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AbbaE4B8M>RID |c/ SV`[3P*`LΎ4zWaw#֣L9Ikx{8T$ x֒أ8&x>tc1})wws6 [:޹m%el^|նNW*r6`VnDm+H1-劀8vܒi$d_0t$5cr81BX xX26*YcOftu]-bVG-$hvt麥nPRmWkY5? CNtR{L9I]Ghgrzϑ7JK{thY̜Zaaɴy'j,d98 hpHJ*s>ùGz4Rsw0 8փ&Uq KzTRA*+W~ݾ&CEYZWaFv#t{SR.0ȴu.d8N)+ 2-e#J4ԁhq˰Sۻˌn$qN9M)jϑj5#kڬRrq]Bͯ6JorsΊ=lbhEЭO' R c2XZc@drkwbhք9枚=ܛu#kEQǭ<(Ni9@,jDsxFy;f :adT$H  VO>ƕgR Tc=vӕ2ďF#84`*Ǧ=`GQOZ."cHdb2 X_PGʊ(\ӞHaAI,҃ۚBcyaIn creating their identity, they listed their families and sometimes gave brief oral histories. For example, Charles Miller Coleman stated,  Have not seen parents in 35 years. Brothers Ben and Jack and Aleck and Moses (dead) and Robert and William. Sister Susan. Family all left in Va. But Aleck who was sold away first. <br>Gray became emotional as he read these oral histories.  It is hard not to when you see a comment such as,  I never knew parents, was sold away, don t know where brothers and sisters are, because I was sold away first. On the other hand, it lets you know how important family was because even in the hostile environment of slavery, people struggled to keep track of each other. They worked at it, they kept track of one another. <br>Elder D. Todd Christofferson from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints headed this ambitious Freedman s Bank project. He said that requests for CD s have now reached over 30,000. Most requests are from the black community. Elder Christofferson said,  The joy and gratitude they express has been overwhelming to me. We have had people literally weep on the phone as they ordered the CD. The gratitude has been astonishing.<br> There is a desperate, deep desire on the part of all of us to know where we came from, where we all fit in our places and in our heritage. There is some comfort in a commitment to be better, knowing that the sacrifices of the past are responsible for our positions in the present. <br>An inmate leader said,  When we started this project, I had no idea the impact the Freedman s Bank records would have on me and the other inmates. This man told, with emotion, of extracting information of fathers who were sold, mothers who were traded and brothers who were shot to death. One record told of a baby traded shortly after her birth for field equipment. The mother did not even have a chance to name her baby.<br>The inmate also said that other inmates were emotional as they did their work. He told of one inmate who began to weep while doing extractions. He said,  I cannot believe the way these people have been treated. The inmate leader reached out to comfort this crying co-inmate and laid his hand on his shoulder and noticed a tattoo: KKK.<br>The feelings of the inmates who did the work were expressed in a letter sent in 1997. Forty-seven inmates signed the following letter:  We anxiously await the completion of this database and hope that people everywhere will use it to search out their ancestors. For most do not realize what it is like to be in bondage. Again, we are thankful for being allowed to serve on this project and do so in the memory of our God, our freedom, our peace, our wives, our children and our ancestors. <br>William Alex Haley concluded,  It is a lot of responsibility. When Roots first came out, I had to change my behavior. I had a family reputation to be aware of. Places I would have gone before without thinking about I began to think about. I thought,  This won t look good for my family if I do this so it reined me in. It reined my children in. Knowing who you are and what responsibility you have towards your family forces your behavior to be consistent with your family values. It passes right down across generations. <br><br>WHO ARE <br>AFRICAN-AMERICANS?<br><br>Joyce King, an African-American who writes for USA Today said,  We are not  niggers. It is not, in fact, OK for anyone - black or white - to use that filthy word or to ignore its meaning. This was in response to a question often asked by whites why