Intro to Black History & Ancestry with Paul Crooks | UK Edition (GMT)

Join us for an introductory session with renowned genealogist and historian Paul Crooks, creator of Ancestry Talks.

Designed as a taster for a season of talks coming in 2026, this event offers a glimpse into the powerful stories and in-depth explorations of Black history and ancestry that Paul will present throughout the new year.

In this session, Paul presents an engaging introduction to the core ideas that define his work on Black history and ancestry. He traces connections between African Caribbean and African American genealogy, ancient and medieval African heritage, and the struggles for freedom that shaped the modern world.

Paul shows how exploring these histories can challenge assumptions, strengthen identity, and raise confidence. His approach highlights how engaging with the past can foster personal growth, well-being, and professional development — empowering us to recognise our potential and our capacity to contribute to stronger communities.

Through personal insight and historical discovery, Paul demonstrates how reconnecting with ancestry can be transformative — both individually and collectively.

Whether you’re new to family history, curious about genealogy, or passionate about learning more, join us to see what’s in store for 2026.

🎟️ Plus Ticket

• Free access to the event
• African, Irish and Creole Culture of the Caribbean — 12-page digital EPUB (delivered by email after the event)

🎬 Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/T-K6Yp-UW8s

🌟 Premium Ticket

• Free access to the event
• African, Irish and Creole Culture of the Caribbean — 12-page digital EPUB (delivered by email after the event)
• DNA Testing Demystified: Separating Fact from Fiction in Genealogy — digital copy (delivered by email after the event)

🎬 Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/mQanCy3o1XM

💎 Deluxe Ticket

• Free access to the event
• African, Irish and Creole Culture of the Caribbean — 12-page digital EPUB (delivered by email after the event)
• DNA Testing Demystified: Separating Fact from Fiction in Genealogy — digital copy (delivered by email after the event)
• Tracing African Caribbean Family History: A Practical Guide to Reconstructing Roots Through Records, Oral History, and DNA — eBook (delivered by email after the event)

🎬 Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/p9PPfwi3_G0

About The Speaker

Paul Crooks is a trailblazing genealogist and published author with a specialist interest in Black ancestry. He pioneered Black genealogy research in the 1990s, tracing his African Caribbean family history from London back six generations — to ancestors enslaved on a sugar plantation in North America 200 years ago, and further still to forebears on the Gold Coast of West Africa.

Paul gained national recognition with his acclaimed historical novel Ancestors, based on his family’s story, and he appeared as an expert on Black British genealogy on Who Do You Think You Are? with Moira Stuart. His second book, A Tree Without Roots, is regarded as a seminal guide to tracing Black British ancestry.

Paul is credited with inspiring an upsurge of interest in Black and British genealogy and is recognised as having sparked a movement in African Caribbean family history research, linking generations separated by slavery and reconnecting people of African descent with their ancestral heritage.