By right of descent, a place that is yours.
Membership in the Sons & Daughters of the United States Middle Passage belongs to those who trace their line to an ancestor enslaved in America before 1865. We give you the archive, the tools, and the guidance to prove your lineage — and a society to belong to once you have.
One line decides it.
You are eligible if you are 18 or older and can prove lineal descent from a man, woman, or child of African descent who was forced into slavery in the United States before the 13th Amendment (December 1865).
Four steps, guided the whole way.
A guided digital process — with the research system built in.
Find your ancestor
Search 354,004 records to locate the enslaved or free-Black ancestor your family descends from.
Uses · The ArchiveDocument your line
Build your Pedigree Chart, Family Group Sheets, and Proof Argument in a guided folder. Attach census, probate, church, and Bureau records as evidence.
Uses · Lineage PortalSubmit for review
A registrar checks your Proof Argument and evidence citations. Follow every status in your portal.
Uses · Registrar ReviewBe inducted
Pay your dues, receive the Society's insignia, and join a local chapter. Your verified ancestor enters the permanent registry.
Uses · Membership & ChaptersThe research system behind every application.
One search looks across the 1830 free-Black registers and the Freedmen's Bureau at once — the same records that anchor a Proof Argument.
354,004 records searchable — with Chronicling America newspapers and state free-Black registers on the way. Every verified member line makes the archive deeper.
Take your place in the National Society.
Descent is confirmed by a registrar before induction. Dues keep the Society and its archive growing.
- Full archive & research system access
- Guided lineage portal + registrar support
- The Society's insignia upon induction
- Annual Conference & Awards Banquet
- Charter or join a local chapter
- Voice and vote in the Society
Ages 18+. Lineal descent verified before membership.
- Junior membership for descendants under 18
- Associate standing for allies & friends
- Archive access & society events
A phase-two membership class.
- Everything in Legatee Membership
- Funds new source ingestion
- Named in the annual honor roll
- Two reserved banquet seats
A gift that keeps the archive growing.
A national society, rooted locally.
Members charter and join chapters to do the work where they live — days of remembrance, service, cemetery preservation, and shared research. One national standard; many local homes.
Conference & Awards Banquet
Where research becomes reunion — scholarship, remembrance, the induction of new members, and the honoring of the line.