Fairhaven Neighborhood  News

  • About Us
    • Advertising Info
    • Contact
  • Town Meetings
    • Selectboard
    • Planning Board
  • Latest News
    • Fairhaven
    • Acushnet
    • This Week’s Issue
    • Latest Updates
  • Legal Notices
  • Events
  • Opinions

Millicent Friends to offer Black History talks

January 25, 2023 by Staff Writer

Conversations about Black History

During Black History Month, the Friends of the Millicent Library is pre­senting informal talks and discus­sions about Black people in Massachusetts and Rhode Island who changed history. We will talk about the realities of northern slavery and the challenges that continued after emancipation. The conversations will be led by Beth Luey, a Fairhaven resident who has written about these fascinating historical figures. The talks will begin at 6:30 and last about an hour, at the Millicent Library, 45 Center St., Fairhaven, in the auditori­um (use Walnut Street entrance).

• Monday, February 6: Elizabeth Freeman (“Mumbet”). “Bet,” en­slaved in the Sheffield home of Colonel John Ashley, sued for her freedom in 1781. She won, effectively ending slavery in the Commonwealth, and went on to become a much-respected midwife, healer, and property owner. 

• Wednesday, February 15: Sojourner Truth. Born enslaved in upstate New York, the young woman who later took the name Sojourner Truth worked as a domestic servant until New York State’s gradual emancipation law freed her in 1827. She became an evangelical preacher and a nationally known orator speaking for emancipation, women’s rights, and human rights more broadly. 

• Wednesday, February 22: Samuel Harrison. Born free in Philadelphia in 1818, Harrison became a shoe­maker and minister in Pittsfield. In 1863, he became the chaplain of the Massachusetts Fifty-Fourth Regiment, and the symbol for equal pay for Black soldiers. 

• Monday, February 27: Elleanor Eldridge. Of African and Narragan­sett ancestry, Elleanor Eldridge began working as a domestic ser­vant as a small child around 1790. Developing skills and entrepre­neurial instincts, she started her own business and began buying real estate in Warwick and Provi­dence. When dishonest business­men and politicians colluded to seize her property, she went to court— paying her legal fees with the income from her autobiography. 

•••

Click here to download the 1/26/23 issue: 01-26-23 Snow

Support local journalism, donate to the Neighb News with PayPal

Filed Under: Announcements

  • Archives
166 Dogwood St. Fairhaven, MA 02719 · 508-979-5593
© 2016 Fairhaven Neighborhood News. All rights reserved
Web Design by Spectrum Marketing Group
Keep your local news local

Copyright © 2023 · Outreach Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

MENU
  • About Us
    • Advertising Info
    • Contact
  • Town Meetings
    • Selectboard
    • Planning Board
  • Latest News
    • Fairhaven
    • Acushnet
    • This Week’s Issue
    • Latest Updates
  • Legal Notices
  • Events
  • Opinions