National Underground Railroad Conference – June 2011 – Cincinnati, Ohio

Difficult Dialogues: Not all Northerners were Abolitionists, Not all Southerners were Slaveholders

Kristin Gallas, Director of Education and Public History
James Perry, Managing Director and Director of Research

Online Resources

• Common Myths about Slavery
• Annotated Bibliography

Public History Program Offerings

There are many ways in which your museum, historic sites, or public history organization can delve deeper in to the subjects of slavery and the slave trade utilizing the Emmy-nominated, PBS broadcast documentary Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North as the catalyst.   We are happy to work with you to create programs that are tailor-made for your visitors or staff.

Information about the documentary, along with a video preview, additional free resources, and programming options, is available on our website, www.tracingcenter.org.

“Our national memories and national amnesias tell us so much about who we are today.  Traces of the Trade will help those of us who are custodians of history, translators of history, to bring a central, but buried chapter in our American story powerfully to the fore—all while penetrating right to the heart.  I can’t recommend the film enough.”

Lonnie Bunch, Director, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of African American History and Culture

For Your Staff

1. Professional Development – Designed especially for museum/historic site professionals, workshops provide resources on interpreting the role of the North in slavery, the legacy of slavery, and the importance of interpreting in a sensitive way given how formative the topic can be for black and white visitors, as well as for other groups.
2. Issues of Race and Privilege – Help increase the sensitivity of staff, and board members, on matters of race and privilege, using models that reduce defensiveness and lead to breakthroughs.
3. Creating an Interpretive Plan ­– Working in collaboration with your staff, we can help you shape a plan for researching and interpreting the stories of slavery and the slave trade at your site.

For Your Visitors

1. Film Screening with Q & A, led by filmmaker Katrina Browne, others appearing in the film, or a Tracing Center staff member.
2. Film Screenings with specific topic discussions, tailored by request, led by a trained facilitator.  Topics include:

Looking at History	Confronting Fears
The Lingering Legacy of Slavery	Living in Different Worlds
White Privilege	Topics can be tailored by request

3. On-going use of film as part of your visitor experience –If you are interested in showing the film as a part of your on-going visitor experience, we will negotiate viewing rights with your site/organization.