealogist with a Masters degree in Library Science from UCLA, takes us through some steps that will help makes the search for your ancestors easier.

The first step is to start with what you know right now. Og knows that you’re thinking, “But I’m just so tempted to try to jump back a few generations – can’t I start by looking at really old records and hope that I get lucky?!” Og hears you, and has faced the same temptation many times, but we’ve got to rally here and rely on the sage advice of Ms. Wilson, who advises us that this strategy is absolutely wrong. Her reasoning really stands up, too: as you move back in time in your search for direct and collateral lines, the information you collect as primary and secondary sources usually becomes more encompassing and accurate. Another tip? Be prepared to accept oral history, but don’t rely on it exclusively. Ask who said something, when they said it, and how they knew it. One last tip? OK, you forced it out of Og. Establish what records exist pertaining to what you’re researching, and then seek out ALL of them. Don’t be satisfied with one record when there may be many!

For much more great advice, Og encourages you to enjoy this lecture from the 2006 AAHGS Conference!

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Everyone knows about the legendary, age-old battle between the Army and the Navy. In the short film that we’ve recently added, Reveille, actors James McEachin and David Huddleston act out this perpetual conflict in the setting of a retirement community. Each morning Old Glory gets raised and saluted, but a sweet battle of one-upsmanship between the services ensues across the courtyard. A truce is finally struck as the two share the true pride embraced by those who have honorably served their country. But watch until the very end to appreciate the full depth of the respect they share.

This short film, released in 2003, was so well received that it is being followed up with another touching film, Old Glory. Written, produced, directed and acted by James McEachin, it promises to be worthy of your attention. For more information, please check out the film’s website at Old Glory.

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Og is very pleased to announce the winners of our February contest:

Debrosha McCants from Allentown, Pennsylvania

George Geder from Santa Fe, New Mexico

Jari Honora of New Orleans, Louisiana

CONGRATULATIONS! Keep an eye open for new contests, because Og already has another one in mind! And remember, to automatically be entered to win all contests, just make sure that you've subscribed to Og Blog!

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Got three minutes to spare? Og hopes that it’s not much to ask that you use those three minutes to watch a short new clip that we recently added, Tribute to the 36th Ulster Division, which is dedicated to those who fell at the Somme on July 1, 1916. In a pictorial review, accompanied by a haunting ballad, you’ll come to have some insight into the Battle of the Somme, fiercely fought in Northern France. In numbers that today seem both shocking and unbelievable, over one million soldiers were lost during this five month military campaign, without any significant gains ever being realized.

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Take a few minutes to watch a short new program we recently added entitled Stewed, Will Millar's Irish Kitchen. Will Millar, known for thirty years as the leader of the Irish Rovers, is a poet, historian, tv host, touring concert performer, and storyteller whose writing, music and paintings do their best to invoke the magic of the Emerald Isle. Set to the backdrop of festive Irish music, the video seems to be a wonderfully quirky film that focuses on the talented Kathleen Keane, features a tiny, jigging, cupboard genie, and provides an opportunity for a guest appearance by the "Queen", who does her best to keep up with Millar's cooking (and drinking!) exploits.

You can find more information about Millar and his new band, Some Mad Irishmen, at Celtic Music.

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Hello everyone, and welcome to Almost Spring! Og has taken a few days off to do his Spring cleaning, but I just couldn't resist blogging about the newest video we've added, Beneath Los Angeles. If you've ever had a National Enquirer moment where you want a small peek into the lives of the rich and famous, I know you're going to be fascinated with this look at the permanent residents of Los Angeles -- the famous, the infamous and the just plain dead.

The video, compiled by Ken Goldstein, and accompanied by The Kinks singing Celluloid Heroes, shares views of the final resting places of many beloved American stars and heroes, as well as those who simply have interesting names or a quirky gravesite. It reminds all of us that cemeteries can be fascinating places for a variety of reasons.

Have fun watching this show, and if you'd like more information, just check out Beneath Los Angeles.

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OK, now that it’s official, Og can brag – take a look at the fresh new changes to our site! It’s a terrific new look that makes it far easier to find exactly what you’re looking for! Have a specific topic in mind? Take a look at our twenty new channels, where you can find topics ranging from “How To” to “Dearly Departed” -- from “Preserving the Past” to “DNA”. Og guarantees that there’s something for everyone in your family in these new channels.

If you’re not sure of what you’re looking for and want to get a brief description of the shows available, check out the Program Guide. It offers snippets to entice you to watch the fantastic shows we’re offering. Looking for a specific show or special topic? Easy! Simply enter a keyword into the Search function, and it’ll pull up everything you need.

Og is absolutely certain you’re going to enjoy these changes to our site! Take a while and enjoy browsing Roots Television!

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Og has seen so many things come and go during my life, so I’m happy to see in our new show, titled Lost Tulsa, that Tom Baddley is taking a wonderfully nostalgic look at his childhood surroundings. Take a few minutes to watch this new show to see how one man is offering a glimpse at the monuments of his youth – the shopping mall, gas station, putt-putt golf course, drive-in theater, Camelot Hotel, etc. – and be fascinated with how he documents the rise and fall of these old favorites. It’s a really great idea! Og wants to hear from you about this -- is anyone else out there doing the same sort of thing??? For more information on Tom Baddley's project, you can visit Lost Tulsa.

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Awwwww… Og likes what he watches! Have a look at the new snippet that we’re enticing you with – Barney and Molly: A True Dublin Love Story. This very short clip is just a tantalizing peek at the biography that author and filmmaker Martin Duffy wrote about the life, struggles and joys of his parents and their thirteen children during almost a century of life in Dublin. Duffy describes this lighthearted biography as the “antidote to the misery of Angela’s Ashes.” Have fun watching, and check out Duffy Berlin for more information about this book!

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Sometimes when Og goes shopping, he buys several very different things. They are not even close to being the same, and none of the things are better than the other – they are just different. And that’s what Og is introducing to you today – two very different new videos that we’ve recently added to our programming.

The short experimental documentary, It’s the Bronx, incorporates original music, animation, old photographs and oral history to tell the story of the Schornstein family, who immigrated to the United States shortly before the turn of the 20th century. The historic and biographical photos of the time, location and family members help document and define the generations who grew up in the Bronx. For more info, you can check out Gabrielle Sloane's website at Kashani Arts.

Our other newly added program is titled Family Survival Kit, and it takes a conspicuously tongue-in-check look at defense mechanisms that some relatives might need to employ during stressful family gatherings. I’m sure that there are many of us out there who can add a few of our own…..hmmm…Og can think of a few right now!

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