Witness Stones & Hard History
CAIS
Details
When : August 3rd - 4th, 2020
Where : Online
Topics : Connecticut History, Slavery, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Cost : $35
Description
A two-day CAIS Online Workshop on Slavery in Connecticut and the North with
Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries, Associate Professor History, Ohio State University
Rep. Patricia Wilson Pheanious and Dennis Culliton, The Witness Stones Project
10 am – 12 pm on August 3rd & 4th
Reflecting on what it means to be American in 2020 is uncomfortable and educators need guidance to help students sustain dialogues involving race and slavery. While it is difficult, it is also necessary to truly understand our history. Everything we are saying about the past affects how we are acting in the present moment. Our current national turbulence, with all of its anguish and rage, demonstrates the difficulty inherent to coming to grips with our history.
Workshop participants will leave these sessions with a framework, content, and language to bring this work to their curriculum in order to help students confront the cumulative dark legacies of slavery and racism in our history, and discover how this systemic racism shapes society today. Ultimately, this workshop will help participants find the people who have built your community, share their untold stories and commemorate their lives.
On August 3rd, Rep. Patricia Wilson Pheanious and Dennis Culliton of The Witness Stones Project will provide both a template for historical research and a lens through which we can view the history and the lives of enslaved individuals. With our country currently locked in a tumultuous reckoning to define what it means to be an American in 2020, the dialogue that is occurring is futile unless we know who we are. As Americans take down statues, the Witness Stones Project offers teachers and students a framework for installing memorials in honor of enslaved individuals.
On August 4th, Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries will share his expertise and help us begin the work of learning how to help students sustain dialogues involving race and slavery. Dr. Jeffries specializes in African American history and is an associate professor of history at Ohio State University. He is also the chair of the Teaching Hard History Advisory Board and a host of the podcast Teaching Hard History: American Slavery.
