Welcome to the conversation!


Welcome to the conversation!

Harriet Beecher Stowe's (1811-1896) best-selling anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), made her the most famous American woman of the 19th century and galvanized the abolition movement before the Civil War.

The Stowe Center is a 21st-century museum and program center using Stowe's story to inspire social justice and positive change.

The Salons at Stowe programs are a forum to connect the challenging issues (race, gender and class) that impelled Stowe to write and act with the contemporary face of those same issues. The Salon format is based on a robust level of audience participation, with the explicit goal of promoting civic engagement. Recent topics included: Teaching Acceptance; Is Prison the New Slavery; Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North; Creativity and Change; Race, Gender and Politics Today; How to be an Advocate

This blog will expand the reach of these community conversations to the online audience. Add your posts and comments to keep the conversation going! Commit to action by clicking HERE to stay up to date on Salon and social justice news.

For updates on Stowe Center programs and events, sign up for our enews at http://harrietbeecherstowe.org/email.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

In lieu of a June Salon, check out our May 10, 2012 Salon on YouTube!

Although we did not have a Salon this month, you can still enjoy a lively discussion and conversation! Thanks to the Connecticut Commission on Children, our May 10, 2012 Salon, "Stereotypes: Designed to Degrade," is available on YouTube in three segments (below). Featured guests, Elaine Zimmerman (Executive Director of the Connecticut Commission on Children) and Robin McHaelen (Executive Director of True Colors, Inc.) joined us for a discussion around stereotypes and bulling. Enjoy the Salon and be sure to leave comments on this blog to share your thoughts, ideas, and efforts to take action!

You can also read the event recap on the Salons at Stowe Blog Stereotypes and Bullying post.





Thursday, June 20, 2013

World Refugee Day panel on Friday, June 21, 2013 at Hartford Public Library

June 20, 2013, World Refugee Day, was established by the United Nations to honor the courage, strength and determination of women, men and children who are forced to flee their homes under threat of persecution, conflict and violence. Today, there are more than 43.7 million refugees and displaced people around the world, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) asks the world community to come together to take action and take part in World Refugee Day.

You can take action by attending a special immigrant advisory group session tomorrow, Friday, June 21, from 2:00-3:00pm at Hartford Public Library. The panel will feature refugee youth who will share their challenges and high points of settling in Hartford. The program will end with a reception honoring Andy Hart's photographic celebration of Hartford's immigrant communities. Those interested in attending should RSVP to Homa Naficy at naficy@hplct.org.

All are encouraged to visit the Hartford Public Library website to learn more about refugee resettlement efforts right here in Hartford.


On this World Refugee Day, the UN Refugee Agency encourages you to watch and share Angelina Jolie's public service announcement.


Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Riverwood Poets for Social Justice on Sunday, June 23, 2013

This Sunday, June 23, the Stowe Center will welcome the Riverwood Poets for Social Justice for an afternoon of poetry readings. This free program will be from 2-4pm in the Stowe Visitor Center. Come to hear the work of these talented poets and be inspired to take action! Click HERE for more information and to read about the four featured poets.

While you're onsite, be sure to take advantage of Connecticut Historic Gardens Day. From 12-5pm, stroll through Stowe's gardens at the peak of their beauty and take a self-guided walking tour of the grounds. Tours of the Stowe House will also be available (visit www.harrietbeecherstowe.org for admission prices).

Don't miss this inspiring afternoon at the Stowe Center!

Riverwood Poets for Social Justice
Clockwise from top left: John L. Stanizzi, Gina Athena Ulysse, Margaux Hayesand, and Richard McGhee III.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

"Question Bridge" exhibit at YMCA Center closing June 15

At our April 11, 2013 Salon Have We Overcome, we learned about the Question Bridge exhibit on display at the Wilson-Gray Youth and Family YMCA Center in Hartford. This trans-media art project which seeks to represent and redefine Black male identity in America is in its final days and will be closing this Saturday, June 15. Be sure to visit the YMCA at 444 Albany Avenue before this nationally acclaimed exhibit leaves Hartford!

 
Through video mediated question and answer exchange, diverse members of this "demographic" bridge economic, political, geographic, and generational divisions.