Tag Archives: Lenwood Sloan

In the Books: Ribbon-cutting marks completion of McCormick Riverfront Library renovation, expansion

October 20, 2022 | by M. Diane McCormick

Dauphin County Library System trustee Andrew Enders and Executive Director Karen Cullings, flanked by members of the Pennsylvania Past Players and local and state officials, finish cutting the ribbon at today’s rededication.

Flanked by 19^th-century gentlemen in frock coats and ladies in hoop skirts, Andrew Enders said that Harrisburg needs its newly renovated and expanded McCormick Riverfront Library.

“Today isn’t just about opening this space to the public, but it’s also about programming this space with meaningful programs for our community so that we launch this library forward for the next 100 years,” said Enders, co-chair of the $3.5 million capital campaign to modernize Dauphin County Library System’s flagship. “Because yes, history does inform the past and the present, but it’s the future I’m most excited about.”

And to raucous applause from the 200 or so attending the grand reopening, Enders added, “Harrisburg deserves nice things.”

The library held the rededication ceremony on Thursday morning, following a yearlong construction project. Under a vaulted ceiling, with sunlight streaming through clerestory and fan windows, a lineup of fundraisers, elected officials and poets said the project fills a need for a place where all are welcome and discourse is civilized.

A child is busy at play in the new children’s room.

Since 1914, McCormick Riverfront Library has stood at Front and Walnut streets. The graystone building stands on the garden plot of Sara Haldeman Haly, the 19^th century socialite whose 1895 bequest of $60,000 launched the modern library system in the county. In a stroke of serendipity, the renovation adjoins the library with that benefactor’s home next door–Haldeman Haly House, built by the architect of Pennsylvania’s first state capitol and once home to a governor who championed free compulsory public education.

Partnerships forged through the renovation project will help the library reach new members and audiences, said Board of Trustees President Annie Garner before the program. They were attracted to the cause by the idea of restoring 3,000 square feet of library space, once crammed with storage and staff, to public use, she said.

“It is a welcoming space to gather, to learn, to research, to dialog, to understand,” she said.

Members of the Pennsylvania Past Players descend the grand staircase that links the library’s main building with the new Haldeman Haly House addition.

As the scent of coffee from the newly installed Good Brotha’s Book Café filled the air, Dauphin County Library System Executive Director Karen Cullings called the project “collaborative.” She thanked the business, foundation and individual campaign donors, the designer and contractors who blended historic and contemporary elements and the staff who worked on the project and kept the library open during renovations.

“Your library is now poised to help generations immerse themselves in our region’s heritage, which is rich in history and achievement,” Cullings said. “And you know what? You can even get a great cup of coffee right down there at Good Brotha’s Café.”

Again, the crowd burst into grateful applause.

Campaign co-chair Susan L. Anthony said supporters and backers coalesced quickly, despite the intervening pandemic. As one donor told her, people give to people, and they responded “with open hearts.”

State Sen. John DiSanto, who secured a major state grant toward the project, and state Rep. Patty Kim shared fond memories of libraries as places of learning, open to all. Dauphin County commissioners noted the role of the library in community unification, education and linking residents with social, housing and job supports.

State Librarian Sue Banks called the renovation “a model project for the entire state, for the country, especially in terms of a user-focused service and facility.” The planned reopening of the renovated State Library at the other end of Walnut Street will create a “corridor of learning and knowledge and exchange and support and history,” she said.

Phyllis Hicks, executive director of the Kidney Foundation of Central Pennsylvania, remembered when the library’s patronage reminded her of her days in the segregated South. Among the audience attending the rededication, she marveled at the diversity of the crowd.

“The library looks like America,” she said. “This is the America that my mother dreamed of. We’re moving in the right direction.”

T. Morris Chester, a Harrisburg native and 19^th-century journalist and abolitionist, holds a place of honor in the new T. Morris Chester Welcome Center and Research Collection. His fight is not over, speakers said.

“He was unsung for 100 years before people started recognizing him again,” said Cate Barron, president of PA Media Group, a project backer. “It was a terrible omission. We’re helping with anything we can do celebrate his story and his incredible achievements.”

Yvette Davis speaks with Hettie Love, a long-time library supporter who plans to celebrate her 100th birthday this month by reading to students in the new children’s room.

The Pennsylvania Past Players–costumed reenactors sharing the stories of historic fighters for justice–now have office space and a versatile community room for salons, presentations and dances.

