Civil war music is timeless, Jolly said. It gets people's feet tapping like Dixieland. It was very good for morale. Inspired by a genealogy lecture a few years ago, they started looking into their own histories, and later formed their own company, the African-Atlantic Genealogical Society. They give regular lectures at the Freeport Public Library, and write occasional pieces for the local newspaper.
People feel that because of the slavery issue, there is no reason looking.
But it is possible to find African-American roots in census data. Even if there is slavery, you can find records. Now 64, Julius was the first black officer hired by the Freeport Police Department. John Eilertson, a Southampton folklorist. But he's also documenting and presenting traditional community activities such as decoy carving, quilting, Ukrainian egg decorating, Armenian needle working and traditional fishing techniques.