Vice President of the South Atlantic Region,
Stephani Miller (FL) co-chair of the Honors Committee is getting ready to bestow the honors on the 2024 Honorees as Genealogist General Dr. Shelley Murphy (VA) reads the criteria for selection.
 

NOTE: Co-chair Christoper Williams was absent, he was exchanging nuptials some 1,000 miles away at a secrete location …congratulations to you both.

(picture courtesy of Verity Media)

First row (L-R). Author Jill Marie Synder received the posthumous award on behalf of author
PHILLIS WHEATLEY of the great state Massachusetts; SOFAFEA Vice President Joyce Mosey 
received the posthumous award on behalf of PAUL ROBESON of the great state of  Pennsylvania;
ROHULAMIN QUANDER of the great District of Columbia; DR. SHIRLEY GREEN of the great state
of Ohio; and A'LELIA BUNDLES of the great District of Columbia.

Second Row (L-R):  DENNIS LLOYD of the great state of Georgia;  
Jennifer Horsley received the posthumous award on behalf of JOSEPH LOUIS COOK;
SOFAFEA Auditor General Dean Henry received the posthumously award on behalf of
Forgotten Patriot of the American Revolution PETER SALEM, of the great state of Massachusetts;
Lena Galloway Reddick (MA) received the posthumously award on behalf of her
fifth great-grandfather PRIVATE PRINCE AMES of Massachusetts,
and RHONDA BRACE of the great state of Massachusetts.

(picture courtesy of Verity Media)

Ms. Lena Galloway Reddick (MA) received the posthumous award on behalf of her fifth great-grandfather PRIVATE PRINCE AMES of African and Indigenous descent was enslaved by Captain Benjamin Ames of Andover, Massachusetts.

A Forgotten Patriot of the American Revolution as a substitute for his enslaver Captain Benjamin Ames,  and served for nearly 70 months from 1777 to 1783.

He and his wife raised ten children including daughters Lavina Ames Hilton and her sister Eunice Ames Davis, a 2023 Honoree.   

(picture courtesy of Verity Media)

Ms. RHONDA BRACE  
of the great state of Massachusetts. 

A participant in the first global conference on Slavery, Past, Present, and Future held at Oxford University in England. She descends from Revolutionary War Forgotten Patriot Jeffrey Brace, Private, Connecticut Continental Regiment. Brace's work illuminates the persistent global struggle against slavery, focusing on her ancestor's transition from enslavement in West Africa to a Revolutionary War soldier.

(picture courtesy of Verity Media)

Ms. A'LELIA BUNDLES 
of the great District of Columbia. 

An Emmy award-winning journalist, she authored On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker, which was adapted into a Netflix series.

She is the founder of the Madam Walker Family Archives, a former ABC News producer and executive, and National Archives Foundation chair emerita. Descends from Revolutionary War Forgotten Patriot Ishmael Roberts, Private, North Carolina Continental Regiment.

(picture courtesy of Verity Media)

Ms. Jennifer Horsley received the posthumous award
on behalf of Colonel JOSEPH LOUIS COOK, posthumously of the great state of New York. 

A Forgotten Patriot of the American Revolution, attained the position of lieutenant colonel, becoming the Continental Army's most senior officer of both African American and Native American heritage. Born around 1736 to an African father and an Abenaki Native American mother, Cook was adopted by a Mohawk family after being captured during a raid. A Mohawk leader and warrior, he earned distinction in the French and Indian War. Post-war, he dedicated himself to Indigenous rights and land advocacy for the Mohawk and other Iroquois allies.  

(picture courtesy of Verity Media)

DR. SHIRLEY GREEN of the great state of Ohio. 

She is the author of Revolutionary Blacks:
Discovering the Frank Brothers, Freeborn Men of Color, Soldiers of Independence, a journey based on her family’s military service.

She is the author of Revolutionary Blacks: Discovering the Frank Brothers, Freeborn Men of Color, Soldiers of Independence, a journey based on her family’s military service. She was able to put together the pieces of a family puzzle through archival research, interviews, and DNA evidence. In addition to providing context and substance to the Black experience during the war years, she underscores the significant distinction between free Blacks in military service and those who had been enslaved, and how they responded in different ways to the harsh realities of racism.

(picture courtesy of Verity Media)

Mr. DENNIS LLOYD of the great state of Georgia. 

Founder of the Slave Legacy History Coalition to honor the history of enslaved individuals, highlighting his commitment to social justice.

