Landrieu Introduces SEARCH Act
United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., today re-introduced legislation that will authorize the creation of a national database within the National Archives for African American genealogical research. The Servitude and Emancipation Archival Research Clearing House (SEARCH) Act will establish a national database within the National Archives and Records Administration that will house the various documents that would assist those in search of family history that, because of slavery and segregation, is almost impossible to find in common registers and census records.
"The SEARCH Act will help fill a gap in our country's genealogical records," Sen. Landrieu said. "The legislation will help African Americans trace their ancestry in a way that has always been impossible. Because of slavery and racial discrimination, many documents, such as land deeds, wills and voter registration, are not available to help trace genealogy. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day reminds us of the importance of this legislation. While no bill can alleviate our nation's original sin of slavery, the SEARH Act will help make the impossible possible by allowing our children to learn about their past to prepare for a stronger future."
The legislation would authorize $5 million for the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to establish and maintain a national database of servitude and emancipation records in the United States and an additional $5 million for states, colleges and universities to preserve, catalogue and index records and to help local residents research their own histories.
Senator Landrieu first introduced the SEARCH Act in 2004 after receiving a letter from New Orleans City Councilmember Oliver Thomas describing the challenges he faced as an African American when researching his own family history. Though it passed the Senate with bipartisan support at that time, there was no vote in the House of Representatives.
Last year the legislation was endorsed by both New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin and the Youth Genealogy Camp, sponsored by the African American Genealogy Connection.
http://landrieu.senate.gov/~landrieu/releases/06/2007112C42.html