AAHGS Announces 2026 National Award and International Book Award Honorees

AAHGS Awards recognize outstanding service, scholarship, and literary contributions to African-ancestored history and genealogy.

WASHINGTON, D C, DC, UNITED STATES, October 22, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc. (AAHGS) proudly announces its 2026 National Award recipients and the authors and works recognized by the International AAHGS Books Awards^® (IABA^®). Together, these honors celebrate the individuals, volunteers, chapters, and authors who advance the preservation and sharing of African-ancestored history, genealogy, and cultural heritage.

2026 National Award Recipients
• James Dent Walker Award: Dr. Stanton F. Biddle (posthumously)
• Paul Edward Sluby, Sr. and Jean Sampson-Scott Meritorious Achievement Awards: Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-C.M. Boxley
• Marcia M. Greenlee History Award: Leland Owen Clark
• Elizabeth Clark-Lewis Genealogy Award: William O. Ritchie Jr., PhD
• Distinguished National Service Awards: Taneya Koonce and Tamu M. Taylor
• President’s Awards: Dawnya Lindsey and Jeanette Madison
• On-The-Spot Awards: Stephen Townson, Stephanie Powers, Dr. Tamiquia T. Simon, and Michelle Evans Oliver
• Chapter of the Year: Sandhills Chapter, North Carolina

Certificates of Appreciation are presented to the 2025 Elections Committee: Brenda Williams, Stephanie Woods Miller, Johnetta Miner, Clevlyn Anderson, and Bettina Y. Falwell; and the Programs & Education Committee, Research Facilitators: Dr. Tamiquia T. Simon, Kelly McCoy, Doris A. Wright, and TaMara Powell.

2026 International AAHGS Books Awards^® Honorees
The IABA^® program celebrates authors whose works expand the visibility and understanding of African-ancestored narratives through children’s literature, young adult literature, historical fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.

The 2026 recognized authors and titles include:
• Dr. Shelley Viola Murphy: Jay-Jay the Giraffe and Looking for the Murphy Farm (Tapped Potential Publishing)
• Rahimah Rahim: Daughter of Timbuktu
• Carol A. Baldwin: Half-Truths (Monarch Educational Press)
• Dr. Dana D. Williams: My Family of Elders: Reflective Short Stories and the Lessons Learned (Xulon Press)
• Denise R. Hayman: A Black Sailor and Soldiers: “Thay Might Get A Hanceum Livehud For Themselves And There’s”
• Courtney Thornton: The Sun Knows Her Name (Weird Disciple Publishing)
• J. C. Moore: The Light-Bearer and the Darkness: Ancestors’ Shame (KenCee Publishers)
• David J. Mason: The Self-Liberation of Parson Sykes – Novella (HMG ePublishing, LLC)
• Sarah Valentine: Decoding the Devil: Black Women Codebreakers and the Secret War Against Stalin’s Bomb (HarperCollins)
• Daniel E. Atkinson, PhD: The Rediscovery of George “Nash” Walker: The Price of Black Stardom in Jim Crow (SUNY Press)
• Andrea R. Martin: Caroline’s Claim: The Remarkable Story of Calhoun Street
• Michael Carter, Jr.: Africulture: How the Principles, Practices, Plants, and People of African Descent Have Shaped American Agriculture (Chelsea Green Publishing)
• Stephen Gray: One Voice Of A People
• Christine B. Carpenter: John Henry, Jim Crow & Me
AAHGS congratulates all honorees and thanks the volunteers, researchers, and authors whose work helps preserve important histories and share them with future generations.

About AAHGS
Founded in Washington, D.C., in 1977, the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc. is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving African-ancestored family history, genealogy, and cultural diversity by teaching research techniques and disseminating information throughout the community.

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AFRO-AMERICAN HISTORICAL AND Genealogical Society, Inc.
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Written By: EIN Presswire