Join US Black Heritage Connecting Challenge--January 2024-400k here we come! [closed]

+21 votes
1.1k views

      US Black Heritage Project's

        Connecting Challenge

Our for 2024 goal is 400k. It's a stretch, but we've surpassed every goal so far. With everyone working together we can do it! 

Need a fresh project? Check out our new USBH 1880 Census Project. Soon we will have a spreadsheet for every state. Our goal is to create a profile for every Black American enumerated on the 1880 census. 


We met the US Black Heritage Project's goal of reaching 250,000 African-American profiles in the year 2023 early! Now let's work toward our 2024 goal of 400,000 total profiles. We'll reach it by continuing the Connecting Challenge. It is similar to the WikiTree Connect-a-Thon with a few exceptions. Please read our challenge space page for all the rules.

Who can participate? Any WikiTree member who has upgraded from guest and has signed the honor code

Start/End: This Challenge is a month long. We begin on the first of each month and end at midnight EST on the last day of each month.

A participant sticker will be available to all members who join in for at least one of the months. Special stickers will be awarded to all participants who create at least 25 profiles in a month. A Winner's sticker will be given to the top contributor each month.

To Partipate:

  • Read the rules please!
  • Click on the "answer" button below my name on this post to declare you want to participate.
  • Start with an existing profile and create a family member attached to that profile. Keep adding as many family members up, down, and sideways on the tree as you can. Each new profile is one point.
  • Make sure the research is correct! Use primary documents to find and prove relationships.
  • Add the {{African-American Sticker}} to any profiles of Black Americans who lived in the USA, so the project can keep track of the profiles and honor their heritage.
  • Add at least one strong source to every profile.
  • Use the Challenge Tracker to keep track of every new profile you create for this challenge. It will count the total for you automatically. If you discover you forgot to track some, you can list them here to count.
  • Repeat.
  • If you are working on enslaved ancestors, every new slave profile you link to a slave owner using the USBH Project's guidelines, counts as a connected profile. See the Heritage Exchange Portal for more information.

Have questions? Please ask.

Only have time for a few profiles? Please join us! Every contribution gets us closer to our goal.

Do you need some profiles to get you started? 

If you are already on the WikiTree Discord server, you should have access to the US Black Heritage Connecting Challenge channel. If you can't access it, please send me a message.

Thanks for growing our tree!


  • Our December Challenge total: 6,214
  • Total count of profiles as of Dec 31: 268,195
  • December Winners: Patty LaPlante, Nanette Pezzutti, Carolyn Martin, Denise Jarrett, Nanette Rohrbaugh

2023 Top Five Contributors

  1. Nanette Pezzutti
  2. Patty LaPlante
  3. Emma MacBeath
  4. Kate Schmidt
  5. Carolyn Martin
Total Profile Created During This Challenge in 2023
46,036
Total Profile Created During This Challenge 2021-2023
139,810
closed with the note: See our February challenge here: https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/1698084/join-us-black-heritage-connecting-challenge-february-2024
in The Tree House by Emma MacBeath G2G Astronaut (1.3m points)
closed by Emma MacBeath
Hello! I'd like to join this project!
Just out of curiosity, how many USBH profiles were created in 2023?
Hi Rob, strangely I never got a notification of your question. I don't have the 2023 Connecting Challenge numbers up yet, but total brand new USBH profiles created in 2023 was 94,250.
Hi Rob, I've updated the stats for December as well as 2023 in the post above.

38 Answers

+11 votes
 
Best answer
Happy New Year USBH! So many opportunities to work on this year!
by Gina Jarvi G2G6 Pilot (146k points)
selected by Eva Head

Yes! Thanks, Ginasmiley

+12 votes

I'm very excited about what 2024 holds for USBH. There are so many areas anyone on WikiTree can help us with including our new 1880 Project. 

