Building Bridges to Common Ground:
Resilience, Remembrance, Honor and Equity
September 5 - 7th
A multiple day
event
From September 5th through 7th, 2019,
Historic Sotterley will hold a three-day program continuing the 2019 theme and
intuitive of Building Bridges to Common Ground: Resilience, Remembrance, Honor
and Equity. Speakers, panelists, archeologists, historians, and Sotterley
descendants will bring stories and experiences of their collective research and
memory of ancestors, both enslaved and free, to modern relevance.
This program is made possible in part by a generous grant from Maryland Humanities.
Thursday, September 5, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.
Interpreting
Difficult History at James Madison's Montpelier
Elizabeth Chew, Vice President of Museum
Programs, James Madison’s Montpelier, will discuss The Mere Distinction of Colour, the ground-breaking exhibition
on slavery at Montpelier. Winner of six national awards, the exhibition
considers slavery in the founding era, the lived experience of enslaved
families on James Madison’s plantation, and the legacies of slavery in today’s society.
It was organized by Montpelier staff in partnership with descendants of those
enslaved by the Madison family.
Friday, September 6, 2019 - Registration
9:00 am
10:00 am - 12:00
pm Session: Power in the Name
Dr. Kenneth Cohen, Curator at the National
American History Museum, speaks to colonial and early America’s naming practices
among the ruling class and place names of indigenous peoples. TBD, African
Studies from TBD speaks to African naming practices of peoples affected by the
trans-Atlantic slave trade, and African American naming during slavery to the
present day.
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Lunch available for
purchase or bring your own.
1:00 pm - 1:45 pm
Performance/Discussion
Janice Curtis Green, a living history
performer and American storyteller, brings Harriet Tubman to life in Walk a Mile In My Shoes.
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Session: Rise to the East
Dr. Julia King and Dr. Elizabeth Chew,
discuss burial sites and archeology’s importance and relevance to places of
history, cultural justice, and remembrance.
Saturday, September 7, 2019 - Registration
9:00 am
10:00 am -12:00
pm Session: Descendant Panel discussion
Sotterley Descendants of owners and enslaved
discuss their stories, challenges and Historic Preservation. Facilitated by
Merideth Taylor and John Felicitas.
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Lunch available for
purchase or bring your own.
1:00 pm - 1:45 pm
Interactive Performance
Janice Curtis Green, a living history
performer and American storyteller celebrates life with Fun with Animals and Family Folktales. Listen to stories for the
young and the young at heart. Relive a time when animals walked upright, talked
to each other and honored Mother Nature. Hear tales of how we got over. Enjoy
tales traditional and contemporary stories with songs and audience
participation.
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm Session
Zachary R. Wood, author and Ted talk
speaker, presents: Uncensored, free
speech, race, and dissenting opinions.
Programs and speakers are subject to change.
