Barbara Johns, Black history notable, needs a profile

+11 votes
209 views

When I read THIS ARTICLE I wanted to read more about Ms Johns, so I looked for her profile here.  I was surprised to see that she doesn't have one … or maybe she does and I wasn't able to find it.  Anyhow, with Black History Month coming up, this would be a great time to highlight her … don't you think?

EDITED TO ADD:

I just encountered another notable Black woman today - Anne Lowe, fashion designer to the ultra wealthy (she created Jacqueline Kennedy's wedding gown), and I don't see a WikiTree profile for her yet.  See THIS ARTICLE.

WikiTree profile: Barbara Powell
in Genealogy Help by Gaile Connolly G2G Astronaut (1.2m points)
edited by Gaile Connolly
Thanks so much for bringing her to our attention Gaile. There are a GREAT many profiles not yet on WikiTree for our Black Americans. Our project is working fast and furiously to catch up. All help is hugely appreciated :-) If anyone wants to create a profile for a notable and bring it to our attention or ask for a profile to be created, I created a g2g post for that here

https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/1157732/help-black-heritage-create-honor-african-american-notables
THANX Emma - you might want to add Anne Lowe to your post (see the additional edit to this question).
Thanks, Gaile. I've got. Ann Lowe started.

2 Answers

+9 votes
 
Best answer
I got hooked as well .. and have clearly fallen down a rabbit hole. Barbara likely was inspired by the activism of her uncle, Vernon Johns who was the minister at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery. Unhappy with his activism, the congregation searched for a more conservative leader - his replacement was Martin Luther King Jr.

Does one have to be a member of the Project to add the profile(s)?
by Shirley Gilbert G2G6 Mach 6 (66.4k points)
selected by Pip Sheppard
Oh no, Shirley - any member can add a profile for anyone, as long as they're not living.  In fact, I'm not a member of the project, but just down too many rabbit holes at once already to take it on myself.  Please - by all means - go for it!
Project beat me to it :)  Thanks Gaile
I don't understand - just looked and don't see a profile for her.
Johns-5697 added today.
+4 votes

I added her before I saw this. She's Johns-5697

It's VERY bare bones right now. I'm knee-deep in a couple racecar drivers at the moment, so I put together a bare minimum profile intending to return to it shortly.

Whenever I read about a Black notable I check WikiTree and research and add them if necessary, often just listing genealogical sources bullet-point style and coming back to them later, secretely hoping (for most profiles) that the collaborative aspect will kick in and a narrative will magically appear ...

I've been surprised by how many notables I've found that have profiles but no biography to speak of, just a link to an external source ... Some were created years ago and haven't been worked on since!  

by Dave Ebaugh G2G6 Mach 2 (21.2k points)
edited by Dave Ebaugh
Dave, that's great!  One suggestion … about narratives magically appearing … posting in g2g about a profile that needs magic will almost always be a catalyst to make it happen!

In this case, if you contact Shirley (who answered above), she might well be your magician in this case!
Thanks for the best answer - and I will definitely take a look
Yeah, I really should have posted about Johns. It never occurred to me until this thread came across my G2G feed.

I always feel weird about telling others I've started something that I thought was important but probably won't be finishing it. Like I'm pushing things on to them ... But I try to keep in mind that different people have different interests and different things they enjoy, so there are probably people who are thrilled to learrn of skeletons where the sourcing is taken care of and they're free to build the story.

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