André Kearns is a genealogist, author, speaker, and founder and CEO of Black Ancestries, a company dedicated to helping families of African descent uncover, celebrate, and preserve their family histories. A nationally recognized voice in African American genealogy, André is passionate about recovering stories that have been overlooked, forgotten, or deliberately erased from the historical record.
Over the past two decades, André has traced his own family history from present-day Washington, D.C., to some of the earliest Africans in colonial Virginia, Revolutionary War Patriots, free people of color, and formerly enslaved families who helped build communities, institutions, and businesses during Reconstruction. These discoveries inspired Finding Cornerstone Stories: Uncovering Inspiration in Your Family’s History, a guide to identifying the powerful family stories that shape identity, purpose, and belonging.
André serves as Vice President of the National Genealogical Society’s Board of Directors and chairs its Development Committee, helping guide the strategy and growth of one of the nation’s leading family history organizations. He is also a member of The District of Columbia Society, Sons of the American Revolution, a charter member of the Society of the First African Families of English America, and a member of the Sons and Daughters of the United States Middle Passage. His research has contributed to the American Ancestors 10 Million Names initiative, including the creation of the Cedar Grove Plantation Database, which helps document the lives of individuals who were enslaved in North Carolina.
A sought-after speaker, André has presented at leading genealogy and history conferences, including RootsTech, the National Genealogical Society Family History Conference, and the African American Historical and Genealogical Society Conference. Through his lectures, media appearances, and writing, he encourages audiences to see family history not simply as a search for names and dates, but as a source of inspiration, resilience, and connection.
His work has been featured by The Washington Post, USA Today, National Geographic, Fox 5 DC, WTOP News, and numerous genealogy podcasts and media outlets. He is also a participant in BYUtv’s Relative Race, reflecting his commitment to making genealogy accessible, engaging, and transformative for a broad audience.
Before founding Black Ancestries, André built a distinguished career in business and marketing leadership, including senior roles at Amazon Web Services and other global technology companies. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
André lives in the Washington, D.C., area with his wife, Nadine, and their two sons.
June 2027 Instructor – 2027-08 Inclusive Genealogy: Navigating Complex Family Trees