Category: Talks

Keynote Speaker Discusses Richness of African American History at NAACP Banquet

I had the privilege of delivering the keynote address at the annual Cecil County Branch of the NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet on November 4, 2023. My speech focused on the richness of African American History and the invaluable contributions of earlier generations.

Cecil County Branch NAACP Annual Banquet
Cecil County Branch NAACP 61st Annual Banquet

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to learn about the past from a remarkable group of tradition-bearers who have generously shared their stories and life experiences. Their experiences have greatly influenced my understanding of the African American narrative. I was delighted to be able to share some of these remarkable journeys through time, tracing the footsteps of those who illuminated the way and highlighting their incredible contributions, resilience, and deep family history.

The Cecil County Branch was organized in February 1962. A front-page photo in the Cecil Democrat showed the officers meeting to organize at Wright’s AME Church in Elkton. McKinley Scott of North East was the Vice-President; Mildred Johnson of Elkton treasurer; Rev. H. R. Curtis, Elkton, President; and Laurie Loper Charlestown, secretary.

It was an honor to join the NAACP in celebrating and reflecting on the enduring legacy of African Americans.

african american history
Talking about African American History, Mike Dixon was the keynote speaker at the NAACP Banquet

Prohibition in New Jersey – A Talk at the Avalon History Center

I am pleased to be at the Avalon Library on Saturday, September 16, 2023, at 3:00 p.m. to explore the fascinating subject of temperance and prohibition in New Jersey. This talk, part of the Avalon History Center’s speakers series, will shed light on the region’s unique perspective on the centuries-long effort to control and regulate alcohol consumption while placing it in a national context.

During the lecture, we will delve into compelling stories of rumrunners, moonshiners, bathtub gin, Coast Guard rum patrols, and the intriguing personalities that emerged during this era. We will also navigate the intricate landscape of Garden State politics, organized crime, and the influential role of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union.

Understanding the growing interest in this captivating period, I am excited to discuss these matters with particular consideration for the New Jersey context.

The program will be held at the Tennis Building at 250 39th St., Avalon, NJ. Remember to mark your calendar for Saturday, September 16, 2023, at 3:00 p.m.

For more information on this free program, please visit the History Center link on the Visit Avalon NJ website. I look forward to this engaging discussion as we examine and consider intriguing insights into the prohibition in New Jersey.

Bring Back Beer; end prohibition
1932 beer parade in Detroit, Michigan (Detroit News Photo, Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University)

Lecture: The Long Fight for Civil Rights in Healthcare & Medicine

I am pleased to announce that my research on  Jim Crow discrimination and segregation in healthcare has been selected for inclusion in the Delaware Humanities Speakers Bureau catalog for 2024. This opportunity allows me to share my findings with a broad audience and shed light on a largely unexamined aspect of our history.

Dr. W. M. Henry dover, Delaware
Dr. W. M. Henry, an African American physician, and surgeon, established a practice in Dover in 1911 (Source: Evening Journal, Sept. 28, 1911)

During the Jim Crow era, discriminatory practices and segregation extended to all aspects of life, including medicine. Black Americans were denied access or received substandard care, leading to health disparities.

Through my research project, I have delved deeply into the struggles endured by African Americans in fighting against this inequality. Utilizing interviews, archival research, hospital records, and nursing school files, I have unearthed a wealth of information that sheds light on the civil rights movement within the medical field.

Here is the program description:

Fighting Jim Crow Discrimination and Segregation in Health Care examines the experiences of African Americans before the passage of modern Civil Rights legislation in the mid-1960s. By highlighting this little-known history within the context of Delmarva and the broader region, I aim to shed light on the contributions of African American doctors, nurses, and caregivers and the advances made within the Black hospital system. This program will explore activists’ struggles in their fight against racism and their relentless pursuit of equality in medicine and health.

african american nurses struggled for civil rights
African American Nurses at Camp Sherman, Ohio, around 1918 (Source: National Women’s History Museum)

This program aims to help participants understand and discuss this unique civil rights narrative, the lesser-known story about the historic struggle for health equality in the United States and the region, and how this legacy affected African Americans.  Here are some of the objectives:

  • Recognize the contributions of unheralded African American trailblazers in the medical professions and allied occupations.
  • Understand how Black activists, NAACP lawyers, professional organizations, and everyday citizens worked to eliminate discrimination and create equal access.
  • Describe how litigation and federal law ended the “separate but equal” legal doctrine for hospitals.
  • Discuss the history and legacy of African American healthcare and consider what we can learn from the struggle to achieve equality.

Prohibition Talk Focuses on New Hampshire

I recently had the opportunity to examine the subject of temperance and prohibition from a New England perspective. While framing this within a national context for the Nashua Public Library, the lecture considered the centuries-long attempt to control and regulate the consumption of alcohol in a regional context. This took in stories of rumrunners landing Canadian whiskey on isolated beaches, moonshiners, bathtub gin, intriguing personalities, complicated New England politics, organized crime, outgunned lawmen, and the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. There is a growing interest in this period, and I was pleased to do the prohibition talk while discussing these matters from the New England perspective.

prohibition talk amendment
House Adopts Prohibition Amendment, New York Tribue, June 18, 1917