Ancestry, the company behind Ancestry.com, announced on June 11 that descendants of slavery can now access a collection of about 38,000 newspapers. This collection contains information on enslaved ancestors and is searchable using an AI-assisted tool.

A press release details that the company’s Articles of Enslavement collection includes information on over 183,000 formerly enslaved people in the U.S. from 1788 to 1867. The newspapers reportedly include “names, ages, physical descriptions and locations” of enslaved persons.

Ancestry described the Articles of Enslavement tool as “invaluable” and highlighted that it’s free to use.

“To help contextualize the African American experience during the period of enslavement, Ancestry turned to experts, academics, and historians like Dr. Karcheik Sims-Alvarado, Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at Morehouse College,” the press release noted.

“Family history research can be challenging for Black Americans due to the long history of slavery in the United States and the lack of documentation about those who were enslaved,” added Nicka Sewell-Smith, professional genealogist and Senior Story Producer at Ancestry. “Exploring the articles in the context of their original publication can help us understand more about how slavery shaped everyday life in the United States and can help descendants of previously enslaved people unearth key discoveries about their family history.”

Instagram users have strong opinions about whether Ancestry’s AI tool benefits Black people seeking to learn their history. Critics are beyond skeptical and concerned about how their personal data is intermingled with AI. Others wondered how enslaved persons’ records were fact-checked. Moreover, several pushed back on Ancestry’s new tool by highlighting a Black-owned ancestry database for people to utilize called African Ancestry.

One wrote, “Imagine stealing someone’s history from them then charging them to look at it 500 years later.” Another said, “If our ancestors were stolen, sold, killed, separated from family, and not considered a whole human, why would you believe anyone or anything can provide you with information of unkempt records?”

One person who liked the idea of Ancestry’s new tool said, “Technology bridging the past and present. Incredible work, Ancestry!” Another optimistic commenter said, “Fantastic! I hope it will help move forward with strength and harmony.”

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