Confronting Slavery at Joseph Lloyd Manor
How can Preservation Long Island best engage Joseph Lloyd Manor visitors with Jupiter Hammon’s story, the region’s history of enslavement, and segregation on Long Island today?
At this final roundtable, a panel of museum professionals and historic site interpreters addressed the lessons learned from the previous two sessions. Discussions explored how historic sites, like Joseph Lloyd Manor, can effectively engage audiences with difficult historical narratives, and encourage responsible, rigorous, and relevant dialogues about the region’s history of enslavement and its lasting effects on our society today.
The Jupiter Hammon Project is a major initiative and multi-year effort of Preservation Long Island. The goal of the project is to develop a new and equitable interpretation for Joseph Lloyd Manor, an 18th-century historic house museum and a site of Black enslavement on Long Island. This new interpretation will include telling the story of Jupiter Hammon (1711– ca.1806), one of the earliest published African American writers, who composed his most well-known works while enslaved at the house.
Event Date: October 24, 2020 (via Zoom)
Watch a recording of the webinar below.
The moderated panel discussion featured Dina Bailey (Mountain Top Vision), Joseph McGill (Slave Dwelling Project), and Jessa Krick (Historic Hudson Valley).
This roundtable was co-hosted by the Lloyd Habor Historical Society. Founded in 1974, the Lloyd Harbor Historical Society is dedicated to preserving the 1711 Henry Lloyd Manor House, the birthplace of Jupiter Hammon; the George Weir Barn; and the surrounding gardens and grounds.
Program Moderator
Cordell Reaves serves as the Historic Preservation and Interpretation Analyst with the NY State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, developing educational programming and events that enable sites to tell complete and inclusive stories. His research interests cover a broad swath of New York State history, including colonial slavery, the Underground Railroad, the anti-slavery movement, and the Great Migration.
Expert Panelists
Dina Bailey, CEO, Mountain Top Vision. Dina works with organizations on strategic initiatives in order to strengthen their commitment to being more inclusive as organizations and within their communities. She has also been the Director of Methodology and Practice at the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, the inaugural Director of Educational Strategies at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, and the Director of Museum Experiences at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Watch our Getting to Know the Panelists interview with Dina Bailey.
Jessa Krick, Historic Hudson Valley’s Associate Director of Collections, served as a lead researcher for People Not Property: Stories of Slavery in the Northern Colonial North. Ms. Krick brings in-depth knowledge of HHV’s successful efforts to share the stories of Caesar, Abby and other enslaved men, women, and children at Philipsburg Manor and Van Cortlandt Manor. Watch our Getting to Know the Panelists interview with Jessa Krick.
Joseph McGill, Founder, Slave Dwelling Project. He is a reenactor and descendant of the enslaved who has reached ninety sites, engaging with diverse audiences at historic places through programs, lectures, and spending nights in former slave dwellings. Watch our Getting to Know the Panelists interview with Joseph McGill.