Free Virtual Seminar on Juneteenth

Documenting the Early History of Black Lives
in the Connecticut River Valley

The Pioneer Valley History Network, the UMass Amherst Public History Program, and the W.E.B. Du Bois Library are pleased to announce a free, half-day virtual seminar on June 19, 2021 from 9:30am – 1pm, launching the community-based research project, Documenting the Early History of Black Lives in the Connecticut River Valley. The online seminar is open to the general public.

To register, go to: https://umasshfa.formstack.com/forms/pvhn

To view the full seminar schedule, list of speakers, supplemental materials and additional recommended talks, visit blogs.umass.edu/PVHN-BlackHistory. In advance of the panel, “Histories of Enslavement & Freedom: A Conversation with Scholars,” attendees are strongly encouraged to view several short pre-recorded lectures, available here, which the speakers will discuss at the event.

Documenting the Early History of Black Lives in the Connecticut River Valley is a community-based research project in Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin Counties that aims to document the lives of early free, enslaved, and formerly enslaved Black residents of the Connecticut River Valley. Participating historical organizations, in collaboration with student and community researchers, will perform a “deep dive” into their relevant holdings and present their findings in a fall capstone event. Interested individuals can participate by contacting PVHN (pioneervalleyhistory@gmail.com) and describing your interest in this project. 

This project is generously supported by Mass Humanities and the UMass Amherst Public Service Endowment Grant.