Inalienable Rights: Free and Enslaved Blacks Crafting a Life in the Shenandoah Valley
Inalienable Rights: Free and Enslaved Blacks Crafting a Life in the Shenandoah Valley a weekend with talks and demonstrations celebrating African American history will be Friday, November 1o-Sunday, November 12 and will feature guests from The Slave Dwelling Project. There will be events at three locations outlined below.
Friday, November 10, 7-8:30 p.m.
Nature’s Refuge: Exploring Enslaved Communities’ Use of Wild Plants by Linda Seminario, M.A.
Blandy Experimental Farm Library, 400 Blandy Farm Lane, Boyce, VA 22620
This is event is free, but registration is requested. Register here.
Between the summers of 2015 and 2019, archaeological excavations occurred at Belle Grove's enslaved quarters, also known as Quarter Site B. Archaeologists identified a cellar hole from a burned down log cabin that contained hundreds of artifacts and burned plant remains. This presentation will focus on Linda's analysis of the plant remains recovered from the cellar hole. She uses the data to consider the diet of the enslaved individuals who lived there and the ways these plants represent how enslaved individuals engaged the local economy as producers and consumers.
Saturday, November 11, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Burwell Morgan Mill, 15 Tannery Lane, Millwood, VA 22646
This program is free of charge, but donations are appreciated.
More information here.
Living History Demonstration
Living historians Terry James and Joseph McGill of the Slave Dwelling Project will conduct hearth cooking demonstrations and discussions of how enslaved labor was used at the mill (which still operates today).
Book Talk
At 1:30 there will also be a book signing with Joseph McGill and Herb Frazier on their new book Sleeping with the Ancestors . Books will be available for sale for $29 plus sales tax.
Saturday, November 11, 7-8:30 p.m.
Belle Grove Plantation, 336 Belle Grove Road, Middletown, VA 22645
This program is free of charge through support from Crescent Cities Charities and Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park.
Storytelling Presentation Tale of Two Women at Belle Grove during the Battle of Cedar Creek by Kenyette Spencer Mills. Their story will be told in the very room where the women were on October 19, 1864!
Group discussion with Slave Dwelling Project about the experience of sleeping at sites of enslavement.
Overnight on the lower level of the Manor House at Belle Grove with the Slave Dwelling Project (pre-registration required, please contact us if you are interested in attending)
Sunday, November 12, 2:30 p.m.
Kneading in Silence: A Glimpse Into the Life of the Enslaved Cook Judah
Belle Grove Plantation, 336 Belle Grove Road, Middletown, VA 22645
This program is free of charge, but donations are appreciated.
Docent Scott Terndrup will conduct a 30-minute presentation discussing the life of Judah, the enslaved cook of Belle Grove. Purchased by the Hites with her two young boys, Judah was the Hites' cook at the time of her death in 1836. Rare primary source documents from the Hite family reveal insights into her and her family's life.
