by Kristin DiMaggio
The travelling exhibit “Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 and the March on Washington, 1963″ is making Peoria its temporary home through the month March. Read more to learn about the first of three film discussions that coincide with the exhibit.
Film discussion educates on slavery and its alleged end
Dr. Stacey Robertson leading a discussion after viewing “Slavery By Another Name”.
“Slavery never ended.”
Dr. Stacey Robertson reiterated this fact during a lecture at the Peoria Public Library on Feb 22.
The lecture focused on the misconception that slavery ended after the Emancipation Proclamation was put into effect in 1863. As Dr. Robinson explained, this is not the case.
Partnering with the lecture and the “Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 and the March on Washington, 1963” exhibit, the documentary “Slavery By Another Name” was shown.
The film, which is based off of the book by the same title, was shown to an audience of about 15 or so people and chronicled the different forms of slavery that occurred post-abolition.
Robertson facilitated a discussion after the film to see where the community stood after learning these facts. The majority of the group was not surprised in learning what happened after the Emancipation Proclamation, though some were unaware of the specifics.
Convict leasing, pig laws and peonage were among some of the specific topics that raised the most questions, but one community member summarized the entire film with a simple sentence.
“This is American history,” she said. “Not ‘black’ history.”
The “Changing America” exhibit, which will be in the downtown branch of the library through the month of March, is a traveling exhibit that shows the progression of equal rights in America over a 100-year span.
Over the next four years, it will travel to different museums, schools and libraries across the United States.
In the wake of Black History Month, this seems more than appropriate, as many pivotal moments in the furthering of Civil Rights were in full swing during this time.
Robertson, a Bradley University professor, has been involved in researching the topic of slavery for some time. Due to this extensive knowledge, this is not unfamiliar territory for her to discuss.
“As a historian who has studied the [19th-century] abolitionist movement for nearly 25 years, I could not help but become involved in the modern-day abolitionist movement focused on fighting all forms of contemporary slavery [military, labor, and sex],” she said.
This lecture, along with those to come later this month, are all free to the public. The accessibility of these presentations and exhibit makes it easy for Peoria residents to get involved in learning about a different part of history that we’ve known since childhood, at least in part.
There will be three other films to be watched and discussed on March 22, April 5 and April 19. You can visit the Peoria Public Library’s website for more information on dates and times of these lectures.
Follow the exhibit
Find out where “Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 and the March on Washington, 1963″ will be heading now through February 2018.