Tony Burroughs is founder and CEO of the Center for Black Genealogy. He is an internationally known genealogist who taught genealogy at Chicago State University for fifteen years. Burroughs researched Olympic Gold Medal sprint champion Michael Johnson’s family history and consulted on the Smokey Robinson genealogy, the Oprah Winfrey genealogy, Reverend Al Sharpton-Strom Thurmond genealogy, African American Lives2, Who Do You Think You Are, The Real Family of Jesus and consulted with Chicago Public Schools, New York Public Schools, Chicago City Colleges and Ancestry.com.
Burroughs has appeared as a guest genealogy expert in twenty-five national and international television broadcasts including:
Who Do You Think You Are? with Smokey Robinson (TLC Cable 2017)
Blood and Glory: The Civil War in Color (The History Channel 2015)
Michael Johnson: Survival of the Fastest (Channel 4 London, 2012)
Roots Remembered (BBC, 2007)
Oprah’s Roots (PBS, 2007-featured expert)
The Real Family of Jesus (Discovery Channel, 2005-featured expert in two hour Easter special)
African American Lives with Henry Louis Gates (PBS, 2006)
Ancestors 2 (PBS, 2000-appeared in six episodes)
Ancestors (PBS, 1997 - featured genealogy expert)
Burroughs has also been interviewed on CBS Sunday Morning, CBS News, ABC World News Tonight, BET Nightly News, National Public Radio (NPR) and many local broadcasts.
Burroughs’ book, Black Roots: A Beginners Guide to Tracing the African American Family Tree (Simon & Schuster, 2001) was number one on Essence Magazine's Best Seller List and is now in its fifth printing. His chapter, “African American Genealogy” is in the Encyclopedia of African American History (Oxford University Press, 2009). His chapter, "How to Create a Family Tree," is in The Experts Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do (Samantha Ettus editor, Clarkson Potter Division of Random House Inc., September 2004), along with other experts, Donald Trump, Jennifer Capriati, Debbie Fields, and Larry King. His chapter, “African American Genealogy” appears in The Source, revised edition (edited by Lou Szucs and Sandra Luebking, Ancestry, 2006) and he was one of three co-authors of the African American Genealogical Sourcebook (Paula Byers, editor, Detroit: Gale Research, 1995).
Burroughs has been quoted in newspapers in London, Paris, Toronto, Hong Kong and Sydney, as well as the New York Times, People Magazine, Time Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Ebony, and Jet Magazine.
Burroughs has received many honors including: the Distinguished Service Award from the National Genealogical Society, the Rabbi Malcolm H. Stern Humanitarian Award from the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the Lowell Vokel Award from the Illinois State Genealogical Society and Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association. In 2012 he received a fellowship from the Black Metropolis Research Consortium to research the Underground Railroad in Chicago. In 2005 he was selected as one of 5,000 African Americans to be included in a video oral history archive by The History Makers.
He lectures throughout the United States and Canada, having delivered one hundred lectures at national conferences, twelve national keynote addresses, nine regional keynotes, ten state keynote addresses and twelve local keynote addresses.
Burroughs is on the Board of Directors of the the Illinois State Genealogical Society and the Kwame Nkrumah Academy. Former board positions include:
Association of Professional Genealogists
New England Historic Genealogical Society
Federation of Genealogical Societies
GENTECH
Friends of Genealogy at Newberry Library
National African American Military Museum
Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society
Afro-American Genealogical and Historical Society of Chicago, Inc. (President)
Burroughs has traced two family lines seven generations and one line eight generations. His genealogical research has qualified him for twelve lineage certificates including:
General Society of the War of 1812
Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
World War II Serviceman in Illinois
International Society of Sons and Daughters of Slave Ancestry
First Families of Pennsylvania
Century Family of Nebraska
Pioneer Families of New Mexico
First Families of the Twin Territories (Oklahoma and Indian Territory)
Tennessee Ancestry
Kansas Early Settlers
Chicago Rebuilder
Cook County (Illinois) Pioneer.
