Our Freedom Seekers: Stories of Courage

Press Release:  June 15, 2022

“Our Freedom Seekers:  Stories of Courage”

A Weekend with Joe McGill: The Slave Dwelling Project

In partnership with

Roots 101 African American Museum

&

The Oldham County History Center

August 5 & 6, 2022

Note: Activities will be taking place at several venues, please note in descriptions below

Experience a weekend of local history that examines the Antebellum culture of Oldham and Jefferson County with Joe McGill and Dontavius Williams of The Slave Dwelling Project.  Joe has reached ninety sites in over eighteen states and engages with diverse audiences at historic locations by conducting programs, giving lectures and spending nights in the slave dwellings. His project has received national and international attention and Joe has appeared on numerous national television shows and documentaries.  “Now that I have the attention of the public by sleeping in extant slave dwellings, it is time to wake up and deliver the message that the people who lived in these structures were not a footnote in American history,” states Joe. In addition, Joe will bring interpreter and educator Dontavius William who does a first-person interpretation, the Chronicles of Adam, of an enslaved man’s life.

The Oldham County History Center and Roots 101 African American Museum are partnering together on this exciting program that examines the culture of slavery in Jefferson and Oldham County and the amazing stories of resistance and courage of freedom seekers.

Roots 101 African American Museum, 124 N. First Street, in Louisville is located near the city’s waterfront where slave sales and trading were a regular activity and enslaved laborers were shackled and sent downriver to work cotton fields in the deep south. Today the museum highlights the courageous efforts of local African Americans from the settlement of our state to current activities that explore injustice and controversial issues around the Civil Rights movement.  Hands-on activities and exhibits encourage visitors to explore the world of African American culture and heritage. Roots 101 African American Museum recently received Top 10 New Attractions in USA Today Reader’s Choice Award!

The Oldham County History Center, 106 N. Second Ave. in LaGrange, Ky. is dedicated to telling the story of its people and the events that shaped local history. The Center has earned two sites on the National Park Service National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. Other exhibits include The Mount Parlor Room which explores the culture of slavery through the family of James and Amanda Mount, the Kentucky State Reformatory, Our World War II Local Heroes, and more. Silent movies are regularly shown that were produced by Oldham County native and Father of Modern Film, D. W. Griffith. The campus includes the Peyton Samuel Head Museum, J.C. Barnett Library & Archives, Dahlgren Barn, Rob Morris Chapel Education Building, 19^th Century Root Cellar and Colonial Garden.

There will be several venues and events taking place on August 6 and 7. Please check the location of each event:

August 5: Friday Evening Presentation by Joe McGill on upcoming book “Sleeping with the Ancestors” (Hatchett Press, release date Fall 2022). Includes appetizers, cash bar $10 per person.  Audience:  Adult.  Held at the Roots 101 African American Museum, 124 N. First Street, Louisville, KY.  Pay at the door, no pre-registration.

August 6: Saturday

10 a.m. to 1 p.m.: “Freedom Seekers”:  Storytelling with Joe McGill and Dontavius Williams from the Slave Dwelling Project with additional hands-on activities. Includes tours of the Mount Parlor Room and Root Cellar. Children receive a National Park Service Underground Railroad activity book and Junior Ranger Badge. Free, open to the public, activity takes place at the Oldham County History Center campus in LaGrange.

6:30 p.m.:  Campfire Storytelling Presentation by Joe McGill and Dontavius Williams at the Harrods Creek Farm Slave Cemetery Site.  Encampment by the 12^th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery. The 12^th U.S. Colored Calvary represents a group that reconstituted the 12^th and conduct encampments for special events. The soldiers represent African Americans from Kentucky who fought for the Union in the Civil War. Over 24,000 African Americans in Kentucky enlisted in the Union. Cost $5 per person, includes meal and non-alcoholic beverage. Family friendly, children 5 and under free. Children will receive a National Park Service Junior Ranger Badge and Underground Railroad activity book. Held at Harrods Creek Farm, 1629 N. Hwy. 1694.  Pre-registration required by calling 502.222.0826.  Directions will be given to the site with registration.