In 1842, radical abolitionists opposed to slavery founded a utopian community called The Northampton Association of Education and Industry in Florence. Their goal was to create a society in which “the rights of all are equal without distinction of sex, color or condition, sect or religion.”
The Stetson family from Brooklyn, Connecticut, joined the NAEI in 1843. Their letters (now at Historic Northampton) contain rich details and personal thoughts of community life, work, education and reform. Glimpses of Sojourner Truth, David Ruggles, and other leading figures of the Community appear throughout the correspondence. Transcriptions of the letters were published in the book Letters from an American Utopia: The Stetson Family and the Northampton Association, 1843-1847, edited by Christopher Clark and Kerry W. Buckley, 2004.
Dr. Clark's presentation will include the live “voices” of Dolly Stetson (read by Mary Beth Brooker) and her teenaged daughter Almira Stetson.
Register for the Zoom link.
Sliding scale admission: $5 to $25.
Students: Free of charge.
Learn More | Register
|