Welcome to the conversation!


Welcome to the conversation!

Harriet Beecher Stowe's (1811-1896) best-selling anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), made her the most famous American woman of the 19th century and galvanized the abolition movement before the Civil War.

The Stowe Center is a 21st-century museum and program center using Stowe's story to inspire social justice and positive change.

The Salons at Stowe programs are a forum to connect the challenging issues (race, gender and class) that impelled Stowe to write and act with the contemporary face of those same issues. The Salon format is based on a robust level of audience participation, with the explicit goal of promoting civic engagement. Recent topics included: Teaching Acceptance; Is Prison the New Slavery; Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North; Creativity and Change; Race, Gender and Politics Today; How to be an Advocate

This blog will expand the reach of these community conversations to the online audience. Add your posts and comments to keep the conversation going! Commit to action by clicking HERE to stay up to date on Salon and social justice news.

For updates on Stowe Center programs and events, sign up for our enews at http://harrietbeecherstowe.org/email.

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

#StoweSyllabus: What We're Reading this Week

Articles and current events that got us thinking over the week!

Where is the Uncle Tom’s Cabin of gun control?
Rebecca Onion, June 20, 2016, Slate
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2016/06/what_would_the_uncle_tom_s_cabin_of_gun_control_look_like.html

Why is Juneteenth such an important holiday?
AJ+, June, 19, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHUfTdtDxiE

A global policing crisis: Question and answer with the editors of “Policing the Planet”

Aaron CantĂș, June 17, 2016, The Washington Spectator
http://washingtonspectator.org/global-policing-crisis/

A year after Charleston, we still need to cure what ails America
Bree Newsome, June 17, 2016, Fusion
http://fusion.net/story/315633/bree-newsome-charleston-anniversary-orlando-trump/ 

What are your reactions to the pieces? What articles, news pieces, or video-clips have you come across over the week? Let us know, below!

Sunday, June 19, 2016

#StoweSyllabus: What We're Reading this Week

Articles and current events that got us thinking over the week!

What gun control advocates can learn from abolitionists
Rebecca Onion, June 14, 2016, Slate http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history/2016/06/what_gun_control_advocates_can_learn_from_the_abolitionists_who_helped_end.html

The long, tragic history of violence at LGBTQ bars across America
Mark Joseph Stern, June 12, 2016, Slate
http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2016/06/12/pulse_nightclub_shooting_and_tragic_history_of_violence_at_lgbtq_clubs_in.html

Murphy, Blumenthal lead Senate filibuster in push for gun control debate
Russell Blair, June 15, 2016, The Hartford Courant 
http://www.courant.com/politics/hc-murphy-gun-control-senate-speech-20160615-story.html 

White crime: On race, crime, and Brock Turner
Roxane Gay, June 15, 2016, Lenny Letter
http://www.lennyletter.com/politics/a430/white-crime/

What are your reactions to the pieces? What articles, news pieces, or video-clips have you come across over the week? Let us know, below!

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Inspiration to Action Fair and Real Stories of Social Change: Today!

Today is the Student Stowe Prize! College winner Martese Johnson and high school winner Nina Sachs will be awarded for excellence in social justice writing.

Join community activists and local organizations at the Inspiration to Action Fair from 3:00-4:00 PM at Immanuel Congregational Church in Hartford. Featured organizations include The Discovery Center, Grow Hartford Youth Program, CT Old State House, CT River Academy, and more!

Following the fair, hear from the winners and keynote speaker Andrew Aydin, co-author of the graphic novel March at Real Stories of Social Change. Real Stories of Social Change will be held from 4:00-5:30 PM at Immanuel Congregational Church.

See you there!

#StowePrize Syllabus

Today is the Student Stowe Prize! College winner Martese Johnson and high school winner Nina Sachs will be awarded for excellence in social justice writing. Meet and network with the winners and fellow community activists from 3:00-4:00 PM at the Inspiration to Action Fair, and hear from the winners and keynote speaker Andrew Aydin at Real Stories of Social Change. Both events are free to the public and held at Immanuel Congregational Church.

Learn more about the topics of the student winners below!

Reflections after a trending hashtag-Criminal justice and the events on March 18, 2015 
Martese Johnson, October 14, 2015, Vanity Fair 
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/10/martese-johnson-the-uva-student-assaulted-by-officers-last-spring-speaks-out   

Empowering women, period. 
Nina Sachs, January 2016, Teen Ink 
http://www.teenink.com/hot_topics/health/article/844053/Empowering-Women-Period/  

John Lewis’ Graphic Novel to Be Taught in NYC Public Schools
Angela Bronner Helm, March 15, 2016, The Root 
http://www.theroot.com/articles/news/2016/05/john_lewis_graphic_novel_to_be_taught_in_nyc_public_schools.html 

The rise of law enforcement on college campuses 
Melinda D. Anderson, September 28, 2015, The Atlantic 
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/09/college-campus-policing/407659/ 

The paranoid style of American policing 
Ta-Nehisi Coates, December 30, 2015, The Atlantic 
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/12/illegitimacy-and-american-policing/422094/   

The matter of Black lives 
Jelani Cobb, March 14, 2016, The New Yorker 
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/03/14/where-is-black-lives-matter-headed 

New York City public schools to offer free tampons to students 
Michelle Broder Van Dyke, March 14, 2016, Buzzfeed News
https://www.buzzfeed.com/mbvd/no-more-bleed-through?utm_term=.sgaJ2pDro#.lqrodjONG  

For homeless women, getting their period is one of the most difficult challenges 
Eleanor Goldberg, January 15, 2015, HuffPost Impact
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/14/homeless-women-tampons_n_6465230.html   

A taboo-free way to talk about periods 
Aditi Gupta, May 2015, TED 
https://www.ted.com/talks/aditi_gupta_a_taboo_free_way_to_talk_about_periods?language=en