Shining the Light on Patriots of Color: American Revolution Experience

Name: Shining the Light on Patriots of Color: American Revolution Experience
Start: 2026-02-04T18:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-02-04T19:30:00-05:00
Location: 26300 Evergreen Rd, Southfield, MI, United States, Michigan 48076

Schedule

Wed Feb 04 2026 at 06:00 pm to 07:30 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

26300 Evergreen Rd, Southfield, MI, United States, Michigan 48076 | Southfield, MI

Shining the Light on Patriots of Color with Southfield resident Karen Batchelor
An evening program will accompany the American Revolution Experience traveling exhibit open from Feb. 1 to 6 at the Southfield Public Library.
The program expands on E Pluribus Unum — “Out of Many, One” — our nation’s official motto since 1782. Among the “many” who were vital contributors to American independence were Black, Indigenous and mixed-race men and women who fought alongside American colonists.
For more than 40 years, the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) has worked to honor all who advanced the patriot cause, helping to ensure that the story of the Revolution is complete, accurate and recognizes the more than 5,000 African Americans and countless Indigenous Americans who risked everything for independence. The DAR’s core values of patriotism, historic preservation and education are at the heart of efforts to help descendants know about and honor their ancestors’ courage and sacrifice.
The presenter, Southfield resident Karen Batchelor, is an attorney, community activist and genealogist who in 1977 became the first known African American member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. As a genealogist, she co-founded the Fred Hart Williams Genealogical Society, which researches and preserves African American family history.
Batchelor also will highlight the searchable Patriots of Color database available to the public at DAR.org. A question-and-answer period will follow the presentation, with Batchelor and members of the Three Flags Chapter, founded in Lathrup Village in 1939, available to answer questions about ancestor research and DAR membership.

American Revolution Experience is a traveling exhibit from the Daughters of the American Revolution and the American Battlefield Trust. How were the lives of ordinary people affected by the events of the American Revolutionary War? As tensions mounted across the Thirteen Colonies, the entire Revolutionary Generation was faced with a difficult choice: to pledge loyalty to the Patriot cause and the prospect of a new nation or remain loyal to the King as subjects of the British Empire. See this exhibit from February 1 - 6 in the Circulation Lobby.