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Re: Friday Funnies...a bit early



Christine Crawford-Oppenheimer
Special Collections Librarian/Archivist

Culinary Institute of America
1946 Campus Drive
Hyde Park, NY  12538
(845) 451-1757
c_crawfo@culinary.edu

>>> "Skreslet, Paula" <PSkreslet@UNION-PSCE.EDU> 08/30/01 09:39AM >>>
>My husband has a theory that a lot of geneaologizing is sort of a
>middle-class-white-person backlash against diminution of identity through
>the rise of American diversity ... sort of like NASCAR, or gun shows.

As a white, middle-class person and professional genealogist, I am somewhat offended by the comparison of genealogy, which, properly done, is an intellectual activity, to activities like car racing and gun shows. However, I do agree that much of the interest does have to do with a search for identity. One of my personal reasons for researching my family is that I grew up overseas, and I was literally searching for my roots--searching for a place in the US to call home. To a lesser degree, because of population movement, many people in the US have lost contact with their roots and live far from relatives, and likewise are searching for a home.

However, it is not just a white, middle-class pastime. I know white people of all classes who are involved in it. I also know of many African Americans who are searching for roots. The numerous articles in journals like the _National Genealogical Society Quarterly_ about techniques for researching Black families, as well as books by Tony Burroughs and others on Black research attest to this interest. The current figures are that at least 60% of Americans are to some degree doing family history research.

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