The “Shared History” webinar tells of families linked via slavery and local efforts to learn about the lives of the enslaved on Shelter Island.
It’s part of the Necessary Bridges series created in response to the renewed call this summer for an end to systemic racial injustice. The brainchild of the Shelter Island Health & Wellness Alliance, Necessary Bridges presents talks about race with a focus on local engagement.
The alliance, along with Sylvester Manor Educational Farm and the Shelter Island Public Library, are co-sponsors of the next webinar, “Shared History.” It takes place Friday, November 13, at 7 PM through the library’s Zoom account.
To join, register at shelterislandpubliclibrary.org at least 30 minutes before the start.
Sylvester Manor Curator/Archivist Donnamarie Barnes will moderate the presentation that features Shelter Islander Ann Banks (author and founder of the website Confederates In My Closet) and Karen Orozco Gutierrez of Iowa talking about their ancestral connection through slavery in Alabama.
Barnes will also discuss her work uncovering the lives of the enslaved on Shelter Island.
This is the second webinar in the Necessary Bridges series. The first took place on August 28 to mark the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have dream speech” during the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
That talk featured local residents speaking about the impact of racial injustice on their lives. You can watch a recording of that 90-minute conversation on the library’s YouTube channel.
Image courtesy confederatesinmycloset.com
