News from CSL

Popular Image & Historical Reality: Separating Truth from Fiction in the History of Slavery in Salem, Conn. Tuesday, January 10, 2012

CONNECTICUT STATE LIBRARY “3rd THURSDAY OF THE MONTH”BROWN BAG LUNCH SERIES

 Bruce Stark, retired Assistant State Archivist, will discuss the impact of a newspaper story published over a decade ago, its rapid acceptance by the public, and what an analysis of the historical record reveals about it.  Mr. Stark’s research into primary sources attempts to separate fact from fiction in a case where a newspaper article about a ”slave plantation” in Salem, Connecticut, based upon two flawed sources, rapidly became transformed into established truth – that there was a huge slave plantation in a rural town in the middle of nowhere.

The talk will be presented on Thursday, January 19, 2012 from Noon to 12:45 in Memorial Hall, Connecticut State Library, 231 Capitol Avenue, Hartford.   Stark’s talk is part of the State Library and Museum of Connecticut History’s Third Thursday Brown Bag Lunchtime speaker series which features a variety of speakers on various aspects of Connecticut history. All programs are free and open to the public.

Thursday, January 19,  2012
Noon – 12:45
Connecticut State Library ~ Memorial Hall

About the Speaker:
Bruce P. Stark served as Assistant State Archivist at the Connecticut State Library before retiring in 2009.  His areas of expertise include General Assembly, judicial, and municipal records, with a special emphasis on those concerning people of color.  A former president of ASCH,  Stark has a Ph.D. in history from the University of Connecticut and has written and spoken extensively on Connecticut history subjects.

 About the State Library:
The Connecticut State Library is an Executive Branch agency of the State of Connecticut. The State Library provides a variety of library, information, archival, public records, museum, and administrative services to citizens of Connecticut, as well as the employees and officials of all three branches of State government. The Connecticut State Archives and the Museum of Connecticut History are components of the State Library.