Special Presentation by Lucinda MacKethan, PhD

Sunday, August 1 – 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM

This free presentation will introduce the personal narratives, letters, poetry, and interviews of NC slaves and discuss how these works fill in a lost or often distorted picture of slavery in our state before the Civil War. The narratives of Moses Roper, Lunsford Lane, and Harriet Jacobs; the poetry of George Moses Horton; and interviews from the WPA narratives will be explored to give a realistic picture of how North Carolina slaves lived, worked, created families, worshipped, and sometimes escaped from bondage. We will also learn about the plantations of Somerset Place (near Creswell) and Stagville (near Durham), plantations now open to the public that show the everyday world of slaves. 

About Lucinda MacKethan:

Dr. Lucinda MacKethan is Emerita Professor of English at NC State University, where she taught courses in American, Southern, and African American literature and culture. At NC State she was Alumni Distinguished Professor, was twice voted her College’s nominee for the NC Board of Governors Award, and in 2004 received the university’s highest teaching honor, the Holladay Medal of Excellence. She has published or edited six books and dozens of articles on the American South, including co-editing The Companion to Southern Literature, which received a Best Reference Book designation from the American Library Association in 2004. She has been a fellow at the National Humanities Center and senior consultant for an award-winning website on women writers, Scribblingwomen.org. She is now working on a book-length work on the intertwined lives of slaves and masters in the Old South.

 “This presentation is made possible through a grant from the North Carolina Humanities Council’s Road Scholars Speakers Bureau. The North Carolina Humanities Council is a nonprofit foundation and state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.”

Gaston County Museum of Art & History, Dallas, North Carolina – 131 West Main Street, Dallas, NC 28034 – The Gaston County Museum is located near Gastonia, North Carolina on the square in historic Dallas. 

Museum hours:

Tuesday – Friday 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Saturday 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Contact:  Jeff Pruett, Programs Coordinator, 704.922.7681 x105 or jeff.pruett@co.gaston.nc.us   Museum’s website – www.gastoncountymuseum.org

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