As this semester comes to a close so does this chapter of my Humanities Project. Towards the beginning of this project, I had set my sights on completing a documentary style short film that told the story of the “Gathering at the Crossroads” Commonwealth Monument featured on T. Morris Chester Way. As I continued on … Continue reading The end of this chapter
- Kelan Amme, Lenwood Sloan (who plays Martin J. Delaney), and Lewis Butts (who plays Jacob T. Compton) discuss project details. Image by Kelan Amme. For part one of this story, click here. For part two of this story, click here. When I first began brainstorming how the Chester Way walking tour, my idea of … Continue reading Retelling the Story of Harrisburg’s Historic African American Community: My Final Reflections
By: Keli Ganey It's good to be back with exciting updates on my project "The Story Behind the Bronze. " We are now 8 weeks into our humanities projects course and having covered the brainstorm, planning, and coordinating phases it’s time to create. I first traveled to the monument itself to taken in it’s story … Continue reading Works in Progress
By Keli Ganey The Harrisburg monument, “A Gathering at the Crossroads,” commemorates the passing of the 15th and 19th amendments and the multi-cultural community of the Old 8th Ward in Harrisburg. The sculpture represents four orators, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, William Howard Day, Jacob Compton, and Thomas Morris Chester. These four were powerful forces of … Continue reading The Story Behind the Bronze
By Kelan Amme This fall, I will be helping to create a video/audio tour of African American History in the city of Harrisburg. In partnership with the Center for Public Humanities at Messiah University, the T. Morris Chester Welcome Center (at the McCormick Public Library), and Mr. Lenwood Sloan of the International Institute for Peace … Continue reading Retelling the story of Harrisburg’s Historic African American Community
The Monument on the day it was dedicated August 26, 2020 marked a historic day in Harrisburg history. Titled “A Gathering at The Crossroads: For Such a Time as This,” a new monument was erected in the Pennsylvania State Capital Complex to honor a forgotten piece of Harrisburg’s history: The Old Eighth Ward. The Eighth Ward was a complex … Continue reading Commonwealth Monument Dedication
As the school year comes to a close, we are happy to announce that a resource we've been working on for a very long time, is finally live.
In partnership with the Commonwealth Monument Project, we are launching a campaign via Facebook, Twitter, and this blog to track down direct descendants of 100 influential African-American citizens who called Harrisburg their home in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Our collaborators in the project, history detectives Mr. Calobe Jackson, Lenwood Sloan, and Jeb … Continue reading Do You Know ME? Help us find descendants of 100 important Harrisburgers
Digital Harrisburg 