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LITCHFIELD HISTORICAL CELEBRATES BLACK HISTORY MONTH

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LITCHFIELD, CONN. — During February, the Litchfield Historical Society will hold weekly events to inform visitors the history of African Americans in Connecticut and Litchfield County and to explore Litchfield’s ties to the story of the Amistad. Weekly events will take place from 6:30 to 8 pm; the first three events will be Wednesday evenings at the Litchfield History Museum, 7 South Street. The last event will be at the Tapping Reeve House and Law School at 82 South Street on Wednesday, February 27.

The series begins February 6 with a program titled “The Legacy of the Amistad,” featuring a slide presentation by Judith Schiff, chief research archivist at Yale University and an expert on the Roger Sherman Baldwin and Amistad papers in the Yale library.

On February 13, two sisters — Alene Jackson Smith and Adeline Jackson Tucker — will tell about their personal search for their family’s history in a presentation on their new book, Live Labor Love: The History of a Northern Family 1700–1900. Smith and Tucker will relate the story of several branches of an African American family that lived in Litchfield and Dutchess Counties from the 1750s through the 1900s. The sisters will show photographs and copies of materials gathered in their genealogy search.

“Black Pioneers: Two Connecticut Clergy who led the way in the fight for Civil Rights” will be presented by Christopher L. Webber on February 20. Webber’s talk will feature two black ministers from his new book, A Year of American Saints. James W.C. Pennington preached at the black Congregational Church in Hartford and became the first president of the Union Missionary Society. This society raised the funds to pay for the Amistad’s crews’ return to Africa. Lemuel Haynes studied with Litchfield clergy after the American Revolution. He was the first African American ordained in a major American denomination.

The final event on February 27 will be a mock trial. Everyone can participate at some level in one of two court cases involving the Amistad. The story behind the Amistad and the legal issues involved will be discussed before the and mock trails begin. Guests will have the opportunity to assume the roles of prosecutor, defense lawyer, judge or witness.

Admission is free for museum members and $3 for nonmembers. Space is very limited and registration is required for all programs. To make a reservation or information, 860-567-4501.