Mark Parker Stallworth held over 100 slaves in Monroe County, Alabama in the 1800′s. Upon his death in 1865, he deeded many of those slaves (by name) to his family members. Some of these former slaves continued to live in Monroe county. Their families grew in number and gave us the Stallworths of today. So far I have identified four of these former slaves. Does anyone have their family story to contribute?

This time each year families are busy planning for reunions to be held in the upcoming summer. Reunions are key to keeping genealogy alive and growing. Some reunions being held in Cincinnati this summer. July 18-21,2012 the Jim Stallworth Barnes family is gathering and that same weekend the Crear family is doing the same. Both families originated in Alabama.

In recent days, I’ve felt the pressure of writing my next blog. I always want to be worthy of having people read what I write; I want what I have to say to be important. Today, I just don’t feel like what I have to say is THAT important. So, I’ve decided to take little pieces, important pieces, of what others have had to say today. Here are just a few messages from those I follow on Twitter….

“If you had a ‘bad’ day, don’t worry… we all have a re-set button, it’s called tomorrow. You can event re-set now, just let it go!” – @YourPocketGuru

“Follow your heart, but take your brain with you. – Unknown” @VeatQuotes

“Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but nothing is what it appears to be – Duane Michals” @PhotoArtQuotes

“Ability will never catch up with the demand for it. -Confucius” @philoquotes

“You can chain me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind. – Gandhi” @stanbur

“A second chance doesn’t mean anything if you haven’t learned from your first mistake – Unknown” @iTwit2Inspire

“Today in 1964: Washington #DC residents able to vote in a presidential election for the first time.” @amhistorymuseum

“#DidYouKnow: Seahorses can move each eye independently, a tremendous advantage when scoping out the seascape for predators.” @shedd_aquarium

“Yesterday is but today’s memory, and tomorrow is today’s dream. – Kahlil Gibran” @iTwit2Inspire

“It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect it’s successful outcome. – William James” @TheHopeTweeter

True, there are bad things happening every day – I’m just happy to know that there are people out there like these Tweeps who are willing to lift up others in the world….

There is a spark within each of us, Fan the Flame.

First, I have to immediately admit that this is going to be a blog with a few plugs – just because these people are A-Ma-Zing and need to be recognized!

Once upon a time (not that long ago), one of my colleagues was on the elevator at the Freedom Center. Two individuals (also on the elevator) asked what they should be getting out of their experience. As this particular colleague just happens to be our external relations manager, she had her elevator speech ready – literally. Not only did she wow them in the elevator, but she ushered them off the elevator and continued to expound on the amazingness that is the Freedom Center! The result – Kaui and David were bringing After Dark to Cincinnati and they decided that the Freedom Center was perfect for some of their plans! After Dark Education is an “un-conference” that focuses on helping individuals build strong, stable, business foundations while pushing creativity/craftsmanship in order to create unique, high-quality products using photography and videography. For more information, check out: http://afterdarkedu.com/

To speed through a few months, After Dark came to Cincinnati. They held their opening reception at the Freedom Center. At the opening reception, Jason Groupp (http://www.jasongroupp.com/) led the effort to attempt to break a world record for “the most flashes ever fired by one person to create a photograph” – success! It was ridiculously fun to watch all of the preparations and the excitement of the un-conference attendees. To top that off, Switzerfilm (http://www.switzerfilm.com/) recorded the record-breaking event.

As if that wasn’t enough, Switzerfilm, After Dark, and Jeff Radford bestowed an unbelievable gift on the Freedom Center. As part of their time in Cincinnati, they would be creating a music video for singer/song-writer Jeff Radford (http://www.jeffradford.com). AND, Jeff wrote a song FOR THE FREEDOM CENTER! So, a song was written for the Freedom Center and the music video would be shot using the Freedom Center, its exhibitions, and some of its staff. Really, what more could you ask for from an elevator ride?!?!?!

The song was inspired by the Freedom Center’s:

Mission – “We reveal stories about freedom’s heroes, from the era of the Underground Railroad to contemporary times, challenging and inspiring everyone to take courageous steps for freedom today.”

