A reporter's return to Africa

Last year, Deborah Berry returned to Angola.

She made the trip with Wanda Tucker, a woman believed to be the descendant of the first African Americans to arrive in the U.S. during the era of slavery. As Paste BN's civil rights reporter, she traveled with Tucker to see what she could learn about her family history, a process deprived of many Black Americans descended from enslaved people. These ancestors were not recorded in the history books. As a result, many Black Americans in the present struggle to define their past.

👋 Nicole Fallert here and welcome to Your Week, our newsletter exclusively for Paste BN subscribers (that's you!). February is Black History Month, and efforts like Berry's to help write the stories of Black Americans come into focus against the backdrop of a second Trump administration — a White House intent on policies that do not prioritize racial difference. We talk with Berry about her journey to Angola with Tucker, and how Paste BN is covering Black stories this month and beyond.

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Finding the roots of Black history

Wanda Tucker and Deborah Berry first visited Angola five years ago to trace Black history. When Tucker planned to return to the country in December 2024, Deborah Berry instantly knew she had to go with her. She wanted to see the progress made in connecting Black Americans, including Tucker, with their ancestors on the African continent. And this time, it wasn't an adventure through villages. It was a coordinated visit with the president of the United States.

Former President Joe Biden had invited Tucker on his trip to Lobito, Angola, the first by a sitting U.S. president to visit the African continent in more than a decade.

"It was a full circle moment," Berry said of the return, which inspired one of the stories in Paste BN's Roots Revealed series, which takes an exclusive look at how efforts to trace Black history are evolving. The series examines, in part, how innovations in recording oral histories and DNA tracing are changing the search for answers.

"The return to Angola was reminiscent of the first trip in a lot of ways, but it was surprising to hear a president point-blank point out the horrors of the legacy of slavery — on African soil. That stood out," she said. Fast-forward to February, and President Donald Trump is now in office. Berry will continue reporting, but now looking at how Black history is framed in this new administration. Her aim is not to focus on the politics, but how knowing who, or where, you come from impacts everyone.

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"People are still searching for a taste of where they come from," Berry said. "There are so many more ways to find out now, but the fact that people are still looking says a lot."

As the Trump administration pursues a platform that is anti-diversity, equity and inclusion, Berry is exploring what teaching Black history will look like moving forward.

"[Paste BN] aims to prioritize what Black history means for regular people," Berry said. "We try to make it useful for readers."

She wants to show Paste BN's readers that understanding this topic goes beyond partisanship, and is about a collective responsibility to tell stories.

"While each person's journey is different, Paste BN's journalism may offer a bit of inspiration to readers and suggest avenues they could try," Berry said, adding several Paste BN readers have told her the stories have helped them restart a search for their family roots: "These things matter, for all people, and not just in Black History Month. Any day, any month, any person."

Read Paste BN's Roots Revealed series:

• Her ancestors left in chains. She came back as a guest of the president.
• DNA testing can help Black Americans reclaim their identities and history.
• She hoped to learn more about her enslaved ancestors. A trip South revealed hard truths.
• Fire and angst: How an Africa trip reignited passions for teaching Black history in America.

Thank you

This Black History Month, I'll be taking the opportunity to dive into Paste BN's reporting to learn about this community. Thank you for supporting our journalism with your subscription. Our work wouldn't be possible without you. 

Best wishes, 

Nicole Fallert