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.

Friday, June 19, 2015

Reflecting on the Past and Present 150 Years After #Juneteenth

June 19, 2015 marks the 150th anniversary of “Emancipation Day,” the symbolic ending of slavery in the United States, in which the last of enslaved persons were freed. Since 1865, the day has been celebrated as "Juneteenth" a combination of June and 19. Despite its historical significance, Juneteenth is not largely celebrated nor remembered. In "Juneteenth is for everyone" Kennet C. Davis writes: 

"Still, 150 years after its birth, Juneteenth remains largely unacknowledged on America’s national calendar. Many Americans are unaware of its existence, or its roots. Sadly, that ignorance of Juneteenth reflects a deeper issue: the continued existence of two histories, black and white, separate and unequal."

                                         Emmanuel A.M.E. church in Charleston, South Carolina

The 150 anniversary of Juneteenth comes days after an act of terror took the lives of nine individuals in the historic Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. The church was founded by Denmark Vesey a former enslaved person who plotted a rebellion in 1822. Vesey served as partial inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe's second anti-slavery novel, Dred. 

What do you think Davis means when he writes about the "continued existence of two histories"? What does Juneteenth mean in 2015? In light of recent tragedies and acts of violence against the black community, how can we work to recognize the layers of American history and work to address its implications?
































What does Juneteenth mean in 2015?
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