The Northern Slavery Collective Presents: State of the States

Are you curious about the newest research and interpretation about enslavement in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut? Come spend a few hours with our speakers to find out about the latest updates and get your questions answered.

Where: McMahon 109 at Fordham University. Guests should enter Fordham University at 115 West 60th Street, Manhattan.

When: November 12th at 1pm

REGISTRATION FOR IN PERSON ATTENDANCE ENDS NOVEMBER 7th.

Speaker Bios:

Noelle Lorraine Williams is the director of the African American History Program and the Black Heritage Trail at the New Jersey Historical Commission. Part of the New Jersey Historical Commission, the African American History Program champions and partners with universities, historical societies, schools, and other institutions, groups, and individuals in a collaborative statewide effort to develop African American history in New Jersey. Founded by the late Giles Wright in 1983, it was recommenced at the Commission in 2021.
As a public humanities specialist, artist, researcher, and curator, her work examines the ways African Americans utilize culture to re-imagine liberation in the United States. She is a graduate of the New School for Social Research and Rutgers University Newark and her work has been profiled in the New York Times, ArtNews, and the Star-Ledger. She is the recipient of the Giles R. Wright Award for contributions to African American History and an award from the National Academy of Design for a mural on Black women suffragists. Her research work contributed to Newark being recognized as one of first northeastern New Jersey cities to be federally recognized Black underground railroad sites by the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. Her current exhibition “Stay: The Black Women of 19th-Century Newark” is currently on view at the historic Ballantine House at The Newark Museum of Art.

Lavada Nahon is a culinary historian focused is on the 17th – 19th century mid-Atlantic region, with an emphasis on the work of enslaved cooks in the homes of the elite class. She has 18 plus years of public history experience working with a variety of historic sites, societies and museums across the tri-state region. She has cooked on a variety of historic hearths many of which are no longer in use. She has developed educational programs, after-school programs, lectures and tours, period presentations and historic dinners for sites ranging from the New York Historical Society, Albany Institute of Art and History, Dyckman Farm House Museum, Johnson Hall, many more. She worked as a museum associate and educator for Historic Hudson Valley for 12 years at Van Cortlandt Manor and Philipsburg Manor Upper Mills, and as a production coordinator for their special events team for 3. Currently she is on the reinterpretation team for Dey Mansion in Wayne, NJ, the home of the Passaic County Historical Society. And is also working with several other historic sites to give presence to the Africans once enslaved on their properties. As of two weeks ago, Lavada stepped into what she describes as her ‘dream job,’ she is the newly appointed interpreter for African American history for the Bureau of Historic Sites; a division of the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Her mission is to bring history to life both its tastes and by giving presence to the Africans and African Americans enslaved in the landmass that was once New Netherland in whatever way possible.

Heather Lodge is the Programs Manager at the Windsor Historical Society in Windsor, CT. Before coming to Windsor, she worked at the Greenwich Historical Society in Cos Cob, CT as their Associate Director of School and Youth Programs. Both historical sites have a long history of enslavement, and Heather has spent most of her historical career developing these histories into programs for school aged children. Heather graduated with a BA in History and Education from Merrimack College and a MLitt in Ethnology and Folklore from the University of Aberdeen.

Host or Publisher Dyckman Farmhouse Museum