27th Annual Dinner a memorable celebration of humanities
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At our 27th Annual Dinner in late September, New Hampshire Humanities continued a long tradition of hosting nationally and internationally-recognized keynote speakers, as we welcomed Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Jeffersonian scholar, Dr. Annette Gordon-Reed.
No stranger to New Hampshire, Dr. Gordon-Reed spoke of her arrival from Texas decades ago, and how she grew to love the state during her time at Dartmouth College.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family,” Gordon-Reed reflected on years of research about Jefferson and the politics of his time, about slavery at Monticello and relationship between the Jefferson and the Hemings family.
Dr. Gordon-Reed told of her recent visit with descendants of Sally Hemings at Monticello, and expressed their shared belief that although this was “not a pretty story,” today something good—understanding, forgiveness, and conversation—has come from it.
“It’s the story of America as the kind of society that Jefferson didn’t believe could exist. It does exist. We struggle with it, but so much of it comes from his words, his creed.”
In addition to our celebrated speaker, our audience had the opportunity to see the premiere of an exciting new video about our plans for the future of the humanities in New Hampshire, through the Campaign for the Humanities. Thank you to Dartmouth and to all of our sponsors for supporting this major statewide celebration, and allowing us to share it with all of you.
If you missed the event, you can listen to the keynote address on our website HERE.
Thank you to our 2016 Lead Sponsor:
