Remembrance Deferred
By Yonatan Greenberg in the New Journal at Yale on February 16, 2018.
Guilford, a town of twenty-thousand half an hour north of New Haven, is a place that loves its past. There are three historical societies, and in the town center, by the chocolatier and tea shop, historical markers nearly outnumber street signs. A lone soldier stands at the center of the town green, looming over the dog walkers and families. Tall and imposing, with a musket by his side, he is the centerpiece of an 1877 memorial dedicated to the town’s Civil War veterans. Until recently, there was no such memorial for the town’s slaves, who are buried beneath him. In Connecticut, slavery dates back to the mid-1600s, and though it’s hard to know when it reached Guilford, by the late 1700s there were around fifty slaves living there. For all that Guilford loves to remember, until not long ago, their slaves had been forgotten. Continue reading.
Through Local History, A Stronger Sense Of Place
Witness Stones Project Founder an Executive Director Dennis Culliton joined Leah Glaser, Professor of History and Coordinator of the Public History Program at Central Connecticut State University, Chuck Arning, National Park Service Interpretive Ranger and A/V Specialist, John Tuohy, author and historian for the city of Ansonia, Connecticut, and Regan Miner, consultant for the city of Norwich, Connecticut, and the Norwich Historical Society for a panel discussion on WNPR’s Where We Live program.
The topic of the show’s program was a lesson in public history. How are towns and cities across Connecticut and the Northeast engaging residents with the past?
We invite you to listen here: Through Local History, A Stronger Sense of Place