Part I. An overview -- The beginning -- Important dates in U.S. African-American history -- Oral history -- National archives and federal records -- Military records -- Migratory patterns -- Slavery -- Part II. Survey of the states -- Appendix A. General references -- Appendix B. African-American family history research bibliography -- Appendix C. National archives and records administration facilities -- Appendix D. Library symbols

Designed with both the novice and the professional researcher in mind, this text provides reference resources and introduces a methodology specific to investigating African-American genealogy. In the second edition, information has been reorganized by state. Within each state are listings for resources such as state archives, census records, military records, newspapers, and manuscript collections