About the Brister English Project

The Brister English Project is a free genealogy and history platform dedicated to helping descendants of chattel slavery find their people in the records that were designed to erase them. We believe every family deserves to know where they come from, and we work to tear down the archival walls that have kept Black families separated from their own histories for generations.

Our platform brings together a curated resource library spanning census records, Freedmen's Bureau files, slave ship manifests, cemetery databases, church and Bible records, newspaper archives, and more. We offer interactive transcription projects where volunteers help decode difficult historical handwriting, collaborative research projects where families work together to trace lineages, and a public archive where community members can upload and share family documents, photographs, and discoveries.

We also publish the Brister English Press, a living tribute to the Black newspaper tradition that once carried "Information Wanted" ads from families separated by slavery. Through this section, modern seekers can post notices searching for lost ancestors, and children can participate in Proud Moving Freedom, a program that transforms historical runaway slave ads into liberation ads celebrating bravery and freedom.

This project is built and maintained by Walter English, founder of the Brister English Project, alongside a growing community of genealogists, educators, researchers, and families committed to reclaiming their stories. Our work is for anyone tracing Black ancestry, educators teaching honest history, youth discovering their heritage, and allies doing anti-racism work. We are honored to walk alongside every family on this journey home.