His research on the index to the Census led to discovering the original instructions and correcting a forty year omission from National Archives' instructions. His research on the Underground Railroad in 2001 enabled the Kimsey Crossing home in Tamarora, Illinois to be recognized by the National Park Service's Network to Freedom. His testimony before Congress in 2000 helped preserve 135 year old records from the Freedmen's Bureau.
Burroughs has appeared as a guest genealogy expert in twenty-five national and international television broadcasts including:
Who Do You Think You Are? with Smokey Robinson (TLC Cable 2017)
Blood and Glory: The Civil War in Color (The History Channel 2015)
Michael Johnson: Survival of the Fastest (Channel 4 London, 2012)
Roots Remembered (BBC, 2007)
Oprah’s Roots (PBS, 2007-featured expert)
The Real Family of Jesus (Discovery Channel, 2005-featured expert in two hour Easter special)
African American Lives with Henry Louis Gates (PBS, 2006)
Ancestors 2 (PBS, 2000-appeared in six episodes)
Ancestors (PBS, 1997 - featured genealogy expert)
Burroughs has also been interviewed on CBS Sunday Morning, CBS News, ABC World News Tonight, BET Nightly News, National Public Radio (NPR) and many local broadcasts.
Burroughs’ book, Black Roots: A Beginners Guide to Tracing the African American Family Tree (Simon & Schuster, 2001) was number one on Essence Magazine's Best Seller List and is now in its fifth printing. His chapter, “African American Genealogy” is in the Encyclopedia of African American History (Oxford University Press, 2009). His chapter, "How to Create a Family Tree," is in The Experts Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do (Samantha Ettus editor, Clarkson Potter Division of Random House Inc., September 2004), along with other experts, Donald Trump, Jennifer Capriati, Debbie Fields, and Larry King. His chapter, “African American Genealogy” appears in The Source, revised edition (edited by Lou Szucs and Sandra Luebking, Ancestry, 2006) and he was one of three co-authors of the African American Genealogical Sourcebook (Paula Byers, editor, Detroit: Gale Research, 1995).
Burroughs has been quoted in newspapers in London, Paris, Toronto, Hong Kong and Sydney, as well as the New York Times, People Magazine, Time Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Ebony, and Jet Magazine.
Burroughs has received many honors including: the Distinguished Service Award from the National Genealogical Society, the Rabbi Malcolm H. Stern Humanitarian Award from the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the Lowell Vokel Award from the Illinois State Genealogical Society and Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association. In 2012 he received a fellowship from the Black Metropolis Research Consortium to research the Underground Railroad in Chicago. In 2005 he was selected as one of 5,000 African Americans to be included in a video oral history archive by The History Makers.
He lectures throughout the United States and Canada, having delivered one hundred lectures at national conferences, twelve national keynote addresses, nine regional keynotes, ten state keynote addresses and twelve local keynote addresses.
Burroughs is on the Board of Directors of the the Illinois State Genealogical Society and the Kwame Nkrumah Academy. Former board positions include:
Association of Professional Genealogists
New England Historic Genealogical Society
Federation of Genealogical Societies
GENTECH
Friends of Genealogy at Newberry Library
National African American Military Museum
Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society
Afro-American Genealogical and Historical Society of Chicago, Inc. (President)
Burroughs has traced two family lines seven generations and one line eight generations. His genealogical research has qualified him for twelve lineage certificates including:
General Society of the War of 1812
Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
World War II Serviceman in Illinois
International Society of Sons and Daughters of Slave Ancestry
First Families of Pennsylvania
Century Family of Nebraska
Pioneer Families of New Mexico
First Families of the Twin Territories (Oklahoma and Indian Territory)
Tennessee Ancestry
Kansas Early Settlers
Chicago Rebuilder
Cook County (Illinois) Pioneer.
His research on the index to the Census led to discovering the original instructions and correcting a forty year omission from National Archives' instructions. His research on the Underground Railroad in 2001 enabled the Kimsey Crossing home in Tamarora, Illinois to be recognized by the National Park Service's Network to Freedom. His testimony before Congress in 2000 helped preserve 135 year old records from the Freedmen's Bureau.
