Uploaded February 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Smithsonian magazine commissioned Drew Gardner for a project that connects Black Americans today to their lost ancestry.

Read about Gardner’s project and process, as well as more details about the subjects of this incredible series here: smithsonianmag.com/history/descendants-black-civil-war-heroes-wear-heritage-pride-180983397

Video produced by Sierra Theobald.

Special thanks to Drew Gardner

Additional credits: Emma MacBeath, WikiTree US Black Heritage project; Ottawa Goodman, research and coordinator; Sam Dole, Penumbra Foundation; Elizabeth Zuck, set design; Calvin Osbourne, props and costume; Angela Huff, hair and make up; Diego Huerta, Lexia Krebs, behind-the-scenes filming; background prints by Fujifilm USA