Community Corner
AMERICAN COLLEGE OF HISTORY AND LEGAL STUDIES AND MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL OF LAW CO-HOST FREE BOOK TALK BY PROFESSOR J. WILLIAM HARRIS, AUTHOR OF "The Hanging of Thomas Jeremiah: a Free Black Man"
SALEM, NH – The American College of History and Legal Studies (“ACHLS”) and Massachusetts School of Law (“MSL”) will co-host a free book talk and signing by award-winning historian Dr. J. William Harris on his book, The Hanging of Thomas Jeremiah: a Free Black Man’s Encounter with Liberty, on Saturday, October 5, 2013 from 9:30-11:30 am. Members of the public are welcome to attend the seminar which will take place at the Massachusetts School of Law, 500 Federal Street, Andover, Massachusetts. Copies of Harris’s book will be available for sale.
Dr. Harris (Ph.D. Johns Hopkins) is Professor of History at the University of New Hampshire at Durham. He specializes in African American and Southern history. His second book, Deep Souths: Delta, Piedmont, and Sea Island Society in the Age of Segregation, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
From the front flap:
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“In 1775, Thomas Jeremiah was one of fewer than five hundred “Free Negros” in South Carolina and possibly the richest person of African descent in British North America. A slave-owner himself, Jeremiah was falsely accused by whites—who resented his success as a Charleston harbor pilot—of sowing insurrection among slaves at the behest of the British. Chief among the accusers was Henry Laurens, Charleston’s leading patriot, a slave-owner and former slave trader, who would later become the president of the Continental Congress. On the other side was Lord William Campbell, royal governor of the colony, who passionately believed that the accusation was unjust and tried to save Jeremiah’s life but failed. Though a free man, Jeremiah was tried in a slave court and sentenced to death. In August 1775, he was hanged and his body burned. J. William Harris tells Jeremiah’s story in full for the first time, illuminating the contradiction between a nation that would be born in a struggle for freedom and yet deny it—often violently—to other colonists, and remained entangled with European Atlantic empires long after the Revolution ended.”
To RSVP for the free seminar by September 29, 2013 or for further information, contact ACHLS Professor and Chair of History, Dr. Jessica Parr at 603.458.5145 ext. 10, or email info@achls.org. Guests can also reserve a seat online at www.achls.org. Seating is limited.
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The American College of History and Legal Studies (www.achls.org) was created by the Massachusetts School of Law (www.mslaw.edu). An affordable “completion” college offering the junior and senior years of undergraduate study toward a bachelor’s degree in history and legal studies, ACHLS also offers an "Early Admission To Law School" program in conjunction with the Massachusetts School of Law. Like its sister school MSL, all classes at ACHLS are taught exclusively using the discussion (not lecture) method of teaching. Evening classes are available. To schedule a visit, request information, or apply, visit www.achls.org, email info@achls.org or call 603.458.5145.
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