Intended Audience
Commemorative to the Enslaved Peoples of Southern Maryland Dedication - November 21, 11 a.m. at https://www.smcm.edu/commemorative/.
In 2016, St. Mary’s College of Maryland archaeologists unearthed fragments of brick, ceramics, tobacco pipes and bottle glass suggesting locations on the St. Mary’s College campus where slave cabins once stood.
The Commemorative to Enslaved Peoples of Southern Maryland is an immersive art experience that honors the story of resilience, persistence, and creative problem-solving that defined the lives of the enslaved individuals that lived in St. Mary’s City between 1750 and 1815. Constructed on the College’s campus, the commemorative provides visitors with the space to acknowledge and learn from the lives of those who once toiled there, while providing a place for reflection and introspection about the nature of slavery and its connections to modern society
This virtual dedication will feature a keynote message by nationally-known writer Jelani Cobb. Known for his wit, style and pop culture credibility, keynote speaker Jelani Cobb is billed as one of the clearest and smartest voices in today’s conversations around race issues. Cobb is a staff writer for The New Yorker, a historian and a professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. As a columnist, he received the Sidney Hillman Prize for Opinion an Analysis Journalism. The author of “The Devil & Dave Chappelle & Other Essays” (Basic Books, 2007) and “The Substance of Hope: Barack Obama and the Paradox of Progress” (Walker & Co., 2010), the latter will be re-released in October 2020 with a new introduction by the author.
Designed by Shane Allbritton and Norman Lee of Re:site and featuring the poetry of Quenton Baker, the Commemorative to Enslaved Peoples of Southern Maryland will allow visitors to engage in an individualized experience, contemplating the effects of slavery on the individual, the local community, and the nation.