Program in Honor of African American History Month at AIHA

The Albany Institute of History & Art will host a lecture “Traveling the New York African American Experience” by Dr. Sherill Wilson, an Independent Urban Anthropologist on Wednesday, February 27 at 6:30pm in honor of African American History Month.

This illustrated lecture traces the African presence in New York from the city’s origins as Dutch New Amsterdam through the 20^th century.  Among the topics Dr. Wilson will address are: slavery in the North, the everyday life of enslaved and free Africans during the Dutch and British colonial periods, Africans and the American Revolution, the Underground Railroad, and the origins of New York’s African American church.  It also focuses on the history of African Americans in New York City from the early colonial era through the 20^th century and some of the specific sites associated with this story: the free Negro lots (from the 17^th century), the Wall Street Slave Auction House and landmark African Burial Ground (18^th century), the printing office of Freedom’s Journal, the African Free Schools, and Seneca Village (19^th century), and finally Harlem in the 20^th century – the heart and soul of the African American community.

This program is supported by the Speakers in the Humanities, New York Council for the Humanities.   There will be a reception, underwritten by Hartgen Archaeological Associates, preceding the lecture at 5:30pm.  Both the lecture and reception are FREE to the public.