The Black Belt of Alabama DNA Project was intended to use DNA as a tool for African Americans researching their central Alabama roots. Earlier members who can trace their ancestry to Dallas, Marengo, Perry or Wilcox counties (or to areas that border these counties) in the period from about 1840 through 1880 were welcomed to participate invited by B.J. Smothers former Project Administrator. The Black Belt of Alabama project was sponsored by the Black Belt African American Genealogical and Historical Society (BBAAGHS), headquartered in Selma, Dallas County, Alabama and by AfriGeneas.com, the premier African American genealogy website which to owe gratitude for the formation of the project. The project is now connected with the African American Griot Legacy Project (AAGLP) with Charles Wilson as Project Administrator.
In the inception of the Black Belt of Alabama DNA Project, it states, "Surname projects are often meaningless for African Americans whose family bonds may have been broken during the Enslavement Period or whose families experienced one or more name changes after Emancipation. In addition, many African Americans--as many as 30% by some estimates--have European Y-DNA but have not been able to find the progenitors of their European lines. In these cases, researchers may have been able to trace their ancestry by traditional means back to the first census after Emancipation in which their ancestors were identified by surnames and then hit the proverbial "1870 Brick Wall"." The project was designed to help to scale such barriers and now continue the work of breaking down any brick walls connected to the horrific Trans Atlantic Slave Trade. .