Journey to Discovering the Truth with Charles Brown, Jr.




Research at the National Archives&Beyond show

Summary:  Charles Brown, Jr.,  provides a moving account of his quest to find truth concerning his family in Missouri.     Charles Brown is the President of St. Louis African American History & Genealogy Society. He was born and raised in the Carondelet Neighborhood of South St. Louis City and  attended North East Missouri State University.  His strong religious foundation was rooted in the Quinn Chapel AME Church. After retiring as a coach and educator, Charles  helped organize a family reunion on his paternal side. This genealogical journey had a lot of secrets, hidden agendas, and valuable history.  He discovered that his immediate ancestors were involved in a racial cleansing and a hanging which occurred in Pierce City Missouri in 1901.  The events of this travesty were never discussed by any of his family.  After the incident was uncovered, a documentary was produced explaining this incident as one of three such incidents in the United States in the early 1900s.  Charles is a participant in the film Banished that received national attention.    Theme music - Sweet Mello Spice by composer / producer Alvin K. Alexander. (Pianist Ayako Higuchi).