A Seminar for Students, Teachers and Members of the Public
Saturday, September 26, 2015 11:00 am-4:00 pm
Intercultural Center Auditorium, Georgetown University
Rare accounts of freedmen and women and enslaved Africans in early American history have emerged in recent years. This summer an archaeological dig in Georgetown explored the site of the home of Yarrow Mamout, an African Muslim and former slave. Literate in Arabic, Mamout was enslaved in 1752, worked for his manumission, owned property, and lived until in 1823. His portrait was painted not once but twice, and his obituary, written by portraitist Charles Wilson Peale, appeared in the newspaper. This unique seminar will explore the process of discovery of the Yarrow Mamout story uncovered by researchers, and discuss its significance for American and African history, as well as the history of the District of Columbia.
Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Department of History, and African Studies Program, Howard University’s Center for African Studies and School of Education, and George Mason University’s Ali Vural Ak Center for Global Islamic Studies are co-sponsoring a free seminar for teachers, students/youth, and members of the public. The event will be held on Saturday, September 26 at the Intercultural Center Auditorium at Georgetown University, from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. The seminar is held with funding from the U.S. Department of Education Title VI grant, with additional educational outreach funding. Lunch will be served for registered participants, and we will visit the dig site in the Georgetown neighborhood.
Featured speakers are:
- Dr. Maurice Jackson, Associate Professor of History and African-American Studies, GU
- Dr. Ruth Trocolli, City Archaeologist, Historic Preservation Office, DC.gov
- James H. Johnston, author, From Slave Ship to Harvard: Yarrow Mamout and the History of an African American Family
- Muhammad Rahim, Howard University
For information & to register (free!) go to http://ccas.georgetown.edu/yarrow-mamout or our Facebook event page.
Address questions to Susan Douglass (sld58@georgetown.edu).