For the final installment of the lecture series, Migration and Removal: Documenting the Historically Underrepresented Voices of Westward Expansion, the Litchfield Historical Society is excited to be hosting Jill Rowe for a virtual discussion on her book, Invisible in Plain Sight: Self-Determination Strategies of Free Blacks in the Old Northwest on Sunday, April 14th at 3:00 p.m. on Zoom.

Rowe’s talk focuses on the migration of free African Americans and racially mixed people from Virginia to Northwestern Ohio and analyze the role of structural constraints, relationships with Native American communities, contributions to Western Expansion initiatives, governmental policies, and the evolving social construction of race. Once in Ohio, these courageous settlers embraced self-determination by founding villages, actively participating in the Underground Railroad, and leading rich social lives with other free blacks in the surrounding communities.

Jill Rowe is a professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Health Programs at Western Michigan University. As a medical anthropologist, her research explores health disparities through the lens of health-seeking behaviors and socioeconomic justice and examines the cultural, social, psychological, environmental, and historical factors that affect health in diverse communities.

This program series is made possible through the generous support of the family of John Mayher.

Please register for the event here.