Core values – “Courage, Cooperation, Perseverance, Freedom”

Invisible: Slavery Today – The world’s only permanent, museum-quality exhibition about contemporary slavery (focusing on five forms – forced labor, bonded labor, child labor, sex trafficking, and domestic servitude)

Connections – Encouraging individuals to become activists (use of symbolic connections between historical chattel slavery and contemporary issues – specifically slavery)

I had the pleasure of working with Mark, Joe, and the rest of the Switzerfilm/attendee team as well as Jeff Radford, who is definitely rising quickly in the world of music. I can’t say enough about how much I love the song and the music video. Watching the professionalism and artistry of Switzerfilm, After Dark, and Jeff Radford was a once in a lifetime experience. One last quote about it from Mike Olano: “Being a Cincinnati native, this video strikes home with me. You guys did an amazing job incorporating all the historic and recognizable elements of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky and weaving them together using the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center as your stage….”

Without further ado, please allow me to present – - the one and only National Underground Railroad Freedom Center music video – Invisible. http://www.switzerworld.com/site/comments/invisible_by_jeff_radford#comments

There is a spark within each of us, Fan the Flame.

Celebrate the release of the recently published memoir Whisper Your Name into My Ear by local author and Holocaust survivor, Marguerite Levy-Feibelman on Tuesday, October 11 at 5:00 p.m. Those in attendance will meet the author, participate in a Q&A session and enjoy dramatic readings by student performers. There will also be a book signing.

To RSVP contact The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education at fdonohue@holocaustandhumanity.org or 513.487.3055.

My name is Luke Blocher and I am the Director of Contemporary Slavery Initiatives here at the Freedom Center. I look forward to seeing you here often in the coming weeks and months as we continue, with you, the fight to end modern day slavery. But today we’ve got an urgent message: the landmark Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), first passed in 2000 and since reauthorized by Congress in 2003, 2005, and 2008, is set to expire today unless it is once again reauthorized.

The TVPA authorizes and funds the federal government’s comprehensive efforts to prevent trafficking, protect victims, and prosecute traffickers. Among many other critical laws, policies and programs, the TVPA established trafficking as a federal crime, created the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking, and allocated funding for many of the programs that have since become pillars of the anti-trafficking movement. It is our nation’s strongest tool against human trafficking and it is up for a vote right now.

Conference & Celebration in Honor of the 200^th Birthday of Harriet Beecher Stowe:

Writing for Justice: The Origins & Legacy of Uncle Tom’s Cabin

September 30 – October 2, 2011

All Sessions are free and open to the public.

Friday, Sept. 30

Cincinnati Public Library, Main Branch, 800 Vine Street, Tower Room

9:10 – 9:15         Welcome to Conference:  Dr. Deborah Meem, (UC)

9:15-10:15         Session 1: Daguerreotypes as Art and History

• Patricia Van Skaik (Cincinnati Public Library), “Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Cincinnati as Portrayed in the 1848 Daguerreotype”
• Theresa Leininger-Miller (UC), “J.P. Ball, African American Daguerreotypist in Cincinnati, ca. late 1840s- early 1870s”

10:15-11:00       Guided Tours of Cincinnati 1848 Daguerreotype

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, 50 E. Freedom Way, 3^rd Floor Classroom

12:00 pm          Optional Group Tour of Freedom Center (Fee).  Meet at Group Tour desk.

