Speakers Series Opens with March 2 Talk on the Founding of Storer College
H. A. Ritchie, Engraving of John Storer of Sanford, Maine, c. 1860; West Virginia History OnView (http://wvhistoryonview.org : accessed 13 February 2016), search for Identifier 030092; West Virginia and Regional History Collection, West Virginia University Libraries.
Dr. Dawne Raines Burke, will speak on “John Storer: A Renaissance Man for the Nineteenth-Century Shenandoah Valley” at 7 p.m. on March 2. The talk will be in the auditorium of the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education (formerly Byrd Center for Legislative Studies).
Dr. Burke’s talk will kick off the Historic Shepherdstown Commission’s 2016 Speakers Series.
Dr. Burke is the author of “An American Phoenix: A History of Storer College from Slavery to Desegregation, 1865-1955.” Her book tells the story of the first college open to African Americans in West Virginia from its origins during Reconstruction to its closure after the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board Education decision. John Storer, a New England philanthropist, gave $10,000 to establish the school, requiring that it be open to all, regardless of race, sex or religion.
Dr. Burke is an Assistant Professor of Education at Shepherd University and a native of Martinsburg. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Shepherd and her Ph.D. from Virginia Tech.
The event is free and open to the public.
The Byrd Center is located on King Street on the Shepherd University campus next to Scarborough Library. Parking is available on the street or behind the library.
Historic Shepherdstown’s Speakers Series schedule for the rest of the year will feature:
- May 4, Benjamin Bankhurst, Assistant Professor of History at Shepherd College on “The French and Indian War: The Conflict’s Impact upon the Scots Irish in Appalachia and Ireland”;
- September 6, local historian Dr. Tom Clemons on “Shepherdstown: Decisive Battle of the Maryland Campaign of 1862;
- November 9, Nick Blanton, local craftsman and one of the builders of the James Rumsey steamboat model, on “Setting a Steamboat in Stone: The Creation of the Rumsey Monument” celebrating the Monument’s 100th anniversary. All of the talks will take place at the Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education at 7 p.m.
For further information, contact Historic Shepherdstown Administrator Teresa McLaughlin, 304-876-0910 on Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday or e-mail [email protected].
