Written by Carolyn Jenkins

The weekend of October 12th, 2024, four members of the groups Black Lives Bless (BLB) and Decedents for Racial Reconciliation traveled to the 22^nd Annual Family History Fair in Tyler, Texas. Our main purpose in attending the conference was to spend time with Lynne Jackson, the great-great granddaughter of Dred and Harriet Scott and the founder of the Dred Scott Foundation. One of the Foundation’s tenets is reconciliation, and we were particularly interested in her understandings of and her experiences with reconciliation. Over the years, Lynne has established meaningful relationships with the family who enslaved her ancestors, as well as the descendants of the judges who ruled against Dred and Harriot Scotts’ right to freedom. We hoped we would be able to learn more about racial reconciliation from Lynne.

We participated in the variety of Family History Fair events, all orchestrated by Michele Bailey, the event coordinator and President of the East Texas Genealogical Society. 

Our first activity included a tour of an African American cemetery where we learned that many African American cemeteries in general and this cemetery in particular are in dire need of financial support to restore and maintain the grounds. We met a few people who are committed to the welfare of this cemetery, but much more is needed. It was interesting to also learn that Yucca plants were used as markers when there was not enough money to secure a headstone. 

Later Friday night, we attended an interfaith Community Leader dinner at the Tyler Texas Latter Day Saint Stake Center. We were treated to a QA with Lynn Jackson, a Reggae Band, remarks by Latter Day Saint Leaders, other faith leaders and leaders in the genealogical world.

 On Saturday, the community was invited to the W.T. Brookshire Conference Center for the all-day Family History Fair. The breakout sessions were geared toward helping those in the community access information about their ancestors. Four Family Search experts were available at the conference for one-on-one help. 

Saturday afternoon, Lynne was invited to be the special guest speaker at the conference. She shared her stories about her journey and her passion for family history. Again, she spoke of her experience building deep relationships with those who had cause incredible harm to her ancestors. We were all drawn in by the twists and turns of her stories and the 

many inspired moments that led to unexpected directions that furthered her work. 

As with many trips, food played a role in our wonderful weekend. We were able to continue a discussion of racial reconciliation over fried fish and cold slaw. We left Tyler grateful for Lynne providing a model of how to begin transforming conflict into reconciliation.