(Madison County, NY – Sept. 2015) The film Slavery by Another Name is one of three documentaries that will be shown and discussed at four sites in Madison County on Thursdays, Oct. 1, 8, and 15 at 6:30 pm as part of the Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle programs sponsored by the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum in Peterboro.
By 1865, despite the promise of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Thirteenth Amendment, and the Confederate defeat in the Civil War, many former slaves did not in reality experience “a new birth of freedom.” The Republican-controlled Congress enacted the Fourteenth Amendment (enshrining birthright citizenship and equal protection of the law) in 1868 and the Fifteenth Amendment (guaranteeing the right to vote for all men regardless of race) in 1870.
However, states and communities across the South ignored these federal mandates by passing “black codes,” laws that served to essentially re-enslave African Americans. Local law enforcement officers cited regulations against vagrancy, loitering, or walking near railroads to arrest, incarcerate, and sentence African American men to work as forced convict laborers in factories and mines and on farms. Drawing public attention to some of the victims and perpetrators of this forced labor system, the film Slavery by Another Name presents a story that has been largely ignored in history books. The film was nominated for an Emmy in 2013.
Slavery by Another Name will be shown and discussed by Norman K. Dann PhD at 6:30 pm on Oct. 1 at Madison Hall in Morrisville, Oct. 8 at the Hamilton Public Library, and Oct. 15 at the Cazenovia Public Library. Dr. Dann is professor emeritus Morrisville State College, a founder and member of the Cabinet of Freedom for the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum, treasurer of the Peterboro Area Museum, and a steward for the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark. Dann is the biographer of Gerrit Smith and has written six books on Peterboro history, including Practical Dreamer: Gerrit Smith and the Crusade for Social Reform.
Kimberly Williams will show and discuss Slavery by Another Name at the Oneida Public Library on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015. Williams is Associate Director at the Days-Massolo Center at Hamilton College in Clinton. The Center works with faculty and staff to create opportunities and experiences that create sustained dialogue across difference and promotes mutual understanding appreciation, and inclusion.
The other powerful documentaries in the Created Equal series chronicling the history of the Civil Rights Movement are Freedom Riders and The Loving Story which will also be shown at the four sites on Oct. 1, 8, and 15. A fourth film, The Abolitionists will be shown in its three part series on Sunday, Oct. 25 at 11:30 (Part I), 1:00 (Part II), and 2:30 (Part III), with a final discussion Where Are We as Abolitionists Today? at 4:00 pm. The Abolitionists films will be accompanied by abolition refreshments. The free Oct. 25 programs at 5255 Pleasant Valley Road in Peterboro follow the Abraham Lincoln: The Great Emancipator programs held by NAHOF at Cummings Theater in Cazenovia on Friday, Oct. 23 and Saturday, Oct. 24.
The public is encouraged to attend the free Created Equal programs at any times and at any sites. There are no registration needs. For more information, complete schedule, educator points, additional reading lists, and updates: nahofm1835@gmail.com, www.nationalabolitionhalloffameandmuseum.org and 315-280-8828.
(Image Credit: Slavery by Another Name: Jon Van Amber and Omni Studio)