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.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

#StoweSyllabus: What We're Reading This Week

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

Making a home for Black History
Vinson Cunnigham, August 29, 2016, The New Yorker
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/08/29/analyzing-the-national-museum-of-african-american-history-and-culture

Nat Turner’s insurrection
Thomas Wentworth Higgins, 1861 issue of The Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1861/08/nat-turners-insurrection/308736/

Justice Department says it will end the use of private prisons
Matt Zapotosky and Chico Harlan, August 18, 2016, The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/08/18/justice-department-says-it-will-end-use-of-private-prisons/?utm_term=.630554b428e2

Using Reconstruction to understand today’s racial tensions
Andrew Reese, July 28, 2016, Facing Today
http://bit.ly/2bOiNtC  

What are you reading this week? Share in the comments below! 

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

#SalonatLunch: Race, Gender and the Olympics

Join us for another Salon at Lunch!

From history making moments, including Simone Manuel becoming the first Black woman to win gold in swimming and the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics team winning by the highest margin in the sport’s history, to head-shaking moments like swimmer Katie Ledecky being referred to as the “female Michael Phelps,” issues of race and gender are ever-present at the Olympics. How do issues of race and gender intersect and impact the Olympics? How does racism and sexism influence coverage of Olympic athletes?

Check out these articles below for background reading:  

NBC's coverage of the Olympics is atrocious. There's a simple reason why
Todd VanderWerff, August 12, 2016, Vox
http://www.vox.com/2016/8/11/12433144/nbc-olympics-bad

Rio Olympics: Simone Manuel makes history in the pool
Karen Crouse, August 12, 2016, The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/11/sports/olympics/rio-schedule-medals-biles-phelps-lochte.html?_r=0

American Simone Manuel speaks out on police brutality, race after earning Olympic gold

The media are saying and doing a bunch of sexist stuff during the Olympics
Lee Moran, August 8, 2016, Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/rio-2016-sexism-media_us_57a840dbe4b056bad215f03c?section


Join us from 12:00-1:00 PM today! Bring your lunch, ideas, and opinions!

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

#StoweSyllabus: What We're Reading this Week

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

Rep. Lewis’s new book ‘March: Book Three’ rises to the historic occasion
Michael Cavna, August 3, 2016, The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/rep-john-lewiss-new-march-book-three-rises-to-the-historic-occasion/2016/08/03/63355a0e-57fb-11e6-831d-0324760ca856_story.html

Constance Wu on Hollywood’s white savior problem: ‘Our heroes don’t look like Matt Damon’
Jaleesa M. Jones, July 29, 2016, USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2016/07/29/constance-wu-hollywood-whitewashing-matt-damon/87749210/
The tyranny of the traffic ticket: How small crimes turn fatal for poor, minority Americans
German Lopez, August 5, 2016, Vox
http://www.vox.com/2016/8/5/12364580/police-overcriminalization-net-widening

U.S. police body cameras put civil rights at risk: study

Gina Cherelus, August 2, 2016, Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-police-cameras-idUSKCN10D2AC?utm_content=bufferd547f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

The permanence of Black Lives Matter
Vann R. Newkirk II, August 3, 2016, The Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/08/movement-black-lives-platform/494309/ 

What are you reading this week? Share in the comments below! 

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

#SalonatLunch: Why Are We Reluctant to Address Slavery?

Join us, for another Salon at Lunch! This week we are tackling the question, "why are we reluctant to address slavery?"

At last week's Democratic National Convention, Michelle Obama addressed the history of the White House stating, “I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves.”

Several commentators took issue with the statement and some even rebutted that those who built the White House were “treated well.” Conversation about the reality and misconceptions of slavery has since ensued.

Join the conversation at this free event: Why do we have difficulty addressing history? Why are there so many misconceptions about slavery? How can we best understand history and its connections to present injustices? 

Chekc out these articles below for background reading: 

Michelle Obama’s Speech and the powerful realities of American Slavery
Kirt von Daacke, July 28, 2016, NBC BLK
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/michelle-obama-s-speech-powerful-realities-american-slavery-n618811

What Bill O’Reilly doesn’t understand about slavery

Rebecca Onion, July 28, 2016, Slate
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history/2016/07/what_bill_o_reilly_doesn_t_understand_about_slavery.html

Teaching slavery to reluctant listeners
Edward Baptist, September 11, 2015, The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/magazine/teaching-slavery-to-reluctant-listeners.html?_r=0 

Salons at Lunch are every Wednesday at noon. Free and open to the public. 

#StoweSyllabus: What We're Reading this Week

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

Michelle Obama’s Speech and the powerful realities of American Slavery
Kirt von Daacke, July 28, 2016, NBC BLK
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/michelle-obama-s-speech-powerful-realities-american-slavery-n618811

What Bill O’Reilly doesn’t understand about slavery
Rebecca Onion, July 28, 2016, Slate
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history/2016/07/what_bill_o_reilly_doesn_t_understand_about_slavery.html

Teaching slavery to reluctant listeners

Edward Baptist, September 11, 2015, The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/magazine/teaching-slavery-to-reluctant-listeners.html?_r=0

The grief that white Americans can’t share
Nikole Hannah-Jones, July 22, 2016, The New York Times Magazine
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/07/22/magazine/the-grief-that-white-americans-cant-share.html?_r=0 

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!