Why was Rootspedia created?

The goal of creating this website was to have a place for people to learn about African American traditional beliefs. A place to preserve our history and knowledge. A starting place for folks who’ve been disconnected from their roots who wish to reconnect. Lastly, a lens on how we view the world through our traditional beliefs. A modern and accessible encyclopedia on all things Afro-american spirituality with something lil extra on the side.

What inspired Rootspedia?

I’ve always felt pulled to the mystical side of things. I’d love to go to the school library as a kid to pick out books like ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’ or tales of spiritual beings like Medusa and Anansi. Anything that talked about what could be hiding under normalcy, in the peripheral of society had me stuck in awe and wonder.

This, however, always brought me to a question. Where are the stories of my people? I’ve read tales and lores from cultures across the globe, and that of the mass majority in the US. Yet, I could not find any that were uniquely African American, or at least none easily accessible to a kid with not much access to the internet. Eventually, after several years in my adulthood, I started to find our tales and lore.

I found the niche group of people on the internet that also felt the calling to learn more about our past, despite it being an uphill battle of trying to get access to obscure research papers and books hidden behind university paywalls. Yet, despite this, we still walked the path sharing personal family knowledge, texts, and even comparing too our diasporic and mainland cousins to piece our stories together.

I created this website as an encyclopedia for myself and others to have a resource that is readily accessible for other African Americans to learn about our spiritual history that is usually buried. To break down, analyze our stories, and observe & document the new stories we create.

Welcome to Rootspedia, our inheritance.

-Roots Scholar

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