400k--Let's do this!

by Emma MacBeath G2G Astronaut (1.3m points)
I created 1153 USBH profiles during the Jan Connect-A-Thon to add to my January total.
+10 votes
I’m in, thank you Emma!
by Elaine Martzen G2G6 Pilot (171k points)
Thanks, Elaine!
+11 votes
I'd like to join!
by Mason Bunker G2G6 (8.1k points)
Glad to have you, Mason. I saw you were already working on the 1880 profiles.
Whoops, I made a mistake with some of my profiles. I accidentally assigned two profiles to Bunker-2019 (typo, my bad), he is an ancestor from the 1600 and those two should count for me, not him. I also added these five profiles and forgot to mark them on the tracker: [[Peters-19284|Martha Peters (1850-)]], [[Peters-19285|Delia Peters (1852-)]], [[Peters-19281|David Peters (1853-aft.1880)]], [[Peters-19286|Josephine Peters (1856-)]], [[Peters-19287|Joseph Henry Peters (1858-)]]. My sincerest apologies.

Haha. I'll make sure your ancestor's work gets credited to you.wink

+9 votes
I'm in !  Already did 35 today working on the 1880 project!
by Carolyn Martin G2G6 Pilot (284k points)
Nice work! Do I need to add any to your total at the end of the month from when the tracker wasn't working?
No, I kept them open on my tabs so I could add them to the tracker if it was available by the end of the day,  which it was.  So all mine are on the tracker now. Thanks!
+10 votes
I'm in too, Emma, thanks!
by Denise E G2G6 Mach 8 (85.0k points)
Thanks, Denise!
+11 votes
Happy New Year! Glad to keep on connecting!
by Cossy Ksander G2G6 Mach 2 (26.1k points)

Yes, let's do it! thanks, Cossysmiley

+11 votes
Thank you for everything you do. This is one of the better run projects on Wikitree. Very inclusive, which is no doubt why you had success, meeting your goals last year, and I believe you will be equally successful this year.
by Jimmy Honey G2G6 Pilot (159k points)
Thanks, Jimmy. It's thanks to so many people like you pitching in to help that we keep making great strides.
+11 votes
Count me in again, of course!
by Miyako Jones G2G6 Mach 3 (38.7k points)
Thanks so much, Miyako!
+10 votes
I'm in, thanks
by Jennifer Robins G2G6 Pilot (255k points)
Thanks, Jennifer!
+11 votes
I’ll keep trying to contribute to the project and my branches as best I can! Thank you all for what you are doing!  Happy New Year! kindly…….
by Dee Spencer-Carr G2G6 Mach 2 (22.5k points)
Thanks, Dee. Happy 2024 to you!
+11 votes
Count me in please!
by Naomi Van Tol G2G6 (8.6k points)
Thanks, Naomi!
+12 votes

Count me in, as well! (Btw, new year, new WikiID for me since I bungled the sign-up process last fall frown.)

- May (the artist formerly known as Martyn-1295)

by Kristen Stiefel G2G6 (8.0k points)
Thanks for the update. I'll make sure it's correct on the spreadsheet when I do the tallies. And thanks for the help :-)
You're doing great work, May!!
+11 votes
I'm in, as always :)
by Ambar Díaz G2G6 Mach 3 (36.5k points)
Thanks, Ambar!
+10 votes
400k is an exciting goal - and the 1880 Census project is such a great idea, which will propel us beyond that 400k goal! So, yes! I want to be a part of this!
by Bartley McRorie G2G6 Pilot (165k points)
Thanks, Bartley. I always love your enthusiasm!
+10 votes
Yes, please! I'm excited to see what we can do together in the new year.
by Sarah Turner G2G6 (8.1k points)
Me too. Thanks, Sarah!
+10 votes
I'd like to join the challenge! Great way to start 2024.

PS - I've added 14 profiles since 1/1/24.
by Karen Lee G2G6 (8.5k points)
edited by Karen Lee
Thanks, Karen! Do I need to add those 14 to the tally at the end of the month or did you use the tracker?
+10 votes
Count me in!  400K here we come!
by Katie Bryant G2G6 Mach 6 (61.2k points)

Yes! Thanks, Katiesmiley

+9 votes
I'm in!  I've begun already, building out family lines which are also on 1880 census records.
by Loretta Buckner G2G6 Mach 2 (21.1k points)
Awesome! thanks, Loretta.
+9 votes
I will do a few.

Will work on connecting branches and add to 6888 WAC profiles I created.

Thought i had connected 130+ profile usbh branch yesterday and then i found a mistake in the branch.
by S Stevenson G2G6 Pilot (251k points)
Oh no! That's the worst--when you spend a ton of time trying to connect a branch, then find out the genealogy is wrong. Thanks for all your help!

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