Proving kinship to an enslaved man requires credible genealogical evidence

Evidence

“Have you found any proof of your relationship to Congo Renty?” Rick asked. “Any way to connect your great-grandfather Renty Thompson to the man in the daguerreotypes?” … This was the recurring question, and I knew I needed a professional genealogist to help fill it, someone with credibility to give me and my mother’s oral history credibility. — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots, 347