“We have waited so long for an anchor that makes history matter,” said Lenwood Sloan, the troupe’s leader. “For us to be in residency here allows us to develop understanding of not only why history matters but also develop other interpreters.”

Library regular Phillip Davis already has his spot picked out. The curved carrel upholstered in mustard yellow, he noted, “has USB ports and everything.”

“I just check out books and read,” he said. And the renovation “really is nice. I love it.”

The day’s theme centered around the library’s welcome to people from all walks of life, from the unhoused and underrepresented to families and professionals on lunch break.

“This is our community’s space,” Enders said. “It’s a unique space in Harrisburg. There isn’t anything quite like this building. A flagship library is something that is particularly special, and one that is so airy and light and bright and welcoming — this is special. We want people to linger. That’s my favorite. Hang out. This is it.”

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Harrisburg’s Walnut Street will receive additional name to honor Black historical figure

October 13, 2021 | by Maddie Gittens

Walnut Street

A downtown Harrisburg street will get a new name to recognize Black history in the city.

At a legislative session on Tuesday night, City Council unanimously approved a resolution to designate a section of Walnut Street as T. Morris Chester Way.

“I think it’s important that we recognize and highlight the contributions of African Americans in the city of Harrisburg and what we’ve done to improve Harrisburg despite the odds,” council member Westburn Majors said.

The idea was brought to council by the IIPT Harrisburg Peace Promenade, which is responsible for the recent installation of the Commonwealth Monument on 4^th and Walnut streets.

According to the Commonwealth Monument Project, Chester was a prominent figure in Harrisburg history during the 1860s. He was a lawyer, soldier and the only Black war correspondent during the Civil War.

Chester is also recognized as one of the bronze figures in the Commonwealth Monument.

Walnut Street will keep its name, but, from Commonwealth Avenue to Front Street, it will gain T. Morris Chester Way as a second name. This will allow addresses to remain the same and avoid confusion, city Engineer Wayne Martin explained to council at a previous meeting.

Lenwood Sloan of the Peace Promenade and executive director of the Monument Project said that the name “would concretize our designation as a national heritage site.” It will help create a pathway that connects several of the group’s African American history memorial sites, which include the Commonwealth Monument and the Bethel Heritage Trail, which commemorates the Bethel AME church in Harrisburg, he said.

Sloan also emphasized the partnership between the Peace Promenade and the Dauphin County Library System. Recently, McCormick Riverfront Library officials announced a building expansion project that includes creating a T. Morris Chester Welcome Center. Sloan said that the library also provided space for the organization to utilize as its meeting place.

The naming of T. Morris Chester Way, he said, will bring all of these sites together.

Harrisburg has given city streets surnames in the past, explained Martin, naming Mary Sachs Way, on N. 3^rd Street, and Dennis Green Way, the 1100 through 1300 blocks of Walnut Street, as examples.

He added that the renaming comes just as the city is moving forward with its East-West Multimodal Connection Project, which will include construction and resurfacing on Walnut Street, from 5^th to Front streets. Martin expects construction to begin next year.

“I think it’d be a perfect opportunity to tie all of these projects together,” he said.

For more information on the Commonwealth Monument Project, visit their website.

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Toni Morrison bench unveiled in Harrisburg to commemorate African American history

June 15, 2021 | by Maddie Conley Gittens

The new Toni Morrison Bench by the Road at 4th and Walnut streets.

Just a few days before Juneteenth, the holiday that celebrates the end of slavery in the United States, Harrisburg unveiled an African American historical marker.

At a ceremony on Tuesday, a new bench, named after the late author Toni Morrison, was unveiled on the state Capitol grounds.

The bench sits near the recently erected Commonwealth Monument Project’s large bronze monument at 4^th and Walnut streets. Officials hope it will serve as a place for people to sit and reflect on the history before them.

The bench is part of a network of 30 benches installed around the world by the Toni Morrison Society for its Bench by the Road Project. According to Craig Stutman, Bench by the Road project chair, the idea for the project came from something Morrison said in an interview. She believed that there needed to be more monuments for African American history, Stutman said.

“Having a Toni Morrison Society Bench by the Road, right here, is a reminder to all of us of the importance of marking and remembering our missing histories,” said Gov. Tom Wolf, who spoke at the event.

The bench, along with the Commonwealth Monument, recognizes the history of the Old 8^th Ward, a historically Black and immigrant neighborhood in Harrisburg that was destroyed to expand the Capitol grounds.

