The PBS series “Finding Your Roots” traces the genealogy of celebrity guests. Following their revealing family history interview with host and Harvard University historian Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., guests are presented a Book of Life (BOLs) as a keepsake. BOLs are handcrafted scrapbooks created by the show’s production team as a gift for each guest. The pages follow the genealogical lines of guests’ paternal and maternal ancestry in fascinating detail.
The hit series has also helped ignite interest in genealogy for everyday people. Although the show recently offered a few lucky non-celebrities the chance to have details of their histories uncovered, most people spend years searching for information about their ancestry.
Are you interested in beginning research around your genealogy? Would you like to create a scrapbook inspired by the Book of Life keepsake from Finding Your Roots?
The goal of this first ever community-based Book of Life (BOL) scrapbook-making workshop is to offer fans of the popular show an inside look into the process used to create BOLs for guests on the show. Using pre-selected family photos, vital records, and/or ephemera, workshop participants create their very own BOL. With the support of local volunteers, the workshop will be led by one of the series’ Associate Producers, Mai Perkins.
This workshop is free and open to the public. All scrapbooking supplies will be provided!
Before the workshop, participants spend time delving into their own personal history to gather family photos, vital records, and other materials that will help shape the story of their families. To best prepare for the workshop, participants should follow the Preparatory Checklist below.
• Choose which side of your family you will use. Paternal or maternal.
• Choose which ancestor’s story you will highlight.
• If possible, talk with family about your history.
• Find old family photos, memorabilia, or other records (like newspaper clippings, obituaries, baptismal records, etc.).
• Access vital records (marriage, birth, and death certificates, census, deeds, etc.) using online searches on ancestry sites.
• Make high quality copies of the original documents. (Do not use original photos or other records.)
• Be prepared to provide contextual information about a specific moment or memory in your ancestor’s life.
Disclaimer
*This workshop is not associated with Finding Your Roots, McGee Media, or PBS. Use of the likeness of these entities is strictly prohibited.
Research and Workshop Prep
If you’re planning to attend the BOL workshop at the Spurlock Museum on Friday, October 25 or Saturday, October 26, the Champaign County Historical Archives at The Urbana Free Library is here to help!
To complete items from the Preparatory Checklist, you can use the genealogy databases available at the Archives. Here’s how.
1. Visit during regular business hours to access the genealogy databases.
2. Receive guided assistance from Champaign County Genealogical Society volunteers during the evening Research and Workshop Prep dates.
3. Print records from your search and make color copies of family photos during the workshop prep.
Research and Workshop Prep dates
October 3, 10, and 17 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Urbana Free Library
210 W Green St, Urbana, IL 61801
About the Facilitator
Mai Perkins is a Brooklyn-based freelance writer and content producer with a knack for editorial storytelling. Since 2021, she's worked on the Emmy-nominated historical genealogy series Finding Your Roots and is currently an Associate Producer. She also worked as an Archival Researcher on Making Black America: Through the Grapevine. Both PBS docuseries are produced by McGee Media and are hosted by Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. In 2022, she worked as an Associate Archival Producer on the Showtime Sports Emmy-Nominated documentary NYC Point Gods. As a freelancer, she has contributed to sociocultural digital platforms such as The Progress, The New Context, Pop Magazine, Black-Owned Brooklyn, and Shoppe Black. She has also written for HuffPost, Relevant, and Bust magazines. As an alum of VONA/Voices of Our Nation Arts Foundation, the only multi-genre workshop for writers of color, her work has been featured in the anthology Dismantle.
Mai began in the field of documentary research a few years ago, sourcing archival research assets for independent filmmakers, and she's also worked on film production crews in Los Angeles and New York. In 2014, she spent two months in Hong Kong documenting pro-democracy protests and sustainable housing in the New Territories with a team of grad students. In 2020, she became social media manager for Ujima Entertainment Coalition, a collaborative space for post-production professionals of the African diaspora to revel in their passion for a spectrum of black stories while advancing their careers.
Completing an MFA in Creative Writing from Sarah Lawrence College, Mai has taught writing courses at City University of New York's College of Staten Island and Kingsborough Community College. In addition to studying writing at Sarah Lawrence, she also completed her BFA at Howard University after graduating from Crenshaw High School's Gifted Magnet. In 2015, she received her MA in International Affairs with a concentration in Media & Culture from The New School's Julien J. Studley Graduate Program. In 2018, Perkins published The Walking Nerve-Ending, 1st Ed. a collection of poems and essays. Mai grew up in Los Angeles, minutes from the Crenshaw District's Leimert Park, and has been a resident of New York City for two decades.