The Black Belt of Alabama DNA Project now connected to the African American Griot Legacy Project (AAGLP) was intended to use DNA as a tool for African Americans researching their central Alabama roots. It started with earlier members who can trace their male (Y-DNA) or female (MtDNA) ancestry to Dallas, Marengo, Perry or Wilcox counties (or to areas that border these counties) in the period from about 1840 through 1880. It continues to focus in this research while at the same time connecting to the broader research of the African American Legacy Project breaking down brick walls as a result of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade.