Black History Month can be a hands on experience this year, thanks to an effort called the Freedmen's Bureau Project. It's a campaign to digitize and archive millions of records generated 150 years ago by the government agency tasked with helping former slaves begin their lives as free citizens. The group is seeking the help of volunteers to help clear through a backlog of documents so they can reach a goal to complete the project by June 19th, historically known as Juneteenth Day.
The project is an effort by a number of organizations, including the Smithsonian's Museum For African American History & Culture. It's also the subject of a symposium taking place today at Fresno State. We talked about the project on Valley Edition with guest Whitney Holladay, who is a family researcher with the group to learn how people can participate in preserving vital portions of African American history.