HISTORY’s reimagining of the landmark series ROOTS told the powerful story of an enslaved family’s struggle to preserve their name and identity. We needed to drive awareness on social media in a way that did justice to this epic series.
We partnered with the Freedmen’s Bureau Project to create Reading for ROOTS, a multi-platform campaign that mobilized the public to help transcribe thousands of historical records of former enslaved people. The transcriptions were used to create a searchable digital archive so that modern African American families can rediscover their roots.
In less than 3 weeks, participants transcribed over 6,000 documents containing more than 14,000 names, all with the potential to help 22 million African American families reconnect with their ancestors and rebuild their family trees.
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