Discovery Museum presents, “A Family Revealed: From Slavery to Hope” | May 9 | Live, in-person event
What: Live, in-person 2023 Discovery Museum Speaker Series event, “A Family Revealed: From Slavery to Hope.” In an evening of engaging music and conversation with the audience, two descendants of a Confederate enslaver, one Black and one white, share their story and discuss what it was like to discover each other’s deeply held feelings, pain, and hope.
Who: Wallis Wickham Raemer, educator, and Reggie Harris, folk singer and social activist
Their story: Ms. Raemer, who grew up in Richmond, Virginia, thought it was cool to have a statue of her great-great-great-grandfather, Willams Carter Wickham, in the center of town. But as she grew older she changed her mind–especially after meeting Reggie Harris, who also is a descendant of the same Confederate general but by way of Bibanna Hewlett, one of the 275 people that he enslaved. For Mr. Harris, a wonderfully gifted folksinger and educator, the statue was a painful reminder of the abuse his family suffered and the refusal of America to fully acknowledge its past.
After the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville in 2017 Wallis and some members of her family wrote a letter to the city requesting that the statue be removed. But it remained until protesters dragged it down with a rope. This is real history and it’s complicated. But Reggie and Wallis are facing it by talking it out and through music. They’ve shared their journey on CNN, in a recent film, in schools, and in an article in The New York Times.
When: Tuesday, May 9, 7:00 to 8:30pm
Where: This event will be held in live, in person at Nashoba Brooks School, 200 Strawberry Hill Road, Concord, MA
How? And, how much? Free with advance registration, which is required, at http://bit.ly/DMSpeakerSeries
The Discovery Museum Speaker Series remains free thanks to the support of Enterprise Bank. Additional support is provided by Sutherland Realty Group/Keller Williams Realty Boston NW and NETSCOUT Systems, Inc. Thank you.
About Discovery Museum
Discovery Museum is a hands-on museum that blends science, nature, and play, inspiring families to explore and learn together. The museum and its Discovery Woods accessible outdoor nature playscape and 550sf treehouse blend the best of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) learning on a beautiful 4.5-acre campus abutting 180 acres of conservation land in Acton, MA, about 20 miles west of Boston. Originally founded in 1982 and expanded to two museums in 1987, the museum reopened in a single, 16,000sf accessible building after a complete renovation and expansion in early 2018. Hands-on, open-ended exhibits developed by professional educators inspire curiosity and exploration, providing a fun and engaging experience for children and adults to discover their world together. Serving families and schools from towns throughout the region, the museum is devoted to informal education that enhances classroom learning. Discovery Museum is committed to accessibility and is a proud recipient of the 2017 Massachusetts Commonwealth Award, the only winner in the Access category, and a 2018 LEAD® Community Asset Award from The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. For more information, please visit www.discoveryacton.org. Discovery Museum is a community-supported non-profit organization.
Discovery Museum programming is supported in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
###