2:00-3:30           Session 2: Sentimental Stowe

• Lisa Maria Hogeland (UC), “The Problem of Feeling Right in Your Heart”
• Martha Schoolman (Miami), “’Immediate Emancipation’ in Cincinnati”
• Whitney Womack (Miami-Hamilton), “Buying and Selling Uncle Tom: The Consumption of Uncle Tom’s Cabin Merchandise”

3:45-5:15           Session 3: Beecher Preachers and the Law

• Matthew Smith,(Miami-Hamilton) “’A Plea for the West: Cincinnati, the Great Awakening, and the Beecher Family Mission”
• Martha Good (Miami-Hamilton & Stowe House Board President) & Kelly Rundle (Fourth Wall Films), “Bringing the Lane Debates Alive on the Silver Screen”
• John Douglass (UC-RWC), “Slavery v. Freedom: The Wharton Jones v. John Van Zandt Case & Fugitive from Service Act of 1793”

The Mercantile Library, 414 Walnut Street, 11^th floor

7:30 pm            Keynote Lecture:  David S. Reynolds, author of Mightier Than the Sword: Uncle

Tom’s Cabin and the Battle for America:  “Seedbed of the Civil War: Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Cincinnati Years and Their Impact on American History”

Saturday, October 1

Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal, 1301 Western Avenue, Reikert Auditorium

10:00 – 10:10     Registration & lunch orders

10:10 – 10:15    Welcome:  Terry Dickey, CMC Assistant Vice President for Community Engagement

10:15 – -11:15    Session 4: Telling the Story: Then and Now

• Michelle L. Watts, “Introduction to 19^th Century Slave Narratives”
• Kelli Johnson (Miami-Hamilton), “Modern-day Slave Narratives”

11:15-12:30       Session 5: Cincinnati’s antislavery past

• Nikki Taylor (UC & NURFC), “The Margaret Garner Story”
• Mary Frederickson (Miami), “Gendered Resistance: Witnessing Elizabeth Clark Gaines’s Journey from Slavery to Freedom”

12:30-1:45         Box Lunch with Omope Daboiku, “Samantha Dew:  Free Woman of Color”

1:45-3:15           Session 6: Sharon Dean (UC), “Uncle Tom’s Cabin on the Silver Screen”

3:15-5:00           Explore Cinci nnati History Museum on your own. (Fee)

Sunday, October 2,  1-5 pm  New Exhibits Opening

Harriet Beecher Stowe House, 2950 Gilbert Avenue @ Martin Luther King, Jr. in Walnut Hill

All Sessions and Exhibit Opening are free and open to the public, but space is limited.

Email StoweConference@gmail.com to register for sessions you will attend & to order your box lunch for Saturday, (tuna or chicken salad sandwich/wrap, ham & cheese sandwich, veggie wrap or chef salad) plus chips, cookie & beverage (water, Coke, Diet Coke or Sprite) for $8.

Questions? Call 513-751-0651 or email StoweConference@gmail.com.

Planned & Sponsored by Friends of Harriet Beecher Stowe House, Cincinnati Museum Center, The Mercantile Library, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County, University of Cincinnati Department of Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies, Miami University Hamilton & Miami Regional Campuses Honors Program.

The battle of Chickamauga took place on September 19th and 20th, 1863. It was a battle decided by the slimmest margin, and the Union lost it. The cause of the Union defeat? Leadership. General Rosecrans of the U.S. Army was a capable commander, but he simply made more mistakes than the commanding generals on the Confederate side and did not support Major General Thomas, his second in command. The Confederates were under the command of Generals Bragg and Longstreet. All of the officers had been worn down by the strain of command and the weight of responsibility. This caused Rosecrans to make a mistake of omission that cost him the battle.

The Chickamauga Creek area is heavily wooded, and the Union and Confederate troops, officers and enlisted men alike, had a difficult time keeping lines straight. This was exacerbated by the lack of clarity in orders. The chief of staff for General Rosecrans wrote an order for one of his officers to support Reynolds on the right, leaving a gap for the eight brigades of General Longstreet to drive him and one third of the  Union force from the field. Union cavalry and mounted infantry armed with Spenser repeating rifles made enough of a stand for the rest of the Union troops to retreat to Chattanooga. Meanwhile, Major General Thomas held out on Horseshoe Ridge until night.

Braxton Bragg had had a great opportunity to destroy the Union Army of the Cumberland. This was his objective. However, he made the mistake of not taking advantage of the retreat of the Union forces and crushing the Army of the Cumberland once and for all.

