Author Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina will tell the story of Lucy Terry and Abijah Prince, an accomplished African American couple in pre-Civil War New England, in a talk at Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro on February 6. The talk, “Mr. and Mrs. Prince,” is part of the Vermont Humanities Council’s First Wednesdays lecture series and takes place at 7:00 p.m.
Pursuing what would become the cornerstone of the American Dream, Lucy Terry and Abijah Prince stood their ground in the face of bigoted neighbors. Dr. Gerzina will tell their story and explain how their lives contained the paradoxes of slavery in our region.
Dr. Gerzina is Chair of the English Department at Dartmouth College. She hosts a nationally syndicated radio program, The Book Show, and is the author of Mr. and Mrs. Prince: How an Extraordinary 18th-Century Family Moved out of Slavery and into Legend. She has appeared frequently as a radio guest in both England and America, as well as in several British television documentaries.
The Vermont Humanities Council’s First Wednesdays Brattleboro series is held on the first Wednesday of every month from October through May, featuring speakers of national and regional renown. Talks are held at Brooks Memorial Library. The diverse lecture series is also presented in Burlington at Fletcher Free Library; in Manchester at First Congregational Church (hosted by Mark Skinner Library); in Middlebury at Ilsley Public Library; in Montpelier at Kellogg-Hubbard Library; at St. Johnsbury Athenaeum; and at Goodrich Memorial Library in Newport and Stanstead College in Stanstead, Quebec (in alternating months). The program is free, accessible to people with disabilities and open to the public.
Upcoming Brattleboro talks include “Remembering Angelica: the Life and Times of an 18th Century Artist” with author Angela Rosenthal on March 5; “Witnesses at the Gate,” an exploration of stories of death and loss, with author Marjorie Ryerson on April 2; and “Don Quixote: The Greatest Novel Ever,” with Amherst College Professor Ilan Stavans on May 7.
First Wednesdays is supported in part by the Institute of Museum & Library Services through the Vermont Department of Libraries. Brooks Memorial Library is sponsored by Brattleboro Savings & Loan, Entergy-Vermont, Friends of Brooks Memorial Library, Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., and Trustees of Brooks Memorial Library.
For more information, contact Brooks Memorial Library at 802.254.5290 or contact the Vermont Humanities Council at 802.262.2626 or info@vermonthumanities.org, or visit www.vermonthumanities.org.
The Vermont Humanities Council is a private nonprofit working to bring the power and the pleasure of the humanities to all Vermonters—of every background and in every community. The Council envisions a state in which every individual learns throughout life—a state in which all its citizens read, reflect, and participate in public affairs.