This past week was more eventful than usual inasmuch as I was involved with two events–a radio interview on the Eastern Shore and a presentation in Annapolis. On Thursday the 16th, senior Legacy of Slavery in Maryland employee Maya Davis and I traveled to Cambridge, MD in Dorchester County to be interviewed by Dr. Kay…
Like one of my favorite Presidents of the United States, the under-sung James K. Polk, I pulled off quite a bit of work in just four expressions of the sun’s effect on the Earth. In four years Polk facilitated one of the grandest land grabs in American history by seizing swaths of Mexico and settling…
My first public program with the Maryland State Archives (MSA) Legacy of Slavery in Maryland research project (LOSIM) went astoundingly well. Titled “Pistols and Petitions: Queen Anne’s Slave Self-Emancipation in the 19th Century,” it explored two ways in which Eastern Shore slaves freed themselves by joining the Union forces or petitioning the courts. Although I…
On Saturday I participated in my first public presentation for the Maryland State Archives. For three years David Armenti, the outgoing education coordinator, has participated in the Progressive Education Summit at City Neighbors Hamilton School at the edges of Baltimore City. Because there had been no “ride along” opportunities since my arrival in September, and…
The past week at the Maryland State Archives is something of a blur of constant activity book-ended by dull moments while reading 200 year old court records concerning a slave named Robert Moody. Oral Histories Under the new terms of my fellowship’s placement at the Maryland State Archives I continue working on oral history interview…
With my Christmas vacation officially starting on Monday with a six o’clock flight and layover to Appleton, Wisconsin, I stayed until six o’clock Friday performing the finishing touches on my William M’Neir case study. I spent the majority of the week playing catch up with HistoryMakers oral history processing, thus delaying my completion of his…
Despite Annapolis’ small size, and the proximity of cultural and economic centers like Washington, D.C.and Baltimore, there are plenty of amusements and edifying activities if one seeks them out. Four Rivers Run Deep Authorized by an act of the Maryland legislature in 1996, the Maryland Heritage Areas Program fosters tourism and education through eleven certified…
It was an eventful weekend outside of The Maryland State Archives. My research exercises continued as I explored the databases and scanned records used by the Legacy of Slavery in Maryland team—meaning nothing new to report on that front. Back to School—Three Legged Stool On Friday the 28th I participated in the Third annual Back…
Counterfactual Archivist 