Free lecture on slavery coming

WEST CHESTER>> Today at 3:30 p.m., Gwen Ragsdale will present a free lecture in person and virtually in West Chester University’s Philips Autograph Library, at the corner of High Street and University Avenue.

Ragsdale is the founder and executive director of Philadelphia’s Lest We Forget Museum of Slavery, which is the only slavery museum in Philadelphia and the only museum with legitimate artifacts from the Transatlantic slave trade. An exhibition tour and reception will follow in the University’s Museum of Anthropology and Archeology, located in the Old Library at the corner of South Church Street and Rosedale Avenue.

Using her collection of rare, authentic artifacts as a guide, Ragsdale illustrates the different comingto-America experiences held by enslaved people. Her visit is part of a series of lectures held by WCU’s museum in connection with its Beyond the Bell: Philadelphia’s Global Heritage

exhibition. Created in partnership with the Global Philadelphia Association (GPA), the exhibit was designed to inform attendees of the diverse history surrounding the greater Philadelphia area.

According to Michael Di Giovine, museum director, director of the Museum Studies Program, and lead curator for the exhibit, “Gwen’s talk, in which she points out that not everyone came to Philadelphia for the same celebrated reasons such as freedom of religion or to participate in a robust labor market, causes us to stop and think about the sacrifices of so many different people, the suffering of so many different people, and how we should be empathetic toward others and grateful for the lives we have today.”

Featuring priceless artifacts from Native American, African, and numerous immigrant communities, the Beyond the Bell exhibit is designed to provide a perspective different from what visitors learned in their school history curricula. These rare artifacts are on loan from such organizations as the National Park Service, Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum, Ephrata Cloister, and more.

“The Global Philadelphia Association graciously connected us with many of their members, including Gwen and the Lest We Forget Museum,” said Di Giovine. “The rich collection of artifacts we see in Beyond the Bell are here at WCU because of the many generous lenders from community organizations and museums, a number of whom are members of GPA.”

Following the lecture, attendees are invited to a reception followed by a guided tour of the exhibit led by Di Giovine and the student co-curators: Virginia Vinston, history graduate student; Harrison Warren, museum studies minor; and Jackie Armao, museum studies minor. During this event, WCU’s autographed copy of Frederick Douglass’ autobiography will also be on display.