Board of Directors 2026-2027
Sons and Daughters of the United States Middle Passage is incorporated in Washington, DC. It is organized as a public charity under the 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. It was started in 2011 by four founding board members (see below). The current list of officers and registrars are:
- Dr. Evelyn A. McDowell, Ph.D., CPA (inactive)* President and Founding Board Member
- Robert S. Burch, Jr., Vice President
- Honorable Anita Laster Mays, Secretary
- Jonnie Brown, Registrar General & Board Member
- Abasi Aniton*, Board Member
- Gigi Best-Richardson, Board Member
- Sharon McKinnis, Board Member
- Kathryn Puckett*, Board Member
- Ruth D. Hunt, Board Member
- Alvin Blakes, Board Member
- Marjorie Fort-Dees, Board Member
* Founding Board Members
Registrars:
- Jonnie Brown, Registrar General
- Stephanie Woods Miller, Deputy Registrar
Desmond Hamilton, Founding Board Member (retired from the board)
The Board is advised by an advisory group consisting of current members, genealogists, and historians.
Membership. The organization has two types of membership, director and legatee. A director is responsible for the everyday administration of the organization and has fiduciary responsibility and control. A legatee is a member-at-large and is responsible for carrying out the mission of the organization at a local level. The roles and responsibilities of both types of members are outlined in the bylaws of the organization.