Slavery doesn’t belong in the past,
either, according to both the U.S. State Department and the activist
group Free the Slaves. Washington, D.C.-based Free the Slaves estimates
that as many as 27 million people worldwide are being held in various
forms of involuntary servitude. They consider that the current world
economy and the mobility of the labor force makes conditions ripe for a
resurgence of slavery.
Through 11 offerings that include
lectures, films and art, Beyond Boundaries and the Cultural Resources
Council hope to promote a dialogue on how racism and slavery have
influenced our history and affect us still today. “In the series,
‘Slavery and our Roots’,” said organizer Aggie Lane, “we’ll address the
hidden, and the distorted” aspects of our history.
That history includes a discussion,
Thursday, March 5, on “Race, Class & the Creation of Power and
Privilege in the 20th Century” to be held at the Community Folk Art
Center, 805 E. Genesee St. Syracuse University African-American studies
assistant professor Herb Ruffin will lead the 6 p.m. discussion on how
the government and our attitudes create segregation in housing that
lasts even until today.
If you have seen the box-office hit Taken,
with Liam Neeson pursuing the Albanian kidnappers who are trying to
sell his teenage daughter into the sex trade in France, you might be
familiar with the storyline of Trade, showing at the
Fayetteville Free Library, 300 Orchard St., on Monday, March 9, 6:30
p.m. The film traces the journey of a 13-year-old Mexican girl who is
being brought into the United States to be used in a brothel. Free the
Slaves estimates that as many as 10,000 men and women, many of them
minors, are smuggled into the domestic sex trade each year.
If such exposés leave you feeling
paralyzed, fear not; a followup session looks at ways you can be part
of the solution. That program, Monday, March 16, runs from 7 to 8:30
p.m. and will feature a panel discussion.
The following Thursday, March 19, 6 to
7:30 p.m., at the CFAC, Le Moyne College history professor Douglas
Egerton will lead an exploration of racist theories embedded in our
founding fathers’ thought. Attendees are invited to prepare for this
discussion by reading the chapter “A Suspicion Only: Racism in the
Early Republic” from Egerton’s new book Death or Liberty: African Americans and Revolutionary America (Oxford University Press, 2008).
Egerton’s thesis, suggested by the
title, is that the contributions of African Americans to the American
Revolution were both more substantial than generally recognized by
historians and have yet to be fully explored. The book will be
available for purchase at the event, and a copy of the chapter is
available free of charge at www.beyondboundariescny.org.
The series will conclude on March 21, 7
to 9 p.m., with “Exploring and Celebrating Who We Are” at the St.
Claire Theater, 1119-27 N. Townsend St. Described as a “celebratory
evening honoring African Americans in Syracuse,” it will include
photography, storytelling, songs and dance. Admission is $10 and $5 for
children under 12. All other events in the series are free. For more
information contact Aggie Lane, 478-4571.
–Ed Griffin-Nolan
