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Special USCT Symposium '07 Recap
History Affirmed --- Mission Accomplished!
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The Third Annual US Colored Troops Symposium held recently in Raleigh, NC turned a statewide scholarly event into a national conference on USCT issues and history.
We especially thank our sponsors, Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, North Carolina Humanities Council, Kinston CVB, Tryon Palace, New Bern Riverfront Convention Center and The Freelon Group.
The First USCT Symposium was held in Kinston, initiated by the USCT Institute, a nationally recognized research and family genealogy group based at Hartwick College in Oeneota, New York. A subsequent symposium occurred in New Bern with the sponsorship of Tryon Palace and the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center.
The purpose of these annual symposiums is to bring scholarly, well-researched information on African American participation in the Civil War to the public. With the financial support from the North Carolina Humanities Council, this year's event was free to North Carolina residents. Most lectures are presented by leading national and state experts on the Civil War era. Audience discussions enliven the issue debates and add to the knowledge base about North Carolina's past. The heritage tourism panels drew a connection between African American history and culture as well as the economic benefits of heritage tourism development.
Early Friday morning, three teams of re-enactors and storytellers traveled to three different middle schools in the Raleigh area to give simultaneous "Living History" presentations to nearly 1,000 students and teachers. FREED (Female Re-enactors of Distinction) traveled from Washington, DC and Frederick, VA to join the presentations. The students and teachers were thrilled to see and hear the presentations in full custom and Civil War period attire.
The Friday Welcome Reception was highlighted by warm remarks from Dr. Jeffrey Crow, Director of NC Archives and History. Also the North Carolina Association of Black Storytellers presented a rousing rendition of "Ladies At Tea", an impromptu gathering of women discussing their concerns during the Civil War era. The evening closed with a splendid performance of "Frederick Douglass --- In His Image" by Michael Crutcher.
The seminars began on Friday with a "Genealogy Workshop -Tracing Your Roots" led by Earl Ijames, NC Archivist and Juanita Moss, author and descendant of a NC Civil War veteran.
The opening session covered topics by Dr. Donald Collins, Dr. John Haley, Juanita Moss and Bernard George, featuring the NC battles of New Bern, Plymouth, Wilmington and the NE Carolina Corridor. Also Bernie Siler, noted historian, gave a description of Black Sailors in the Union Navy.
Dr. Reginald Hildebrand explained the role of theology in "Raising the Troops". Sharon Bryant, Teresa Watts, Jeff Bockert, Michelle Lanier, Andrena Coleman, Tarshi McCoy and Dr. E.B. Palmer explained the role of history & culture in tourism promotion.
Dr. Jim Clark explained the process of creating an acceptable curriculum change for the NC school system. Ben Hawley, Mel Reid, Mary Fears and Khabir Shareef demonstrated the techniques for successful "Living History" presentations.
Hari Jones, Denise Benedetto and Mary Hill discussed the "Black Spy Network" and concluded with an re-enactment of actual espionage in the Jefferson Davis Confederate headquarters.
The one seminar that gained the most pre-symposium interest was "The myth of Black Confederates". A brave Marvin Nicholson moderated the intense discussion on the differences between a "man-servant" and a "weapon-equipped soldier". Earl Ijames, Deacon Jones, Asa Gordon and Sharon Heist did an outstanding job of framing the issue. The audience input was lively and informative.
Special thanks go to Wake County Commissioner Harold Webb for his luncheon remarks and to NC Appeal Court Judge James Wynn for his very compelling keynote address tying the 13th Amendment to the Civil War.
The evening's "Heritage Visionary Leadership" awards banquet highlighted the contributions to preserving African American history and culture to awardees, Andrena Coleman, Charlotte Hawkins Brown Historic Site, Dr. E.B. Palmer, African American Cultural Complex, and Bennie McCrae, author and "Lest We Forget" website creator. everyone was moved by Master Storyteller Mitch Capel's performance of the "Colored Soldier".
Sunday morning capped a successful conference with the commemorative wreath-laying ceremony at 23 USCT gravesites in the Raleigh Federal Cemetery. In fact, it was the persistent determination of Wanda Cox-Bailey, Tom Hancock and Beverly Burnette that "discovered" these gravesites only two days prior to the symposium. The conference attendees were invited to join the Martin Street Baptist Church for Sunday services.
As we evaluate the USCT Symposium'07, we ask ourselves, "was it time well spent?" Based upon the numerous post-conference e-mails, newspaper coverage and phone calls - the answer is "most definitely - YES!"
Among the significant outcomes of our combined efforts was the "re-establishment" of the US Colored Troops Living History Association (USCTLHA) as the nation's largest organization devoted to telling the story of African American participation in the Civil War. We heard from North Carolina's scholarly experts on history and culture that document the factual existence of a brave people in a turbulent time in American history. We celebrated the memory and success of our ancestors and "discovered" 23 USCT gravesites that were unknown to Raleigh historians and NC tourism officials before we came to town. | |
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Join us Next Year --- February 22 - 24, 2008, "Earning The Right To Citizenship - IV", USCT Symposium'08 - Wilmington, NC AND Cameron Art Museum's "Forks Road Re-enactment of the Fall of Wilmington and a Living History Weekend"
(Storytelling, living history, fashion show, dancing, seminars and an actual 're-enactment')
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