Meetings & Tours - The Civil War Round Table of the District of Columbia

VIA ZOOM

"March to Juneteenth"

presentation by

CARL ADAMS

Use the same Meeting ID numbers and passcodes shown above for the Ed Bearss Award Ceremony (or just stay on the Zoom meeting).

About the Topic:

Civil War Round Table of District of Columbia member Carl Adams will discuss how his research into the lives of Nance and her son, Pvt. William Henry Costley expedited non-partisan action on a Congressional Bill to make Juneteenth a national holiday.

Before his involvement, the narrative reported to Congress was the inaccurate "Legend" of Juneteenth that had Gen. Grainger 'marching' into Galveston at the head of a column of two thousand Union soldiers with the General Order #3.

Mr. Adams will explain the true story that includes the 1st Rgt IL Colored Volunteers (29th USCT), a ship that had been sent to Texas from Union headquarters at City Point, VA, and the remarks in the column of the Adj. Gen. Report of IL that a burial detail took place in Galveston.

Find out how those facts tie into his talk entitled "March to Juneteenth."

The sudden realization that African-American soldiers recruited from all of the northern states were represented at the original Juneteenth in 1865 helped the Bill sail through both Houses of Congress in less than a week. Such action was totally unprecedented, and Pres. Biden signed the Bill to make Juneteenth a national holiday the same week!

About the Speaker:

Carl Adams, biographer of Nance, was raised in Alton, IL, along the “color line” with mostly white folks to the south and minorities to the north near two racially segregated public schools. He started writing journalism in high school during the Civil Rights movement and reported news for NPR radio at Southern Illinois University. He moved to Peoria after graduating from SIU and worked on TV news, Channel 19.

In the spring of 1993, he read about an unknown Black woman “… a Negro girl name Nance” a slave from Tazewell County. His curiosity led to the revelations about the trials and tribulations of Mrs. Nance Legins-Costley, depicted in his book. See https://www.amazon.com/NANCE-Trials-Abraham-Lincoln-Legins-Costley/dp/1502947595/ref=sr_1_1?crid=AUF56TV5HXJ7&keywords=nance+adams&qid=1650072647&sprefix=nance+adams%2Caps%2C46&sr=8-1

Those revelations also include the events of Nance’s children, who played a role in the “March to Juneteenth.”

Mr. Adams’s affiliations include our Round Table, the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia, and the Illinois State Historical Society. He was also inducted into the African American Hall of Fame Museum in 2020, and he serves as a historian for the Education Committee of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation.

Mr. Adams now resides in Bethesda, MD, but continues to be heavily involved in events in Illinois.

____________________________

CWRTDC'S PREVIOUS MEETING

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRESS CONTACT: Debbie M. Jackson, Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia, Producer

DMinter908@gmail.com

THE LINCOLN GROUP OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

in conjunction with

THE CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Present a Virtual Reading of

Freedom’s Temple, The Lincoln Memorial

a New Play by Bryce O. Stenzel

Conde Nest Traveler Lincoln Memorial Monument - Bing images

Directed by KenYatta Rogers

Virtual Public Reading: Monday, May 23, 2022 @ 4:00 – 5:30 pm ET

The event is FREE and all are welcome to attend.

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/73777333091?pwd=V05ZQm9iSDlLSHcvSk4zYTJuMGpidz09

Or point your browser to the following link and use the Meeting ID and passcode shown below:

Zoom "Join A Meeting" Page: https://zoom.us/join

Meeting ID: 737 7733 3091

Passcode: Zoom1861

Or dial in by your location:

+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)

+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)
Meeting ID: 828 9304 8523
Passcode: 24641769

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcZG7EOkvV

For a cheat sheet on how to use Zoom's control features click HERE

The Lincoln Group and the Civil War Round Table are pleased to co-sponsor this special event as part of the celebration of the Centennial of the Lincoln Memorial. The centennial program will kick-off with an event on the historic steps of the Lincoln Memorial, starting at 10am ET. on Sunday, May 22, which will feature speakers (such as Dr. Charlotte Morris, president of the historically black Tuskegee University; Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer; and Howard University historian Edna Greene Medford), actors (such as Stephen Lang, of “Avatar” fame, and well-known Washington singer and actress Felicia Curry) and musical performances. The public is invited to the free event, which is also co-sponsored by the Lincoln Forum and the National Park Service. For more information about the kick-off event, visit https://www.lincolnian.org/.

