Valley’s black history focus of conference

KINGSTON, N.Y. » The Hudson River Maritime Museum and the A.J. WilliamsMyers African Roots Community Center Library will celebrate Hudson River history this weekend with a conference on black history in the Hudson Valley and a visit from Shantyboat.

The conference will be from 1 to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, July 14 at the museum on East Strand, with eight presentations and panels covering the history of black and African-American communities in the Hudson Valley from the 1730s to the 1970s. Registration is $20 for members and $30 for others. Register at hrmm.org/blackhistory-conference.

Shantyboat, part of the Secret History of American River Peoples Project, will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 14 and 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 3-5 p.m. July 15. At 2 p.m., Shantyboat founder Wes Modes talk about his travels on America’s rivers. Tickets, at $10 for members and $15 for others, are available at www.hrmm.org/lecture-series.