Urban Expression - Black History Celebration Edition

Urban League News Special Edition

Thursday, February 25, 2016

A BLACK HISTORY CELEBRATION

Journey to Hollowed Grounds for Freedom

Community

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Education

Empowerment

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LANDMARK SHOWCASE PROGRAM Performance (Song) Opening Remarks Invocation Black National Anthem Greetings

Welcome

Closing Remarks

Hartford High School Chorus June Archer, Master of Ceremonies Eliezar Mercado, Faith-Based Initiatives Ashley Weaver, HPHS Student Rev. Shelly Best, CEO The 224 EcoSpace Courtenay Jackson Urban League of Greater Hartford Senior Director of Programs A LEGACY REVEALED: HALLOWED GROUNDS LANDMARK SHOWCASE Adrienne Cochrane, Urban League of Greater Hartford President & CEO

EXHIBITORS | ENTERTAINMENT |PARTICIPANTS African American Affairs Commission Ancient Burial Ground Costen Cultural Exhibit Community Renewal Team Cull Books Faith Congregational / CT Freedom Trail Rev. Gail Williams Harford History Today Harriet Beecher Stowe House Isabel Mendes-Blake Family

Culinary Arts Academy at Weaver High School June Archer, Eleven28 Entertainment Kinsella Performing Arts High School—Jazz Notes Andre Keitt Sandra Eaddy Hartford Public High School Chorus Eliezer Mercado, Faith-Based Initiative Mudcloth Mentorship Society of Cultural Arts The 224 EcoSpace Urban League Project Ready Students & Mentors

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The Amistad Center for Art & Culture at the Wadsworth Athenaeum Museum of Art

The Wadsworth Athenaeum Museum of Art is the oldest continuously-operating public art museum in the United States, founded in 1842 by arts patron Daniel Wadsworth.

Since opening its doors to the public in 1844, the Wadsworth Athenaeum has a rich legacy of Firsts. It was the first museum in America to purchase works by Caravaggio, Frederic Church, Joseph Cornell, Salvador Dalí, and Joan Miró, and was the first in the country to exhibit major surveys of works by Italian Baroque masters, Surrealists, and Picasso.

Today, the Wadsworth Athenaeum houses an extraordinary collection of 6,000 works of art, artifacts and archives and documents more than three hundred years of the Black experience in America—a truly rich resource of immense educational value and testimony to America's diverse and dynamic culture.

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Soldiers and Sailors Monument at Bushnell Park

The Soldiers and Sailors Monument (Memorial Arch) honors those from Hartford who served in the Civil War.

Memorial Arch was designed by Hartford architect George Keller, whose ashes were buried in the east tower when he died in 1935, along with those of his wife, Mary, who died in 1946.

The arch was dedicated on September 17, 1886, – the anniversary of the Battle of Antietam – to honor the 4,000 Hartford citizens who served in the Civil War, and the 400 who died for the Union.

A plaque noting the contributions of 128 African American Hartford residents who fought for the Union was added to the monument during a restoration in 1988. A sculpture of a black man breaking the chains of bondage and holding a book is also featured. The addition of the plaque was the result of research

by Airron Bethea, a seventh grade student in Hartford, who was writing an essay in 1987 for the rededication of the restored Arch.

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Hartford Public High School

Established in 1638, Hartford Public High School is the second oldest public secondary school in the United States.

Founded in 1638 as Thomas Hooker’s Latin School, Hartford Public High School is the oldest public secondary school in the Untied States after Boston Latin School. During the 18th century, it was known as the Hartford Grammar School teaching Greek and Latin, subjects necessary for young men planning to enter college and prepare for the ministry. In 1847, the name was changed to Hartford Public High School; after which women were admitted for the first time, however the school functioned with almost total separation of sexes.

Throughout its nearly 380 year existence, Hartford Public High School has been relocated and remodeled several times. It is currently located in the southwest corner of the Asylum Hill neighborhood in the capital city of Hartford, CT. The school also neighbors the historic Harriet Beecher Stowe House and the Mark Twain House.

Today, Harford Public High School houses three academies, Nursing and Allied Health Sciences, Academy of Engineering and Green Technology and Law and Government Academy.

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Urban League of Greater Hartford

“The Second Oldest Secondary Urban League of Greater Hartford at its location on Albany Ave. Today, it is located at 140 Woodland Street in Hartford, CT.

In 1964 Urban League of Greater Hartford’s office was officially accepted by the organizations national board, becoming the League’s 66th affiliate. Founded by Rachel Milton, Marion Hepburn Grant, Dr. James S. Peters II, Judge Norris O'Neill and Olcott Smith.

Today, Urban League of Greater Hartford is a community based non-profit organization offering direct social services to more than 3,000 individuals and families annually. Its mission is to reduce economic disparities in our communities through programs, services and educational opportunities.

Urban League’s programs and initiatives prepare youth and adults to be educated, trained and equipped to confidently enter the workforce and lead successful and healthy lives.

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OUR MISSION To reduce economic disparities in our communities through programs, services and educational opportunities.

OUR PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES Urban League of Greater Hartford is a community based non-profit organization offering direct social services to more than 3,000 individuals and families annually. Our programs and initiatives prepare youth and adults to be educated, trained and equipped to confidently enter the workforce and lead successful and healthy lives.

Empowered to Learn

Empowered to Work

ADULT EDUCATION offers individuals (ages 17 and

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT focuses on helping

over) instruction and training to acquire high school credentials and strengthen academic proficiency.

Students improve reading, writing, language, math and other basic skills in order to transition seamlessly to

job seekers develop the skills necessary for getting, keeping, and doing well on the job. We offer a range of employment services and occupational training to individuals, so they may enter or advance in the

Components:  GED Preparation  Adult Basic Education  Adult Virtual High School

 College and Career Readiness  English as a Second Language  Computer and Internet Literacy

Departmental Programs:  Building for Success  Employability Skills Training  Manchester Pharmacy Technician  Jobs Funnel Construction Skills

Empowered to Aspire

Components:  Job preparation and placement  Men’s Professional Suiting  Basic computer training  Career Fair

Empowered to Build Wealth

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT is designed to equip high

ECONOMIC ENRICHMENT is designed to increase

school aged youth with skills and opportunities to prepare them for college, work and life. Students are exposed to workshops, training, internship, networking opportunities, service learning projects and trips to enhance college and career

opportunities for the low-to-moderate income population to improve economic stability. We educate participants on how to acquire and protect assets, through comprehensive one-on-one counseling and classroom educational services in the areas of financial

Departmental Programs:  Project Ready  Manage Your Future

Components:  Post-Secondary Success  Mentoring  Go Girls!  Project Shield

Components:  First Time Home Buyer Classes/Counseling  Tax Preparation Services  Financial Education Classes (VITA)  Homeowner Retention

Empowered to Advocate

HEALTH AND WELLNESS Urban League performs significant advocacy work in health disparities to give voice to the underserved. Healthy Start is an initiative to increase awareness of infant mortality, low-birth weight and disparities in perinatal health, serving mothers with children from birth to age two.

Initiative Components:  Coordinated care and outreach  Pre-natal/post-partum education

 Baby Academy  Community resource referrals

GET EMPOWERED TODAY! Donate. Volunteer. Register.

Urban League of Greater Hartford | 140 Woodland St. Hartford, CT 06105 | (860) 527-0147 | www.ulgh.org 7

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LOVE

ourselves our communities our people our God A Legacy Revealed Congratulations from The Richardson's

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