Her main character, Uncle Tom, started as a kind strong martyr character and then moved into a long-lasting racial slur. So many characters from the story became the quintessential racial stereotypes that are alive and well today. What happens when an author’s intent changes so much when audiences experience it? Why was this book banned in so many states? Most likely it is not the author’s characters, but the readers and the culture who informed these character changes.

Understanding history, and one’s own racial and cultural biases, is a central part of the racial justice conversation of today. Join the Amy Hufnagel of the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Hartford to look at the real people who informed Stowe’s Uncle Tom (and a few other characters) in the 1850s, and some examples of Uncle Tom in the news today. Then let’s talk about how books have the power of perception and bias that drive the current conversations about how we teach race history today across the country. Hufnagel will give an illustrated talk and then open the gathering to conversation.

Registration begins May 12th, online or by calling the library’s Reference Department at 860-652-7720. Registration with a valid email address is required to receive login information on the day of the Zoom meeting.

About the Presenter: Amy Hufnagel (she/her/hers) is the Director of Programs & Visitor Experience at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in Hartford, CT. Hufnagel has three decades of experience in non-profit administration, museum & public education with a particular interest in historic house museums and landscapes, and an expertise in education and interpretation of historic artist homes. Her work for the last two decades has centered on expanding historic narratives to always share the authority with audiences while presenting a multiplicity of stories and changing perspectives.