The following programs and events are in association with “Forever Free: Abraham Lincoln’s Journey to Emancipation” at the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library February 5-March 20, 2009. They are listed in chronological order. All programs and events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.
If you have any questions, please call Mona K. Vance at 662-329-5304 or by email at archives@lowndes.lib.ms.us.
February 5, 2009 (Thursday)
6:00-7:30pm
Opening Reception
Abraham Lincoln’s Civil Religion
Dr. George C. Rable
Abraham Lincoln’s Civil Religion will examine how the complex and controversial story of Lincoln’s own beliefs became part of the larger story of religion during the American Civil War. By exploring Lincoln’s private thoughts and public statements on topics such as providence, the divine will, war, emancipation, and death, this presentation will show how the President both reflected and transcended his era.
(BIO) George C. Rable is the Charles G. Summersell Chair in Southern History at the University of Alabama. A native of Lima, Ohio, he received his B.A from Bluffton College (1972), his M.A from Louisiana State University (1973), and his Ph.D. from Louisiana State University (1978). He served as President of the Society of Civil War Historians from 2004-2008. His books include: Fredericksburg! Fredericksburg!, The Confederate Republic: A Revolution Against Politics, Civil Wars: Women and the Crisis of Southern Nationalism , and But There Was No Peace: The Role of Violence in the Politics of Reconstruction. He is currently writing a book with the working title, “A Religious History of the American Civil War.”
February 11, 2009 (Wednesday)
10:00-11:00am
Look at Lincoln
Christian Home Educators in Lowndes County (CHELC)
A series of skits about Abraham Lincoln presented by children from the Christian Home Educators in Lowndes County organization. Children dress in costumes created by the students themselves. The purpose of CHELC is to provide information and support to Christian home school families who meet in the Lowndes County area. The performances are free and open to the public.
To find out more about CHELC go to http://www.homeschool-life.com/ms/chelc.
2:00-3:00pm
Friends of the Library Book Talk (open to the public)
A Slave No More: Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom
By: David W. Blight
Talk by: Mona K. Vance
A discussion on the book A Slave No More: Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom led by Archivist Mona K. Vance on behalf of the Friends of the Library. The book focuses on two unpublished manuscripts by former slaves Wallace Turnage (1846–1916) and John Washington (1838–1918), and offers an illuminating analysis by award-winning historian David W. Blight. It is a coming of age story, offering a unique window on life (learning to read, falling in love, finding religious faith) in a slave society. Blight provides an accessible historical and literary context for the manuscripts and explores the men’s lives not covered in their manuscripts. These powerful memoirs reveal poignant, heroic, painful and inspiring lives.
For more information regarding this book go to http://www.davidwblight.com/asnm.htm.
February 12, 2009 (Thursday)
9:00-10:00am
(Open only to school groups)
Mr. Lincoln and Emancipation
Chris Small as Abraham Lincoln
In Mr. Lincoln and Emancipation, Chris Small portrays Abraham Lincoln and discusses his emerging views on slavery and emancipation.
6:00-7:00pm
(Open to the Public)
Mr. Lincoln and Emancipation
Chris Small as Abraham Lincoln
In Mr. Lincoln and Emancipation, Chris Small portrays Abraham Lincoln and discusses his emerging views on slavery and emancipation.
(BIO) Chris Small, President and CLE of The Lincoln ProjectSM, gave his first presentation as Abraham Lincoln in 1997. He officially founded The Lincoln ProjectSM in 2003. Chris has a graduate degree in Communication, with a specialty in Interpretation & Performance Studies, and has directed Playback Theatre, Bibliodrama, and Boal-based Sociodrama. Additionally, Chris is a sought-after speaker with Small Associatessm; is a member of the National Communication Association, the Abraham Lincoln Association, the Association of Lincoln Presenters, the Andrew Johnson Heritage Association; and may be found on the National Registry of Living Historians. He is featured in two films about Abraham Lincoln to be released in 2009.
Find out more about Chris Small, the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial, and the resources available through The Lincoln ProjectSM at www.thelincolnproject.com.
February 17, 2009 (Tuesday)
6:00pm
The Columbus African American Experience after Freedom: 1865-1875
Chuck Yarborough
The decade following freedom offered new opportunities for Lowndes County’s majority African American population. Freed men and women sought to fully participate politically, economically and socially. This presentation will explore evidence from the decade that suggests the efforts of area African Americans and will assess the challenges local residents met in the face of these efforts.
