Event
“Uncovering the Black Presence at Valley Forge Headquarters Buildings” - Valley Forge Park Alliance Speaker Series
Fee:
IN-PERSON PRICES (Meeting Room at Valley Forge) - Sales end on Dec 6, 2022. General Admission: MEMBERS ($125 level & above) Free. Members at the "Grand Patron Level" receive free admission to the event, beginning at 7 PM. (To attend Happy Hour, register separately). General Admission: NON-MEMBERS $10.00 +$1.94 Fee. The $10 registration fee entitles Non-Members to attend the Speaker Series event, live at the Meeting Room. General Admission + HAPPY HOUR (MEMBERS $125 level) $15.00 +$2.12 Fee. Registrants must be VFPA members at the "Grand Patron" or $125 level. The $10 fee entitles attendees to admission to the event, plus 2 drinks. Must be legal drinking age (21). General Admission + HAPPY HOUR (ALL OTHER LEVELS) $25.00 +$2.47 Fee. The $20 fee entitles attendees to admission to the event, plus 2 drinks. Must be legal drinking age (21). VIRTUAL PRICES (via ZOOM) - Sales end on Dec 6, 2022. General Admission: VIRTUAL (ZOOM) $10.00 +$1.94 Fee. Registrants will receive a Zoom link to attend the event virtually. General Admission: (ZOOM), MEMBERS ($125 level) Free. Attendees will receive a Zoom link by email upon completion of registration.Location: LAT/LONG: 40.101408, -75.422968
The Meeting Room at Valley Forge is located near the visitor center and the upper parking lot.
Dates & Times
Date:
Time:
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Type of Event
Happy Hour from 6 PM to 7 PM. Main event from 7 PM to 8 PM.
Description
"Uncovering the Black Presence at Valley Forge Headquarters Buildings”
Presented by: Justin B. Clement, Historian
Some of the people present at Washington's Headquarters included William Lee (enslaved manservant to General Washington) and Hannah and Isaac Till (cooks, soon to gain their freedom from slavery). But the African American presence at Washington’s Headquarters has been underestimated—and virtually invisible at other officers’ quarters.
All nine surviving headquarters buildings in the park included Black household members. Importantly, the number of free men, women, and children outnumber those bound in slavery. Historian Justin Clement brings their stories to life by sharing his new research from a historic resource study funded by the National Park Service and facilitated through a cooperative agreement with the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH).
After earning a degree in Physics, Justin B. Clement went on to the College of William and Mary, completing a graduate degree in Early American History. His Master’s Thesis explored a postwar Loyalist “trade diaspora,” following the American War for Independence. Mr. Clement’s graduate work at the University of California is on hiatus while pursuing other projects, with his forthcoming dissertation entitled: “‘On both sides by turns’: Violence, Protectionists, and the American Revolution.” Mr. Clement is in the final stages of completing a Historic Resource Study, centered on African American participation during the Valley Forge encampment of 1777 to 1778. He is currently the Historic Site Supervisor at Pottsgrove Manor.
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