2026 Service Award Winners
The SDUSMP Service Award is presented to individuals — members and non-members alike — who have made outstanding contributions to our mission: connecting descendants to their enslaved ancestors through genealogy and research, honoring and commemorating their memory, and educating the world about the immeasurable contributions these men, women, and children made to their communities, to the United States, and to the world. We are grateful for everyone doing this sacred work.
Harriet Tubman Leadership Award
Ruth D. Hunt
Ruth D. Hunt, a distinguished family historian and research specialist, has dedicated over 40 years to the intricate and rewarding pursuit of genealogy. Her passion for tracing family roots has led her to uncover her ancestry as far back as the 1600s, 1700s, and 1800s, meticulously piecing together the stories of her forebears. Through diligent research and heartfelt family interviews, Ruth has been able to document and establish compelling slave narratives for her second great-grandparents from Southwest Virginia—an endeavor that honors their lives and preserves their legacy.
Among Ruth’s remarkable discoveries, her most treasured find was locating her long-lost half-brother, Barry Hunt, born in England during World War II. This extraordinary reunion occurred long before the advent of widely accessible DNA matching services and online genealogical platforms, marking it a truly miraculous achievement. Ruth is channeling this profound experience into her forthcoming book, *The Scent of My Father*, which chronicles her journey to find her brother and the emotional resonance of their reunion.
Beyond her genealogical pursuits, Ruth has made significant contributions to the field. From 2017 until the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, she spearheaded monthly genealogy workshops at the New York City VA hospital, offering veterans the tools and guidance to explore their familial histories. Her efforts in this sphere earned her recognition from the U.S. Department of Defense for her unwavering commitment to the State of New York’s veterans.
Ruth is an active and proud member of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, one of the nation’s oldest and most esteemed genealogical organizations. Her involvement extends to other prominent organizations, including the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Sons and Daughters of the United States Middle Passage and Saint Andrews Society, among others, showcasing her dedication to historical preservation.
Chairperson’s Award
Nikki Williams Sebastian
Nikki Williams Sebastian is a genealogist, author, and lecturer who began her research career out of curiosity — attempting to verify oral family history — and has since transformed it into a vocation dedicated to giving voice to forgotten ancestors. One of the first recipients of the Paul Edward Sluby Sr. African American Scholarship from the Board of Certified Genealogists, she graduated from ProGen Study Group 56 in 2022. Through lectures, published articles, and research assistance to community organizations, she uses genealogy to promote civic engagement and challenge the gaps in the official American historical narrative. She is an active member of several lineage societies, including the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons and Daughters of the United States Middle Passage, the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, and the National Society Daughters of the Union, where she serves as Membership Director for the Robert Martin Fox Chapter.
Among her most remarkable discoveries is her 4th great-grandfather, known as “Old Hark” of Virginia — a slave who became one of the most celebrated thoroughbred racehorse trainers of the 19th century. In 1854, his horse Lecomte set a speed record at the Great State Post Stakes in New Orleans, making Hark the only trainer to defeat the legendary champion Lexington — an achievement recognized by the Governor of Louisiana at a prestigious statewide celebration. He also trained Prioress, the first American-bred and American-owned racehorse to win a race in England, yet his contributions to the sport remain largely overlooked by the National Racing Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
Nikki is actively working to change that — continuing her research, writing, and advocacy to ensure that ancestors like Hark receive the recognition they have long been denied. Her work spans multiple genealogical societies across the country, and she volunteers with the Atlanta Writers Club and Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri, reflecting her commitment to preserving history in all its forms.
IDA B. WELLS LEADERSHIP AWARD
Sharece Blakney
Sharece K. Blakney is a historian at the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum and a historical consultant specializing in African American life, slavery, and freedom in the late eighteenth through mid-nineteenth centuries. Her work centers on transforming archival research into public-facing interpretation. Blakney has contributed to several public history initiatives, including projects with Morven Museum & Garden and Bartram’s Garden, where she has helped contextualize early American history through the lens of race, labor, and resistance. She has collaborated with Philadelphia-based artists to ground public murals, community art projects, and interpretive signage in historical scholarship. She has also written and assisted with research for the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia.
Crispus Attucks Leadership Award
Michelle Cousins Wherry
Michelle Cousins Wherry, a University of Cincinnati graduate (Class of 1978), has been married to Mark S. Wherry for 41 years and is mother to two daughters and grandmother to four. She is the founder of Ty Mawr Classics, a turnkey textile manufacturing company serving organizations, corporations, and U.S. Government agencies nationwide and overseas for more than 30 years.
Michelle joined the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) in 2012 and has since held numerous leadership roles at the chapter, state, and national levels. These include serving as Organizing Charter Chapter Regent for the Attucks-Lee-Banneker Chapter, NSDAR — the first chapter in the National Society named to honor male Patriots of African Heritage: Crispus Attucks, William Lee, and Benjamin Banneker — and currently serving on the NSDAR Long Range Planning Commission, the Specialty Research Committee for American Indian genealogy, and as Ohio State Chair for the E Pluribus Unum Committee, among others.
Among her most meaningful DAR contributions is her participation in the “Pathways to the Patriots” initiative, through which she purchased one of only 250 commemorative trees honoring known and unknown people of African Heritage who served during the American Revolution. She has also helped forge a partnership between her chapter and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, advancing public education and preserving the stories of Black and Indigenous peoples who fought in the Revolution.
William Wells Brown Leadership Award
Jacqueline Long
Jacqueline Long has been expanding research on her New England roots building on decades of family history research gifted to her branch by cousin Bob Greene. Her colonial and revolutionary lineage has been proven and accepted by the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR); the Sons and Daughters of the United States Middle Passage (SDUSMP); and the Society of the First African Families of English America (SOFAFEA). Jacqueline is also a member of the African American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) and the New England Historical and Genealogical Society (NEHGS). She has taken on the mission of recording stories of her ancestors and the forgotten from our American colonial past who deserve to be in the historical record. She is a co-author of the multi-award-winning revolutionary war book, Forgotten Patriots: Northern Theater. She holds a BA degree from the University of Pennsylvania and earned her MSUP from the Columbia University School of Architecture.
Solomon Northup Family Service Award
The Flateau Family
Adele Flateau and her family have dedicated themselves to preserving, documenting, and uplifting the lives and legacy of their enslaved ancestors. Through genealogical research, historical preservation, and public storytelling, they have helped recover stories that America too often left buried — reminding us that behind every record connected to slavery was a human being, a family, a life deserving to be remembered.
Adele’s maternal third great-grandfather, Gabriel Coakley, Sr., became the inspiration for NBC’s podcast series Into America, hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Trymaine Lee. The five-part series, “Uncounted Millions: The Power of Reparations,” explored reparative justice through the Coakley family’s story. In 1862, Gabriel purchased his enslaved wife and children out of bondage under the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act — a profound act of love and sacrifice. Later episodes traced Adele’s paternal roots to plantations in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, where she uncovered records of ancestors from the early 1800s.
Beyond her own family’s story, Adele has served with the African-Atlantic Genealogical Society, mentoring others in reclaiming ancestral histories that slavery, segregation, and systemic racism sought to erase. The Flateau family’s work is more than genealogy — it is remembrance, restoration, and justice.