The Noah Webster House is pleased to announce an exciting new professional development opportunity for area historical societies and community groups. Applications are now being accepted to participate in a workshop series to learn how to uncover and share your town’s colonial history of slavery and freedom. Including these stories in the local colonial stories you tell is an important first step in acknowledging and addressing structural racism.  Apply online today. Additional details can be found on the program flyer here.

Five teams will be chosen to participate in this learning cohort program. Teams will attend 3 half-day workshops at the Noah Webster House. You will learn to conduct research on colonial era history through primary source documents like probate records and account books. Teams will explore how to address the legacies of discrimination and how to educate and engage their community with this knowledge. Each cohort member will also receive a half day of independent consulting at their own site.

The workshops will be led by Tracey Wilson, Liz Devine, and Denise deMello, historians and teachers who have extensive experience researching West Hartford’s own history of slavery and freedom and developing teaching curriculum for kids and adults. Their work has contributed to many community initiatives in West Hartford including amending the War Memorial and contributing to the Rise Up! Martin Luther King 39 mural in Blue Back Square.

This program is heavily subsidized by an Access Grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. The purpose of the grant is to combat the effects of Structural Racism through research and education. The cost is $500 per 2-4 member team.

Who? This opportunity is open to historical societies, libraries, community and town groups in the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving 29-town funding region.

Deadline. A short application is due by January 9, 2023. Notice will be made to participants by January 13, 2023.