(BIO) Chuck Yarborough is a social sciences teacher with the Mississippi School for Math and Science. He is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. Currently, he also serves as the director of the research and performance project Tales from the Crypt, which was awarded the 2005 Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts and was recognized by The History Channel as one of 15 national finalists for the 2005 SAVE OUR HISTORY classroom award.
February 26, 2009 (Thursday)
6:00-7:00pm
Showing of the Film:
UNCHAINED MEMORIES: READINGS FROM THE SLAVE NARRATIVES
An HBO Documentary Film in conjunction with the Library of Congress
When the Civil War ended in 1865, more than 4 million slaves were set free. By the late 1930s, 100,000 former slaves were still alive.
In the midst of the Great Depression, the Federal Writers Project hired journalists and writers to travel the country and record the memories of this last generation of African-Americans born into bondage.
Over 2,000 interviews were transcribed as spoken, in the vernacular of the time, to form a unique historical record—first-hand accounts of what it was to be a slave. The Library of Congress is home to most of these “Slave Narratives”.
Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg and featuring dramatic readings by Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Samuel L. Jackson, Oprah Winfrey and others, UNCHAINED MEMORIES: READINGS FROM THE SLAVE NARRATIVES breathes the voices of the living into these transcripts of the past, bringing to life the pain and suffering, the fear and yearning, the pride, the spirit and the deep resonating sadness of those who had been born into slavery.
UNCHAINED MEMORIES: READINGS FROM THE SLAVE NARRATIVES is a unique and extraordinary exploration and evocation, both of the past and of the people whose enslaved toil helped build a nation. Their stories survive as vital today as when they were first recorded over half a century ago.
For more information about this film go to http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/unchained_memories
March 5, 2009 (Thursday)
2:00-3:00pm
Women’s Civil War Diaries
Carol West, Esq.
Mrs. West reads from and comments on various journals, diaries, and notebooks of women during the latter part of the 19th century to consider their lives, views, roles, and other concerns.
(BIO) Carol West is a law professor at the Mississippi College School of Law. A native of Philadelphia, PA she received her B.A from Mississippi University for Women, her J.D. from the University of Mississippi, and her M.L.S. from the University of Southern Mississippi. She is currently working on a legal research text for Mississippi.
March 7, 2009 (Saturday)
10:00-4:00pm
Living History with Confederate Soldiers
1st Mississippi Light Artillery Turner’s Battery
Come witness a group of Civil War soldiers re-enactors as they camp out with a real cannon on the front lawn of the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library! The 1st Mississippi Light Artillery Turner’s Battery will be conducting drills and showing off an original Union cannon that was used in the Battle of Vicksburg in 1863. Great for kids and enthusiasts alike! The event is free and open to the public.
March 11, 2009 (Wednesday)
10:00-11:00am
Music of the War Between the States
Pat Arinder
Music of this period played on the Appalachian Mountain dulcimer, banjo-mier and wooden spoons. Period clothing is also worn. Audience may help play the spoons.
(BIO) Mr. Arinder has studied Early American and Native American cultures for nearly 50 years, assembling a sizeable collection of artifacts which he uses to lead living history programs for local schools, civic clubs and museums. He volunteers as an interpretive historian with the Natchez Trace Parkway, leading monthly history and pioneer craft demonstrations at the Visitor Center in Tupelo.
March 18, 2009 (Wednesday)
2:00-3:00pm
Unionism in Mississippi: Not of One Voice and One Mind in the Civil War
Dr. Thomas D. Cockrell
Cockrell’s basic premise is the importance of understanding the role of Unionism in Mississippi during the American Civil War, and that Mississippi was not of one mind and one voice during that conflict as most people would assume. Many Mississippians were loyal to the Union, wished not to secede from the Union and did all they could to aid the Union in the war itself.
(BIO) Dr. Cockrell received his Doctor of Philosophy Degree in History from Mississippi State University in 1989. He taught at Mississippi State University, East Mississippi Community College Branch at Columbus Air Force Base, Louisiana State University in Shreveport and Blue Mountain College before going to Northeast Mississippi Community College in Booneville in 2007. He also co-edited two books with Michael B. Ballard: A Mississippi Rebel in the Army of Northern Virginia: The Civil War Memoirs of Private David E. Holt in 1995 and Chickasaw, A Mississippi Scout for the Union: The Civil War Memoir of Levi H. Naron in 2005 both published by Louisiana State University Press.
March 20, 2009 (Friday)
Exhibit Closes
