SU15 Forged in Freedom – Ancestral Journeys from Iron Plantations to Liberty

Sunday, 25 May 2025, 9:30 a.m., Stopher

Iron plantations in America and the lives of enslaved people who worked on them during and after slavery are not well-documented. However, through extensive genealogy research, the speakers have pieced together the stories of their direct ancestors who labored at iron furnaces in Middle Tennessee beginning in the early 1800s. These stories include migration journeys that extend to Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, and Liberia (West Africa), and they reveal a surprising discovery through DNA analysis.

Lisa Fanning is an accomplished genetic genealogist. She serves on the NGS Board and works with the DNA Doe Project and 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre DNA Identification Project.

Frederick Murphy (History Before Us ) is an award-winning film director dedicated to exploring the intricacies of race and culture in America via thought-provoking modalities.

Registrants who check in at the Louisville registration desk can access this and all the lectures they don’t catch in person on the Whova app until 15 July 2025.