Event
Inalienable Rights: Free & Enslaved Blacks Crafting a Life in the Shenandoah Valley
Fee:
Free.Location: LAT/LONG: 39.021418, -78.304303
Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park, Belle Grove Plantation, Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, Clarke County Historical Association, and Blandy Experimental Farm
Dates & Times
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Type of Event
Description
Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park, Belle Grove Plantation, Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, Clarke County Historical Association, and Blandy Experimental Farm team up to welcome The Slave Dwelling Project for four events over three days that use storytelling and living history to help visitors learn about the daily lives of the enslaved people.
Thursday, November 10
Serena Spencer at Cedar Creek
7-8:30 p.m. at St. Thomas Chapel
Kenyette Spencer Mills, reads her ancestor’s remembrances of the Battle of Cedar Creek. Park Ranger Shannon Moeck will discuss the Battle of Cedar Creek's impact on the community. Presented by Belle Grove Plantation, Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historic Park, and the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley.
Register by November 9; visit www.theMSV.org or call 540-662-1473, ext. 240.
Friday, November 11
Living History at Burwell-Morgan Mill
10-3 p.m. at Burwell-Morgan Mill, 15 Tannery Lane, Millwood, Va.
Living historians Joseph McGill, Terry James, and Cheney McKnight demosntrate hearth cooking and discuss how enslaved labor was used in this space. Clarke County Historical Association has more information.
Panel Discussion at Blandy Experimental Farm
7-9 p.m. at Blandy Experimental Farm Library, 400 Blandy Farm Lane, Boyce, Va.
Panelists Joseph McGill (Founder and Executive Director; Slave Dwelling Project), Dave Carr (Director; Blandy Experimental Farm), and guests will take part in a conversation about the lives of enslaved people and the visible legacy of slavery on Blandy’s grounds. Free, but registration required. Please register on the Blandy Experimental Farm website.
Saturday, November 12
Storytelling & Activities at Belle Grove
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Belle Grove Plantation, 336 Belle Grove Road, Middletown, Va.
Tentative Schedule
10 a.m. Following the Footprints of Slavery by Joseph McGill, Founder of the Slave Dwelling Project
11 a.m. Shannon Moeck, Park Ranger, Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park, Kneading in Silence: A Glimpse into the Life of Enslaved Cook Judah
12 p.m. Lunch break for presenters, Belle Grove Manor House open for touring
1 p.m. Tammy Denease storytelling presentation on Elizabeth Keckley
2 p.m. Presentation by Cheney McKnight, founder of Not Your Momma's History
3 p.m. Presentation by Terry James, Slave Dwelling Project Board Member
4 p.m. Presentation by Kristen Laise, Executive Director of Belle Grove, on the freedom seekers from the plantation. The site is now on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.
5 p.m. Shannon Moeck, Park Ranger, Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park, Free at Last: The Complicated Road to Freedom for the Jackson Family
Reservation or Registration: Yes
Image Gallery
NPS Photo