Sons and Daughters of the U.S. Middle Passage

Sons and Daughters of the U.S. Middle Passage Sons and Daughters of the United States Middle Passage (SDUSMP) is a lineage society that is dedicated to the memory on the enslaved Africans in the U.S.
(2)

Any person is eligible for membership in the National Society of the Sons and Daughters of the United States Middle Passage (SDUSMP) who is not less than eighteen years of age, and who is directly and lineally descendent from a man or woman who is of African-descent and was forced into slavery in the United States of America, including its colonial days, prior to the end of slavery as marked by the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, effective December 1865.

03/07/2026

The Spirit We Move With explores the legacy of Mitchelville on Hilton Head Island and its Gullah Geechee community

03/07/2026
03/07/2026

in 1865, Congress established the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, commonly known as the Freedmen’s Bureau.

This federal agency, which operated in 15 states throughout the South and the District of Columbia, provided aid to newly freed men, women, and children as they began to build new lives after enslavement. Through their interactions with the Freedmen’s Bureau, African Americans fought to secure the things they needed to live as free citizens, including land, family, education, safety, and justice.

When it ceased operations in 1872, the Freedmen’s Bureau left behind millions of pages of written records. These records documenting the various activities of the Bureau include labor contracts, land leases, marriage certificates, hospital registers, ration orders, teachers’ reports, and testimony from civil and criminal complaints. They also record the names of newly freed African Americans and offer glimpses into their struggles and aspirations to forge new lives after enslavement.

During reconstruction African Americans were recognized by the U.S. government as equal citizens. But due to white resistance, Reconstruction’s promise of racial equality was not fulfilled. Instead of full citizenship rights, African Americans experienced decades of discrimination, segregation, and terrorism.

Explore the bounty, challenges and promises of Emancipation in our museum's Freedmen's Bureau Search Portal: https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/freedmens-bureau

📸 Hermitage, Savannah, Ga., 1907. Courtesy of Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, 2016809838.

Want excellent information about genealogy? Attend RootsTech from the comforts of your home.
03/07/2026

Want excellent information about genealogy? Attend RootsTech from the comforts of your home.

Explore RootsTech, the world’s largest family history conference. Join inspiring live events and access on-demand genealogy classes anytime, anywhere.

02/01/2026
02/01/2026

Save the date! We're hosting a in celebration of the first abolitionist society in America on February 14. Stop by and check out the sculpture by Mural Arts Philadelphia in the museum lobby now.

02/01/2026

🖤 Freedom Day | February 1, 2026 🖤

Today, we observe Freedom Day, commemorating February 1, 1865, when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Joint Resolution that would become the 13th Amendment—the constitutional end of slavery in the United States.

Let’s be plain about this: freedom did not come easily, quickly, or generously to our ancestors. It was fought for, resisted, delayed, and, in many places, denied long after the law was signed. Enslaved Africans and their descendants pushed freedom forward with their labor, their courage, their faith, and their insistence on their own humanity—often in the face of brutal opposition.

Freedom Day reminds us that emancipation was not a moment—it was a process. And its legacy continues to shape our lives today.

At SDUSMP, we honor the lives of those who endured enslavement, those who survived it, and those who carried freedom forward even when the nation refused to fully deliver on its promise. We remember them by naming them, researching them, and refusing to let their stories be erased.

Today, we don’t just celebrate freedom.
We claim it, study it, and protect the truth about how it came to be.

Because memory is power—and forgetting has always served oppression.

🕊️ Freedom Day | February 1
🖤 Remember. Reflect. Recommit.

The official start of Black History Month!

https://apnews.com/article/slavery-exhibit-removed-philadelphia-trump-executive-order-dd764277133f47ec1173e8dc16703958?u...
01/23/2026

https://apnews.com/article/slavery-exhibit-removed-philadelphia-trump-executive-order-dd764277133f47ec1173e8dc16703958?user_email=dd1f8b5cfc5b29e24d9bf5a1bed2bdb38d1ed600f9e194d4db032dc567e81362&utm_medium=Afternoon_Wire&utm_source=Sailthru_AP&utm_campaign=AfternoonWire_Fri_Jan23_2026&utm_term=Afternoon%20Wire

Outraged critics are accusing President Donald Trump of “whitewashing history” after the National Park Service removed an exhibit on slavery at Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park.

Giving Tuesday...Please consider giving to Sons & Daughters of the United States Middle Passage.
12/03/2025

Giving Tuesday...Please consider giving to Sons & Daughters of the United States Middle Passage.

Go to paypal.me/SDUSMP and type in the amount. Since it’s PayPal, it's easy and secure. Don’t have a PayPal account? No worries.

Address

P. O. Box 5002
Trenton, NJ
08638

Telephone

+15204858767

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Sons and Daughters of the U.S. Middle Passage posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Sons and Daughters of the U.S. Middle Passage:

Shortcuts

Share

Category