Black History Month
At The Hermitage
Every February, The Hermitage celebrates African-American history and culture while paying tribute to the enslaved community who lived at The Hermitage. Details for 2013’s Black History Month at The Hermitage are below!
“Emancipation and the Meaning of Freedom”
February 2013
On January 1, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring that "all persons held as slaves within any States, or designated part of the State, the people whereof shall be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” The Emancipation Proclamation did not free all slaves in the United States, but only freed slaves in areas in rebellion. Union States and those states of the Confederacy in Union Hands at the time (Tennessee, West Virginia, southern Louisiana, and sections of Virginia) were not addressed in the Emancipation Proclamation.
The Emancipation Proclamation was used as a military measure to cripple the South’s resources. Limited in its practical impact, the proclamation pushed border states toward emancipation and encouraged slaves to escape across Union lines as northern troops came near their homes. It also enabled blacks to join the Union army. The Emancipation Proclamation did not free all slaves within the United States immediately, but certainly changed the nature of the Civil War and ultimately contributed to Union victory.
Emancipation and the Meaning of Freedom is the theme of The Hermitage’s 2013 Black History Month Series. Each program of the series will explore this theme. As a whole, the series will bring participants a greater understanding of Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation, the lives of slaves in the United States, the American Civil War, as well as the experiences of the Hermitage’s enslaved community as they encountered emancipation. Join us this February!
Storytelling with Donna Washington
February 2, 2013
1:00 p.m.
Andrew Jackson Visitor Center Auditorium
North Carolina storyteller Donna Washington will join us in Nashville for an afternoon of storytelling. An important tradition in African-American families throughout history, great stories allow family history to be passed along, questions answered, and important life lessons to be taught. During this program, ideas of freedom and emancipation will be explored through the storytelling tradition.
Donna Washington attended Northwestern University and was involved with numerous theatrical productions. It was at this time that storytelling reemerged as something she wanted to learn more about. In the four years she was there, she began to make storytelling a central part of her performance life.
She has three published books to her credit, A Pride of African Tales, The Story of Kwanzaa, and A Big Spooky House and is a multiple award winning recording artist. She received a 2002 Parent’s Choice Award for her first independent recording “Live and Learn: The Exploding Frog and Other Stories.”
For more information about Ms. Washington, visit her website at http://www.dlwstoryteller.com/bio.html
Following Ms. Washington's presentation, please join our Director of Education James Yasko and Curatorial Assistant Ashley Bouknight for an interactive walking tour of the Hermitage property. During this tour you'll visit sites important to telling the story of the enslaved community at The Hermitage and learn about individuals who performed important contributions to the operation of the farm.
A Celebration of Music & Culture
February 7, 2013
6:00 p.m.
Andrew Jackson Visitor Center Auditorium
Join us for a reception celebrating the opening of “From Slavery to Freedom: Stories of the Hermitage Enslaved Community”, a new exhibit at The Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson. A program celebrating African-American music & cultural traditions will follow at 7 p.m. featuring performances by the Tennessee State University Meistersingers and SistaStyle.
The original Tennessee State University Meistersingers were formed in the 1940s under the direction of Dr. Eddie Goins, Professor of Voice and director of the University Choir. Only outstanding students in voice were chosen to become members. Consequently, the original Meistersingers consisted of twelve to sixteen members. They were the Ambassadors for the University, performing for special functions in the state of Tennessee as well as traveling to other states. This group continued to gain popularity for several years and in the late 1950s dissolved. After the death of Dr. Goins in 1979, the Meistersingers emerged in his memory.
Most of the singers in the Meistersingers are from disciplines other than music. The ensembles take pride in announcing that they perform a wide variety of choral literature, from the renaissance to spirituals. It is their hope that this will offer their audiences a rich musical experience to cherish and remember.
SistaStyle Productions was founded in 2001 for the purpose of providing opportunities for actors, writers, and directors in the areas of theatre, film and television. SistaStyle Productions has produced numerous productions in the Nashville area, New York City, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Kentucky and other areas.
“Emancipation and the Meaning of Freedom”
Panel Discussion
February 16, 2013
1:00 p.m.
Andrew Jackson Visitor Center Auditorium
Join us for an informative discussion on emancipation and the meaning of freedom. An esteemed panel of scholars will explore President Abraham Lincoln’s issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, the impact it had on the enslaved community in the South including their varied experiences with freedom, and the how the slave population living at The Hermitage experienced emancipation.
Panelists:
Dr. Thomas Mackey of the University of Louisville
Thomas C. Mackey received his undergraduate degree from Beloit College in 1978 and in 1984 earned his Ph.D. in United States Legal and Constitutional History from Rice University. He has taught at Michigan State University, the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Kansas State University, and in 1991 joined the University of Louisville. Currently, he is a Professor of History as well as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville. With specialization in United States Legal and Constitutional History, 19th century, and the Civil War era, Mackey lectures frequently on Abraham Lincoln, emancipation, and the Civil War.
The Ohio State University Press published his third book, Pursuing Johns, in 2005. He is at work on To Think Anew, Act Anew: Public Policy and Judicial Voices of the Civil War Era to be published by the University of Tennessee Press.
Dr. Learotha Williams of Tennessee State University
Learotha Williams, Jr., Ph.D is an assistant professor of history at Tennessee State University in Nashville, TN, where he teaches courses in African American history, Civil War and Reconstruction, and Public History. Dr. Williams has worked in the public sector as a historic site specialist for the Florida Department of State Division of Historical Resources in Tallahassee, Florida, and has served as a trustee for the Historic Savannah Foundation in Savannah , Georgia. He has written on the education of freed African Americans in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War and has recently completed a biography of black abolitionist and former Florida Secretary of State Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs c.1826-1874. His current research projects include an examination of slavery and emancipation in the Georgia low country and he has been busy creating an oral history of North Nashville.
Marsha Mullin of The Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson
Marsha Mullin has been with The Hermitage since 1986 and a museum curator since 1976. She holds master’s degrees from the University of Notre Dame in American Studies and from Texas Tech University in Museum Studies, as well as a BA in History from Indiana University. At The Hermitage, she supervises the Museum Services Division (Archaeology, Collections, Education, Guest Services, Interpretation, and Public Programs). She has led several major Hermitage projects including the interpretation and visitor experience project, the Hermitage mansion interior restoration project, and a series of weeklong teacher workshops.
Honoring The Hermitage’s Enslaved Community
February 23, 2013
1:00 p.m.
The Hermitage Church & Enslaved Memorial
A wreath-laying ceremony will be held at the Hermitage Enslaved Memorial to honor the enslaved community who lived at The Hermitage. Following the ceremony, join us for a presentation by Curatorial Assistant Ashley Bouknight in the Hermitage Church on “Telling the Story of Slavery at the Hermitage.”
Ashley Bouknight received a Masters of Arts in Public History and a Certificate in Museum Management from the University of South Carolina and a Bachelor of Arts in Historic Preservation and Community Planning from the College of Charleston. She is currently enrolled in the Ph.D. Public History Program at Middle Tennessee State University specializing in African American public history. Prior to her work at The Hermitage, she served as a community educator and museum consultant for various museums, historic sites, and neighborhood history projects in the southeast. Her areas of focus are collections management, diversity in museums, and community outreach.
A special thanks to our sponsor for The Hermitage's Black History month series for 2013!
In 2011, The Hermitage was honored to be named a Freedom Station by the National Underground
Railroad Freedom Center during our Black History Month celebrations.