Braxton Bragg stands victorious on the battlefield, yet fails in his objective. This should be a lesson to everyone. Getting the job done is paramount. No one wins when they leave objectives unfulfilled.

There is a spark within us all, so Fan the Flame!!!

Troy Davis is scheduled to die by lethal injection today.

Davis, an African American man, was convicted for killing a white police officer in Savannah, Georgia in 1988. Significant doubts about his guilt have been raised and remain unresolved. Despite reports about police misconduct, the recantation of testimony by a string of eyewitnesses and reports from other witnesses that another person had confessed to the crime, the Georgia Pardon and Parole Board refused to grant him clemency. More than 630,000 letters pleading for a stay of execution were delivered to the Georgia board last week. Those asking for clemency included President Jimmy Carter, 51 members of Congress and death penalty supporters, such as William Sessions, a former F.B.I. director. As his execution nears, protests continue.

Another man is scheduled to die by lethal injection today. His name is Lawrence Russell Brewer.

Brewer, a white supremacist, was convicted for his involvement in the dragging death of James Byrd, a 49-year-old black man, 13 years ago near Jasper, Texas. Brewer was one of three men involved in the murder.

As I reflect on today, which happens to be the International Day of Peace, and the public outcry on Davis’ behalf, it makes me think about the death of James Craig Anderson in Jackson, Mississippi. Anderson was beaten by a group of white teens and then run over by a truck on June 26, 2011. Anderson’s family is asking state and federal officials not to seek the death penalty in the case for religious and historical reasons.

The letter from Anderson’s family states:

We also oppose the death penalty because it historically has been used in Mississippi and the South primarily against people of color for killing whites. Executing James’ killers will not help to balance the scales. But sparing them may help to spark a dialogue that one day will lead to the elimination of capital punishment.

In January 2010, the NURFC opened Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America. The images of Without Sanctuary depict – in graphic detail – the brutal murders by lynching of thousands of individuals in the United States. Why show Without Sanctuary?

• it presents an historical look back to a dark, often overlooked chapter of American history that many would prefer to forget;

• the exhibition bears witness to the victims, and to those whose individual and collective efforts helped end lynching and restore the rule of law;

• it serves as a reminder that there are vulnerable populations still today – minorities, gays and lesbians, transgender individuals and others – who need sanctuary from intimidation and oppression.

Race is certainly an issue in the death penalty debate; this fact is backed up by recent data. If you look at who has been executed since the beginning of 2010, it looks like this:

But if you look at those numbers as a proportion of US population, it’s clear that more African Americans are executed, compared to their share of the population.

To read more about these statistics click here.

As communities continue to discuss the history and legacies of race in America, we must all acknowledge that the discussion has really barely begun. Until we recognize that race plays a part in everything from states’ rights to neighborhood selection to profiling to entertainment, we will not be able to have open, honest conversations that ultimately lead to healing and reconciliation. The stories and statistics above are evidence that violence has continued to erupt in the nation that declares that all men are created equal. On this International Day of Peace, how will you acknowledge the race-related violence stalking our American streets? What will you do to fan the flame of freedom?

There is a spark within each of us, Fan the Flame.

It’s official – the era of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is over.

President Obama marked the day in a written statement:

Patriotic Americans in uniform will no longer have to lie about who they are in order to serve the country they love.

Our armed forces will no longer lose the extraordinary skills and combat experience of so many gay and lesbian servicemembers. And today, as Commander in Chief, I want those who were discharged under this law to know that your country deeply values your service.

About 100,000 troops were discharged between World War II and 1993 for being gay and lost their benefits as a result, said Aaron Belkin, an expert on gays in the U.S. military at the University of California, Los Angeles. One of those service members was Melvin Dwork, who received an “undesirable” discharge 70 years ago. Dwork has fought to amend his record for decades and the Navy notified the 89-year-old former corpsman last month that he will now be eligible for the benefits he had long been denied, including medical care and a military burial. Dwork is the first World War II veteran to have his record amended according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. To read more click here.

