When Kimberly France, a descendant of free African-American pioneers, first approached Toni Craig to help piece together her family’s history in a southern Illinois community called Africa, Craig wasn’t sure she was up for it. Craig already had spent years assembling and telling the stories of the community of Africa, which is located 120 miles from St. Louis. France and … [Read more...] about Recovering the history of free Black settlements in Illinois
Southern Illinois
“Shifting the spirit of the nation”: How one humanities project addresses slavery and citizenship
It is one of the more unlikely places – a rural community struggling to move on from its “sundown town” reputation – that a small, curious audience gathered recently at the Anna Arts Center to listen to Harry Dougherty’s freedom story. It was told by local historian and educator, Darrel Dexter, who first learned of the African-American’s emancipation story 30 years ago … [Read more...] about “Shifting the spirit of the nation”: How one humanities project addresses slavery and citizenship