Historians turn to ordinary folks for info on slavery

Emory University researchers have embarked on an admirable historical project: to learn more about the names of some 9,500 Africans carried on slave ships on the Atlantic, so they can better knit together the broader history of the millions of men, women and children who were abducted and sold into captivity.

The names are an accident of history.

In the first half of the 19th century, the British and others intercepted many slave ships and freed the prisoners — first, making detailed registries of their identities.

The result is a rare list of the original African names of thousands of would-be slaves (the name Obama, for example, appears twice)....