Salon at Stowe: Can We Talk About Slavery?

Sharon Morgan and Thomas DeWolf will speak candidly about racism and the unhealed wounds of slavery at Salons at Stowe: Can We Talk About Slavery?.  The authors will share excerpts from their book Gather at the Table: The Healing Journey of a Daughter of Slavery and a Son of the Slave Trade which chronicles their shared journey toward racial reconciliation.  Join the conversation about race, social justice, and healing from the generational trauma of slavery.

Morgan and DeWolf write, “The legacy of slavery is a combination of historical, cultural, and structural trauma that continues to touch everyone in American society today.  Schools, neighborhoods and churches are as segregated as ever; health disparities between black and white people remain significant and African Americans are overrepresented in prisons and underrepresented in colleges.  Racism is more subtle now that in the past, but it still exists. Healing will happen and change will occur, when people start listening to one another and looking truthfully at their ancestral experiences.”

Sharon Morgan is a black woman from Chicago’s South Side, a descendant of slaves on both sides of her family who began a journey toward racial reconciliation with Tom DeWolf, a white man from rural Oregon who descends from the largest slave-trading dynasty in U.S. History.  Over a three-year period, the pair traveled thousands of miles, both overseas and through 27 states, visiting ancestral towns, courthouses, cemeteries, plantations, and historic sites. They engaged in deep conversations about how the lingering trauma of slavery shaped their lives. Gather at the Table is the chronicle of their journey.

Leymah Gbowee, 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate, hails the book as “an honest exploration into the deep social wounds left by racism, violence and injustice, as the authors work through their own prejudices in search of reconciliation — and ultimately find friendship.”

Enjoy refreshments at 5 p.m.  The discussion begins at 5:30 p.m.  Admission to Salons at Stowe is free. RSVP by calling 860.522.9258 ext. 317 or email Info@StoweCenter.org.

Since 2008, the Stowe Center has brought community members together for Salons at Stowe, spirited discussions of contemporary issues to foster engagement and community action. Salon admission is FREE thanks to our members, donors and the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, Travelers Foundation, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and Lincoln Financial Foundation.