September is Connecticut Freedom Trail Month

 Throughout the month of September, historic sites across Connecticut will hold special events to mark Connecticut Freedom Trail Month. 

The Connecticut Freedom Trail was established in 1995, and includes a collection of over 160 historic sites across the state that each figured in some way in the struggle of the state’s African American community toward freedom. Sites include a wide range of public spaces, private homes, monuments, churches, museums, cemeteries and more, and visitors are invited to create their own routes to visit the sites that most interest them. 

Events on the CT Freedom Trail in September include:

September 10, 1:00 – 4:00 pm

Annual Venture Smith Day

Four lectures will take place at First Church Cemetery 499 Town Street, East Haddam, followed by refreshments at the East Haddam Historical Society and Museum, 264 Town Street, where a permanent Venture Smith exhibit is on display. Elizabeth Wood, Executive Director of The Stonington Historical Society will discuss “Venture’s life in Stonington, CT and the grant process and creation of the new Venture Smith exhibit at The Stonington Lighthouse Museum.”  Amina R. Merritt, Esq. from The Merritt Law Clinic in Sacramento, California, a ninth-generation descendant of Venture Smith, will discuss “Preserving Broteer’s Identity.” Thomas Thurston, Director of Education and Public Outreach at the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University will discuss “Why Venture Smith’s Story Matters.” Dr. Karl P. Stofko, East Haddam’s Municipal Historian and Venture Smith family genealogist will discuss “What’s New with Venture Smith Since Last September.”  For more information, please call (860) 873-9375.

September 14, 6:00 pm

UNCOVERING THEIR HISTORY: African, African American, and Native American Burials in Hartford’s Ancient Burying Ground, 1640-1815

Presented by the New Haven Museum, this free program in partnership with Friends of Grove Street Cemetery and sponsored by Connecticut Explored, will focus on the Uncovering Their History project and the people of color (Native, African, and African American) interred in the Ancient Burying Ground. During her lecture, historian, educator, author, and recently named publisher of Connecticut Explored magazine, Dr. Katherine A. Hermes will highlight the remarkable histories that have come to light. More information: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/uncovering-their-history-tickets-400895598527

September 17, 5:30 – 8:30 am

Annual Windsor Freedom Trail Run

Learn about and celebrate the rich history of the Windsor Freedom Trail by visiting sites that are associated with the Underground Railroad and African American heritage and movement towards freedom. The run is approximately 3.9 miles. (A bus will follow the runners.) The run begins at the Archer Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church, 320 Hayden Station Road, Windsor and will stop at other Windsor Freedom Trail Sites including the William Best House, the Joseph Rainey House, and the Nancy Toney grave site. Upon returning to the church, the group will visit the historic Archer Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church cemetery. A Freedom Trail T-Shirt will be provided to all runners along with a country style breakfast after the run. More information: wftrun2022.eventbrite.com. 

September 20, 7:00 – 8:00 pm

Conversations at the Old State House: Amistad: Facts and Fictions of Slavery in Film

A panel of experts and historians will discuss the historic saga of the African captives who rebelled onboard the Spanish ship La Amistad in 1839, and discover what is fact and what is fiction in recent film versions of this epic story. Speakers include Dr. Dexter Gabriel, professor at the UConn Department of History and expert on the subject of slavery in popular culture, Dr. Dann j. Broyld, professor of African American History at UMass Lowell, and Dr. Jorge Felipe-González, professor of history at University of Texas San Antonio. This program is co-sponsored by El Instituto, UConn’s Institute of Latina/o, Caribbean, and Latin American Studies, and the Connecticut Democracy Center at Connecticut’s Old State House. More information: https://fb.me/e/1zYWx111V

September 22, 5:45 – 7:00 pm

Evangelical Empire: Hartford’s Book Publishing Industry, 1795-1835

Historian William Hosley will speak at Connecticut’s Old State House about Hartford’s historic popularity with book publishers. The so-called “evangelical empire,” was centered in Hartford through the Connecticut Missionary Society and various other tract producers. Religious book publishing earned Hartford prominence in the rapidly evolving publishing industry, and even attracted Mark Twain to the city. The program is co-sponsored by Capital Community College, Historic Hartford, and The Connecticut Democracy Center. More information: https://fb.me/e/25POGDEhQ

September 24, 7:00 – 10:30 am

Annual Windsor Freedom Trail Walking Tour

Walk along this 3.9 mile route and learn about the rich history of the Windsor Freedom Trail by visiting sites that are associated with African American heritage and movement towards freedom. (A bus will follow the walkers). Start at the Archer Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church at 7:00a.m., and then be transported to the first site, Riverside Cemetery on East Street to begin the walk. Learn about African American soldiers from the Connecticut 29th and 31st colored regiments and other civil war units buried there. Participants will then walk to the Nancy Toney grave site, the Joseph Rainey House, the William Best House, and the historic Archer Memorial Church & cemetery. The history will be given at each site. A Freedom Trail T-Shirt will be provided to all walkers and a continental breakfast will be provided for all event participants afterward. More information: wftwalkingtour22.eventbrite.com.

September 25, 1:00 – 3:00 pm

Venture Smith’s Trail to Freedom

Presented by the Farmington Historical Society at the Old Stone Schoolhouse, this program is based on the book, “A True Story of Freedom: Venture Smith’s Colonial Connecticut,” and will cover Smith’s kidnapping, life of enslavement, and eventual freedom and success as a local businessman. The presentation will also showcase the Colonial lifestyle, economy and its link to Smith becoming a free and successful businessman. The importance of Native American heritage will also have a focus. Geared for ages 10 through adult. More information: 

September 27, 12:00 – 1:00 pm

Conversations at Noon: Battleground for Freedom

Jesse Nasta, Executive Director of the Middlesex County Historical Society and Wesleyan University professor of African American Studies, will speak at Connecticut’s Old State House about the hidden history of the Leverett Beman Historic District in Middletown, one of the first independent Black churches and neighborhoods in Connecticut.  More information: https://fb.me/e/3xwSdhQ0u

September 29, 5:45 – 7:00 pm

Rev. James W. C. Pennington: A National and Local Voice for Freedom 

Dr. Stacy Close will speak at Connecticut’s Old State House to discuss the life of the Reverend James W.C. Pennington, educator and pastor of the Talcott Street church in the 1840s and 1850s, with an emphasis on his impact as a leader of the Black community in Hartford and the context of national events and the abolition movement. More information: https://fb.me/e/23QwyXblw. 

For more information about The Connecticut Freedom Trail, please visit ctfreedomtrail.org.