Nicka Smith

Nicka Smith is a professional photographer, speaker, host, and documentarian with more than 20 years of experience as a genealogist. She has extensive experience in African ancestored genealogy, reverse genealogy, and family reunion planning and execution. She is also an expert in genealogical research in the Northeastern Louisiana area, sharing genealogy with youth, documenting the ancestral journey, and employing the use of new technology in genealogy and family history research.

Nicka has diverse and varied experience in communications, with a background in publications, editing, graphic design, radio, and video production. She has edited and designed several volumes of family history that include narratives, photos, and genealogical information and has also transferred these things to an online environment. She is the host of BlackProGen LIVE, an innovative web show focused on people of color genealogy and family history.

She is a past board member of the California Genealogical Society (CGS) and the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California (AAGSNC), member of AAHGS Memphis/Mid South and the Southern California Genealogical Society, and former chair of the Outreach and Education Committee for AAGSNC, and former project manager for the Alameda County, CA Youth Ancestral Project where more than 325 youth were taught the value of family history.  Nicka is also the family historian and lead researcher for the Atlas family of Lake Providence, East Carroll, Louisiana.

Nicka's Upcoming Live Webinars (2)

Fri, September 13 2024: 18:00 UTC
Finding John Lee: The Saga Continues
Fri, September 13 2024: 18:00 UTC
Learn how DNA reconnected a family living on two continents (North America and Australia), and how the Underground Railroad, the Freedmen’s Bureau, a legal battle within the slaveholding family, and Broadway musicals became central threads to their dynamic story.
Learn how DNA reconnected a family living on two continents (North America and Australia), and how the Underground Railroad, the Freedmen’s Bureau, a legal battle within the slaveholding family, and Broadway musicals became central threads to their dynamic story.
Fri, September 13 2024: 18:00 UTC
Fri, December 6 2024: 19:00 UTC
The Trifecta: Giving Light to the Lives of the Formerly Enslaved
Fri, December 6 2024: 19:00 UTC
Take a deep dive through case studies to learn how Civil War Pensions, the Freedmen’s Bureau, and Probates/Successions come together to reveal the pre-emancipation, post emancipation, and 20th Century lives of the formerly enslaved and their families.
Take a deep dive through case studies to learn how Civil War Pensions, the Freedmen’s Bureau, and Probates/Successions come together to reveal the pre-emancipation, post emancipation, and 20th Century lives of the formerly enslaved and their families.
Fri, December 6 2024: 19:00 UTC

Nicka's Webinars (17)