By PORTSIA SMITH
From the outside, there's nothing to indicate that 3538 Plank Road is anything but office space.
But step inside, and a visitor takes a journey into the past.
Pictures of slaves and their descendents hang on one side of a hallway.
On the other are replicas of slave shackles and military awards, one representing the pain and the other the bravery of the people in the photographs.
This location, next to Blinds To Go on State Route 3, is the new home of the Center for African American Genealogical Research Inc., a Fredericksburg-based nonprofit organization that provides genealogical data to the community at no cost.
CAAGRI aims to provide a location for researchers to conduct in-depth black genealogical research, get computer training and participate in mentoring programs for at-risk youth.
CAAGRI president and CEO Paula D. Royster had been operating for months without a permanent location--often holding workshops at her Spotsylvania County home and at area libraries until they were able to move into this space in September.
"It was a miracle that we were able to find a location that has the size and layout that it does," she said. "It's very much what we needed and wanted."
The 2,000-square-foot space was donated by the Silver Cos., which owns the building, and the Rappaport Cos., which manages the property.
"We're happy to be able to help, and we wish them the best," said Jud Honaker, the Silver Cos.' president of commercial development. He said the company has donated space to many charitable and nonprofit organizations over the years as a way of giving back to the community.
The CAAGRI center has about eight computer stations set up for researchers to use, and is currently available only by appointment while it is finalizing its funding.
"We owe them a huge thanks for giving us a start," said Royster, who is gearing up for CAAGRI's first Black History Month event this weekend.
For the first time in history, the organization will bring together the direct descendants of Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman and Charles Nalle, the only publicly known fugitive slave to be freed from slavery.
In April 1860, while visiting relatives in Troy, N.Y., Tubman was informed that Nalle was about to be returned to his owner in Culpeper County.
Tubman rushed into the U.S. Commissioner's Office and started a commotion by blocking the police from capturing Nalle.
As they made their way to the second floor of the building, several hundred citizens joined Tubman in her efforts to help Nalle escape the fugitive hunter. Nalle was rescued and escaped. His freedom was later purchased for $650, and he returned to Troy a free man.
"We are obviously pleased with this unprecedented, historic meeting of the two families," Royster said. "It just goes to show the kind of history that can be made if you've done your genealogy homework."
The free event will take place this Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library headquarters in downtown Fredericksburg. There also will be a tribute made in honor of Oliver W. Hill Sr., 92, the last surviving civil rights attorneys in the Brown v. Board of Education case.
In doing her own genealogical research, Royster was able to find a connection between her family and Harriet Tubman.
Thornton James Alexander was Royster's great-great-great-grandfather, who was born a slave in Culpeper County in 1745. Her research showed that he was freed in 1826 and bought nearly 800 acres in Ohio.
Part of that land, Royster said, was used by Tubman to build the Underground Railroad, a secret route that slaves traveled on their way to freedom in Canada.
CAAGRI hopes to also use genealogy to organize other special projects that include preserving slave cemeteries and pairing young people with senior citizens to document their families' histories.
Fredericksburg City Councilman Matt Kelly, a Civil War re-enactor and history buff, said CAAGRI is a good addition to the area due to its history and the coming of the U.S. National Slavery Museum.
"I think everybody should know the history of their community and their country, but they should also know the history of their family to know what role they played in it," he said yesterday.
CAAGRI isn't limiting its services to people locally. Starting next month, a technical learning center will open that will run out of a group home for women in Bakersfield, Calif.
That program will combine genealogy research with technological learning to help those women gain computer and job skills to transition themselves back into society, Royster said.
The local center is not only for black people, but the services
All information gathered from research will be recorded in a database and made available to local residents and genealogists across the country interested in black history--for free.
CAAGRI's Web site, caagri.org, offers access to census records and official documents that date back as far as the 17th century. Subscriptions to similar sites, such as ancestry.com, charge nearly $180 per year for the same service.
But the high costs may yield low results for black genealogists due to a number of challenges, Royster said.
Prior to the Civil War, slaves were considered property. Their personal information--such as birthplaces, parents' names, and dates of marriages and deaths--were not always recorded.
In 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves, but that freedom was not recorded until the next census came out in 1870. Freed slaves often chose a new name, which makes it harder to track down records, Royster said.
And since most slaves were not allowed to read or write, few could spell their own names, allowing census takers to write whatever spelling they thought fit.
Also, more than 400,000 blacks were free before the Civil War and may or may not have been accounted for in official records.
CAAGRI helps amateur researchers keep those things in mind, Royster said.
To reach PORTSIA SMITH:
Email: psmith@freelancestar.com