Monday, October 31, 7pm
Moonstone Arts Center, 110A S. 13th Street
The Continuing Struggle for Racial Justice in Philadelphia
A discussion with Michael Coard, Jim Mueller & Larry Robin
Our project is grounded by 150th anniversary of the firing of General John C. Fremont for issuing his own Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves in Missouri. Fremont did this on August 30, 1861; Lincoln suggested and then ordered him to rescind the order, and when Fremont refused, Lincoln rescinded it on September 11 and then fired Fremont on November 2. We are exploring three issues in this series of programs: the historical facts of emancipation; the significance of citizen action in stimulating public policy; and the central role of Philadelphia as the southern-most northern city and center of the anti-slavery movement.
Michael Coard is a criminal defense attorney in Philadelphia and an adjunct professor in the African Studies Department and the Urban Studies Department at Temple University. He is a founding member of Avenging The Ancestors Coalition (ATAC), president of the Philadelphia Millions More Movement, a former state board member of the ACLU, and a founding member of Judging The Judges, as well as a member of the National Lawyers Guild, the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and the Philadelphia Bar Association. He hosts the popular Afrocentric “Radio Courtroom” show on WURD-900AM. He will discuss the more current issues in the Continuing Struggle for Racial Justice.
James Mueller has 42 years of experience in research archaeology, history and cultural resources management, 30 years in the National Park Service and ten years as chief historian at the Independence Hall National Historic Park in Philadelphia. He is editor/author of two books, many papers and essays including co-editing with Richard Antislavery and Abolition in Philadelphia: Emancipation and the Long struggle for Racial Justice in the City of Brotherly Love. He will supply the background and history of the Struggle for Racial Justice in Philadelphia.
Larry Robin is the co-founder of Moonstone, Director of The Moonstone Arts Center and the organizer of the multi-year series on the People’s Civil War, of which Emancipation is part three. He will set the stage for the discussion, putting the program in context and discuss the origin of this series of programs.