His lineage traces back to Darby Vassall,
a notable abolitionist and key figure within Boston's free Black community, who was the son of Tony and Cuba, enslaved individuals owned by a family instrumental in the establishment of Harvard's law school. He showcased bravery as an Ariel-Assault Door Gunner in the Vietnam War, earning the Army Aircraft Crewman’s Wings. 

(picture courtesy of Verity Media)

SOFAFEA Vice President Joyce Mosey (PA)
received the posthumous award
on behalf of her second cousin PAUL ROBESON  of the great state of  Pennsylvania. 
 

Known for his achievements in music as a bass-baritone singer, performances of spirituals and folk songs, as well as his work in theater and film, alongside a career in professional football and his active role in political advocacy. Born in 1898 in Princeton, New Jersey, Robeson excelled academically and athletically at Rutgers University before pursuing law at Columbia University.  Through roles in "Othello" and "The Emperor Jones," he challenged racial prejudices in American theater. Robeson also became a prominent civil rights and social justice advocate, fighting against racial discrimination, colonialism, and for workers' rights and global peace. Robeson's descends from Cyrus Bustill, known for his roles as a brewer, baker, abolitionist, and community leader.

(picture courtesy of Verity Media)

SOFAFEA Auditor General Dean Henry (PA) received the posthumous award on behalf of  
Forgotten Patriot of the American Revolution 
Private PETER SALEM  of the great state of Massachusetts.

A Forgotten Patriot of the American Revolution, born into slavery around 1750 in Framingham, Massachusetts.  After being freed by Major Lawson Buckminster, he joined the Continental Army, playing a crucial role in battles like Bunker Hill, reputedly killing British Major John Pitcairn. He fought alongside other Black Minutemen in significant engagements such as Saratoga and Stony Point. Salem passed away in 1816, initially buried in a pauper's grave. In 1882, Framingham, Massachusetts commemorated his legacy with a monument, acknowledging his and other African Americans' pivotal roles in founding the nation.

(picture courtesy of Verity Media)

Author Jill Marie Synder (CT) received the
posthumous award on behalf of author 
PHILLIS WHEATLEY of the great state Massachusetts. 

Recognized as the first African American woman and only the third American woman to publish a book of poems The publication of "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral." brought her fame both in England and the American colonies. Wheatley was born in West Africa around 1753 and kidnapped to America. She was educated by her captors, mastering English, Latin, and Greek, and reading both classical and contemporary works.  Many of America's founding fathers, including George Washington, paid tribute to her, with Washington himself penning a letter to her.  Her legacy lives on as a cornerstone of American literature, representing the rise of an African American literary voice and the intricate connections between identity, race, and freedom in her time.

(picture courtesy of Verity Media)

Attorney ROHULAMIN QUANDER of the great District of Columbia.

Founder and president of the Quander Family Foundation, as an author and for his research of the Quander family
over a 300-year history in the states of Maryland and Virginia, and the family’s history of involuntary servitude
to President George Washington at his Mount Vernon plantation.

A multiple descent from the enslaved families at General George Washington’s Mount Vernon plantation.

(picture courtesy of Verity Media)

Co-Chair Vice President Stephani Miller
with the 2024 Honorees and representatives on the Museum of the American Revolution’s Grand Staircase.

First row (L-R): Author Jill Marie Synder for PHILLIS WHEATLEY; SOFAFEA Vice President Joyce Mosey 
for PAUL ROBESON; and A'LELIA BUNDLES.

Second row (L-R): DENNIS LLOYD; DR. SHIRLEY GREEN; and ROHULAMIN QUANDER.

?Third row (L-R): Jennifer Horsley for JOSEPH LOUIS COOK; RHONDA BRACE;  VP Miller.

Fourth row (L-R): Lena Galloway Reddick for PRIVATE PRINCE AMES; and SOFAFEA Auditor General Dean Henry for PETER SALEM. 

(picture courtesy of Verity Media)

New Member Saundra Russ Cropps with her grand niece Taniyah R. Justice (NC).

(picture courtesy of Verity Media)

2024 Honoree Dennis Lloyd with Beverly Lloyd (GA)

(picture courtesy of Verity Media)

New members Gloria Barksdale Harver (MD) 
and Laura Harver (MD)  

(picture courtesy of Verity Media)

Congratulations to the Society of the First African Families of English America’s 2024 Honorees

…true American trailblazers – past and present.

Thank you for your service.

(picture courtesy of Skip Richardson)