“This Fourth [of] July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.” In Rochester, New York, on July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass excoriated the nation for its hypocrisy, brutality, and arrogance in an Independence Day oration that still stings. What arguments did he make? What rhetorical skills did he display? How did he … Continued
How did the Union and the Confederacy explain what they were fighting for to the rest of the world? How did foreign politicians and intellectuals interpret the War? And what role did foreigners play in the conflict? This seminar addresses these and other questions as it places the Civil War in a global perspective. Through … Continued
In 1845, Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave compared slavery to a “tomb” from which he resurrected himself through forcible resistance to a Maryland slave-breaker named Edward Covey. In 1901, the most influential post-Civil War slave narrative, Booker T. Washington’s Up from Slavery, referred to “the school of American … Continued
How should we define the Underground Railroad? What role did the fugitive crisis play in the coming of the Civil War? Why do so many people continue to rely on folklore when describing the operations of the Underground Railroad? This webinar will get beyond myth and legend to address these and other questions. It will … Continued
Does the recent call for reparations by several Democratic presidential candidates signal a new openness to an old idea? Although demands for reparations for slavery, Jim Crow, and their legacies have been dismissed as costly, divisive, and unfair, African American activists and intellectuals from the 19th century to the 21st have often expressed their political … Continued
This webinar will introduce you to the documents and primary sources that put George Washington, James Madison, and Abraham Lincoln in conversation on their perspectives of slavery. Each segment will feature a HICDL Content Provider, who will curate and share OER materials for use throughout the humanities curriculum. Lead experts include: Heather Nice, Director of … Continued
Throughout 18th- and 19th-century America, activists and abolitionists wrote and deployed poetry and personal narratives to voice outrage and spur opposition to slavery and race violence. How did these works ‘work’? Which ones were most effective and how do we know? What role does authenticity play and how much is literary craft? This webinar will … Continued
The image of this colorful sign is obviously meant to be “fun” and perhaps even funny. When I took this picture while traveling with fellow teachers and educators in Barbados, it honestly was because I thought the sign was kind of cute. But later on that day, when I thought about the sign and about … Continued
I visited Barbados on a teacher professional development trip in 2018. My assigned research topic for the trip was Bussa’s 1816 slave rebellion. Within three days in April of that year, the rebellion had spread to most of the southern half of the island. Slavery in Barbados was addressed in a limited way by tour … Continued
Before travelling to the George Washington House in Bridgetown, Barbados, I thought what most Americans think about George Washington: he was a strong, moral, and noble leader who is the epitome of what it means to be a patriot and an American. While visiting his former home in Barbados, where he lived for two months … Continued