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As we near the end of the year 2009, the African American Genealogy Examiner would like to look back and remember the accomplishments of the past year.

This column has previously focused on African-American genealogy blogs, in the articles Shout-outs to African-American Genealogy Blogs and More shout-outs to African-American genealogy blogs. A third edition soon forthcoming will spotlight several new genealogy blogs. The responsible genealogist, however, would be advised to learn more about United States history, including how it affected African-Americans. History blogs are a vital source for keeping up with current perspectives as well as newly available historical resources, many of which may provide genealogically useful information.

This column previously addressed the importance of the 1870 U. S. census in African-American research. As noted in that article, this was the first federal census after the end of the Civil War, and therefore the first record group to record personal information about former slaves nationwide. It was not, however, the earliest record group to do so in many localities. Many similar record groups were created that provide information about former slaves between 1865 and 1870.

The PBS program "American Experience" is a wonderful series of documentaries about the history of the United States. The series also has a remarkable online presence, often creating unique sites for each episode of the series.

Taking their inspiration from National Novel Writing Month ("NaNoWriMo"), which challenges its members to write a complete novel in a month, a group of bloggers has issued the "NaBloPoMo" challenge - for bloggers to post at least once every day during the entire month of November. There is a social website dedicated to the site, providing inspiration and promotion opportunities for members' blogs. Visit the site (http://www.nablopomo.com/) for more information.

From CSI to The Maury Povich Show, DNA and DNA testing has become a part of American popular culture. But what is DNA?\nIn simple terms, DNA is a string of proteins that contain coded blueprints for our bodies. It tells our bodies how to grow. We inherit our DNA from our parents, which is where its genealogical value comes in.

AllYouCanRead, a massive media directory of 22,800 local and international magazines and newspapers from all over the world. Over 200 countries are represented at AllYouCanRead.com.

Tom Pearson of the Missouri State Genealogical Society says: "Why would a genealogist be interested in this website? Because it lists currently-published newspapers in every state by: 1. City 2. County 3. and Topic: Agricultural Newspapers Christian Newspapers Alternative Newsweekly Newspapers Jewish Newspapers Business Newspapers Shopping Newspapers College Newspapers African American Newspapers Top Newspapers Hispanic Newspapers Ethnic Community Newspapers It also lists currently published magazines by category."

In an earlier entry, this column reported on several resources available for online African-American research in Virginia. Many more resources are now available, some becoming so just in the past three months since that report, necessitating another visit to the subject.