The premiere reading of excerpts from Freedom’s Temple: The Lincoln Memorial, directed by KenYatta Rogers is based on an original script by Bryce O. Stenzel and will be held virtually at 4pm ET on Monday, May 23. The play is a dramatic presentation of information about the design, construction, and evolving meaning of the Lincoln Memorial. The script provides behind the scenes insights too often unknown or overlooked. Key characters include the designers and builders, as well as Marian Anderson and the agent who advocated on her behalf. You will also hear the words of Dr. Robert Moton, the sole African American speaker at the May 1922 dedication, whose remarks were censured as “too radical” for the Jim Crow era organizers.

KenYatta Rogers is an award-winning actor who will lead a stellar cast of actors with editorial assistance of the Lincoln Group’s vice president of special programs Debbie M. Jackson. Following the reading there will be a Q&A with the playwright, where attendees will have the opportunity to discuss the play, ask questions, offer suggestions, and consider ideas for further development of the play.

Please join us via the Zoom link above.

KenYatta Rogers, Director, received a BA in English from Clark Atlanta University and an MFA in Acting from the University of Pittsburgh. He joined the faculty of Montgomery College where he currently serves as coordinator for the Theatre discipline. He was named 2014 Maryland Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. Rogers has been a guest artist/presenter at Yale University, Syracuse University, George Washington University, Indiana State University, Clemson University, Frederick Community College, Lehigh University, Howard University, Georgetown University, University of Maryland, and Catholic University. Rogers has been an adjudicator for the Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival, the Folger Theatre’s High School Shakespeare Festival, and the NAACP’s ACT-SO (Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological, and Scientific Olympics) program as well as a teaching-artist for the Helen Hayes Awards Theatre Legacy Program. As a member of AEA (Actors’ Equity Association), he has directed or performed in over 50 professional theatre productions and has over 50 film, television, and radio credits.

Bryce O. Stenzel, Playwright, a native of Mankato, Minnesota, graduated with honors from Mankato State University, earning both Bachelor's and Master's degrees in History. Stenzel has taught in public and private schools, as well as at the collegiate level. In 1989, he developed his first-person portrayal of Abraham Lincoln, presenting to audiences throughout the United States. Author of eight books on local historical and Lincoln-related topics, he co-authored a book with Julie Schrader on the history and re-creation of Mankato's Boy in Blue Civil War Memorial. He serves as Chair of the Boy in Blue Civil War Veterans’ Memorial Committee, Mankato Area Community Band President, and Secretary of the New Ulm Battery. Stenzel's books can be ordered directly via email: bryceostenzel@gmail.com

The Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia is an active institution dedicated to a better understanding our 16th President. Programs and events are designed to promote study of the life and leadership of Abraham Lincoln. In recent years, the Lincoln Group has worked with the National Park Service and other organizations to create major programs that celebrated and interpreted the 150th anniversaries of Lincoln's first and second inaugurations; the Emancipation Proclamation; The Gettysburg Address; the Assassination; and the Funeral Train procession to Illinois. Panels were assembled to analyze Lincoln's policies regarding habeas corpus, military justice, and race relations. Regular meetings promote the scholarly work of prominent authors and researchers. Opportunities are given for rising younger talents in Lincoln studies. Many of our programs are available in the video archives of the C-Span 3 History Channel. For information, please consult our Homepage: Home | Lincoln Group of DC (lincolnian.org)

The Civil War Round Table of the District of Columbia was established in 1951 with Bruce Catton among its founding members. Its purpose is to stimulate and expand interest in the military, political, diplomatic, economic, and socio-cultural history of the United States and particularly the Civil War. Among its achievements, the Round Table spawned the National Civil War Centennial Commission. For information, please consult our Homepage: The Civil War Round Table of the District of Columbia (cwrtdc.org)

National Park Service: Abraham Lincoln Memorial Monument - Bing images

For further information, please consult the websites for the co-sponsoring organizations and consider making a donation to help sponsor these and other important programs.

Home | Lincoln Group of DC (lincolnian.org)

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