The University of Illinois Springfield Center for Lincoln Studies, in collaboration with the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and Juneteenth Inc., will host two events exploring the historical significance of Juneteenth and the struggle for Black citizenship in Illinois. Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States, marking the day when news of their freedom reached Texas on June 19, 1865.
Americans often connect citizenship with the idea that “all men are created equal,” and that everyone h
UIS students are invite
University of Illinois Center for Lincoln Studies announced multiple significant achievements and upcoming events that will further illuminate the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln.
University of Illinois Springfield Center for Lincoln Studies Director Jacob K. Friefeld’s book, “The First Migrants: How Black Homesteaders’ Quest for Land and Freedom Heralded America’s Great Migration,” co-authored with Richard Edwards, has been selected as a finalist for the 2024 Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) Book Prize.
Friefeld previously served as an Illinois and Midwest studies research historian at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield before coming to UIS.
WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield will host the 21st annual Beaumont Endowed Lincoln Legacy Lecture on “Abraham Lincoln and Digital Humanities” featuring Professor Christopher Oakley, leader of “The Virtual Lincoln Project” at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Asheville, and Michelle A. Krowl, the curator of the Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress. The lecture is free and open to the public.
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6 (refreshments and hors d’oeuvres start at 6 p.m.)
