The Quander Story: Preserving an American Legacy

The Quander Historical and Educational Society Inc. (QHES), led by its founder, author and historian Rohulamin Quander, is raising funds to underwrite the first publication of a comprehensive, detailed historical account of the internationally known Quander family, one of the oldest documented African American families in the country. The Quanders can trace their lineage almost 350 years to the 1670s in colonial Maryland. A branch of the family eventually came to be at Mount Vernon plantation in Virginia as the enslaved servants of President George Washington.

Featured three times in the Smithsonian Museum, the Quander family history has been highlighted in national and international exhibits, videos, audio recordings and print media throughout the United States, Europe, Ghana, and elsewhere over the past several decades. Yet, until now, nowhere has all this history been compiled in an easily-accessible format.

Rohulamin has dedicated years researching historical archives in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, bringing together a broad knowledge and record of the family story, as well as documenting the family’s oral history through which, in part, the family name was traced back to Ghana in West Africa. A recent Emmy Award-winning exposé entitled “I Am Quander” ("Finding Quander  "), produced by WUSA-TV 9 (Washington DC) and written and reported by Michael Quander, Jr., explores this journey of reconnection in detail.

Until now, there has been no primary single source encapsulating this fascinating, multi-century story. This narrative will tell the story of the Quanders over the generations, their successes and travails. Here is a family that has produced four U.S. Army generals, three of them West Point graduates; two Tuskegee Airmen serving in World War II, and the first national president of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Like many African American families, they have known the despair of involuntary enslavement. This powerful story of perseverance is an inspiration. NOW is the time that the Quander Family’s documented and distinguished history of sustained achievement must be shared with everyone.

Monies will be used to professionally edit and publish the 35-chapter manuscript, including copy and content editing, photographic editing, layout, and design, as well as for promotional efforts to present the book to public audiences that will be interested in knowing this story, once it becomes available.

As 2019 marks the 400th anniversary of the first captive Africans being sold into slavery in the British North American colony at Jamestown, Virginia, it is important that this poignant, inspiring, expressly American story be told.

Rohulamin Quander is a retired Senior Administrative Judge for the District of Columbia, and a 55-year member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.

The Quander Historical and Educational Society Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. Any financial contribution made to this campaign is tax-deductible.

Thank you for your kind consideration and generous support!