Under DADT, which allowed gays to serve as long as they kept their sexual orientation to themselves, over 14,000 servicemembers were discharged.

In a Facebook posting today, Army Lt. Col. Michael D. Jason said the following: “’Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ repealed today. The American citizen has asked some of us to fight for them. We volunteered. Now, as proclaimed by law, stay out of my Soldiers’ bedrooms. About time.”

A U.S. serviceman in Germany posted a video to YouTube telling his parents that he is gay.

Navy Lt. Gary Ross and his partner were married in Vermont moments after Don’t Ask Don’t Tell ended.

This is a HUGE moment for civil rights and equality. The repeal of DADT will not only strengthen our armed forces, it will create a military that serves honestly and treats its servicemembers equally.

There is a spark within each of us, Fan the Flame.

In leading the creation of our latest exhibition, Invisible: Slavery Today, I’ve increasingly spoken out about contemporary slavery. Today, I’d like to discuss an article from Topical Research Digest: Human Rights and Contemporary Slavery. The article, “The Economic Foundations of Contemporary Slavery” by Justin Guay, is definitely an awareness builder.

http://www.du.edu/korbel/hrhw/researchdigest/slavery/economic.pdf

Guay begins simply, yet poignantly with a quote by Adam Hochschild: “Slavery existed before money or law.” Even though slavery has been around for so long, it has (admittedly) evolved and manifested itself distinctively throughout various points in human history. Today, Kevin Bales, one of the foremost experts on contemporary slavery, defines contemporary slavery as “the complete control of a person, for economic exploitation, by violence, or the threat of violence.” The Freedom Center’s exhibition, supported by information from The United Nations and The International Labor Office, focuses on five forms of contemporary slavery: forced labor, child labor, debt bondage, domestic servitude, and sex trafficking. Despite the unique characteristics of contemporary slavery, one of the clear links to historical slavery is through the economics.

Historically (as is true today), the foundation of slavery has been economically-based. For example, slavery in the United States was greatly influenced by a push for goods – “cash crops”. The more products that could be produced and ultimately exported with the least amount of cost to the owners the better. It was also at least partially due to economics that slavery was abolished during this time period – the economic realities of slavery were vastly more complicated than traders and owners initially recognized.

As Guay aptly states, the post-abolition era saw an evolution in “slave-like practices.” Examples of these would be forced labor, debt bondage, and prison labor. Economic inequalities in free trade societies continue to influence the rise and fall of slavery practices around the world. Slaves today are “short term, low-capital investments with incredibly high rates of return.”

I will not recap the entire article – though I VERY MUCH urge you to read it – but I will end as Guay ended… through the words of the esteemed Maya Angelou, “History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.”

There is a spark within each of us, Fan the Flame!

MLK Memorial

“It is said that speech is the mirror of a man’s soul. And, certainly it was for Martin Luther King. Each word he spoke was chosen carefully. You can read back long before the ‘I have a Dream’ speech and you can hear that he was very careful in the selection of the words he wanted to use to express his thoughts, to express his desires.”

- Maya Angelou, speaking about Martin Luther King Jr.

Maya Angelou has been leading the voice of criticism recently – and I say criticism without the depth of its normal negative connotation – in regards to the inscription etched on the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial. As I understand it, she would like the unedited version of Dr. King’s quote to go on the new memorial in D.C. Maya Angelou desires the change for the “honesty, the reality, of the man Martin Luther King so that he can be seen as he really was.”

The memorial currently reads: “I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness.” It was edited from a 1968 sermon. Dr. King’s original words were: “If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter.” Maya Angelou contends that when you take out the “if” you change the meaning. On the other hand, Ed Jackson, who oversaw the memorial’s design and construction, said: “In no way do we believe that this paraphrased statement diminishes Dr. King’s intent of the words he delivered…. The inscription on the Stone of Hope comes directly from Dr. King’s words.”

So, what do YOU think? Does the full context of the words matter? Is the intent enough? Is the memorial fine as it is or should the call for change continue?

There is a spark within each of us, Fan the Flame!