Also at the event, Commonwealth Monument Project officials presented Wolf with a bronze replica of a map of the Old 8^th Ward.

The Toni Morrison Bench by the Road is located at 4^th and Walnut streets in Harrisburg. For more information on the Commonwealth Monument Project, visit their website.

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Voices of the Past: New book tells the stories of Harrisburg’s historic African American community

September 30, 2020 | by Maddie Conley

In August, a new monument celebrating African American history was erected on the Pennsylvania state Capitol grounds.

The Commonwealth Monument Project came out of a desire to pay tribute to Harrisburg’s Old 8th Ward, a historic African American and immigrant neighborhood that was demolished to expand the Capitol grounds.

The best way that Lenwood Sloan, executive director of the project, could think to honor the memory was by introducing people to the families that once lived in the neighborhood.

On the monument, 100 names were inscribed. But that wasn’t enough. He wanted people to know their stories.

Now, each bronze-inscribed name comes to life in a new book entitled “One Hundred Voices: Harrisburg’s Historic African American Community 1850-1920.”

“We came to the revelation that we couldn’t just write their names,” Sloan said. “They are not merely names in a census, but stories that were lost to us. We need to tell the story about these people.”

Brought to Light

“Through my research in Harrisburg, I know quite a few people that were prominent in the community,” said Calobe Jackson Jr., a local historian and co-editor of the book.

Jackson has a well-earned reputation around the city as the history guy. If you need information on an old building, a historic figure or a memorable event, he’s your man. Lenwood Sloan knew this when he reached out to Jackson for a favor.

He needed a list of 100 names of African American figures from the 1850s to 1920s for the monument’s pedestal, names that would later become stories for the book. Jackson put together a file including freedom seekers, abolitionists, activists, police officers, doctors, preachers, janitors and many more. All had ties to Harrisburg and most had ties to the 8th Ward, Jackson said.

“A lot of people didn’t know about or forgot about these people,” Jackson said. “A lot of these people were Harrisburg High School graduates and teachers in the district. I’m proud that we can show students now what these past students did.”

Sloan remembers someone asking him why he was making such a big deal out of the names, especially with many of them being widely unknown.

But these jobs that seem unimportant in modern days, such as street sweeper or housekeeper, were important back then, Sloan said.

“We need to lift them up out of obscurity,” he said.

Through a grant from the Council of Independent Colleges, Messiah University was able to help with the Commonwealth Monument Project and the “One Hundred Voices” book.

Thirty Messiah students researched the historic figures and wrote excerpts on their stories for the book.

“The process of researching these individuals was pretty challenging,” said David Pettegrew, a history professor at Messiah and an editor of the book.

With some of the 100 people being less prominent, Pettegrew said they had to really look deep into archival material—a process he believes was worth the result.

“We need to do more local African American history,” he said. “This book contributes to a broader story about this resilient community who lived through change at the local level. This is Black Lives Matter historically. This is Black Lives Matter locally.”

Beginning of Discovery

Finding the stories behind the names on the list was only the start of something much bigger. Messiah students sent out graphics on social media looking for descendants of the 100 names they had learned so much about.

“Believe it or not, descendants began to contact us,” Pettegrew said.

Around 100 people with ties to the 100 names reached out to the university. Some even assisted in writing the chapters for the book.

“Getting to connect with the descendants has been the most rewarding thing,” Pettegrew said.

Even for those who may not be direct descendants of people in the “One Hundred Voices” book, Sloan believes there is a way for everyone to connect to it.

“The book helps you map your personal narrative in relation to the 100 names,” he said.

Not only is the book about individual education, but Pettegrew hopes that it will engage people in Harrisburg’s history—one that isn’t always told.

“We are hoping this is just the beginning of discovery,” he said. “We want it to inspire people to think about Harrisburg in a new way and the rich African American history.”

“One Hundred Voices: Harrisburg’s Historic African American Community 1850-1920” is free to download on the Digital Harrisburg website. Physical copies are available for purchase at the Midtown Scholar Bookstore or on Amazon. For more information, visit www.digitalharrisburg.com.

The Commonwealth Monument is located at 4th and Walnut streets.

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Monumental Concern: Central PA company has carved out a business from sculpture

September 30, 2020 | by Phyllis Zimmerman

Commonwealth Monument Project

As the late afternoon sun set across Harrisburg on a hot summer day, a ribbon-cutting ceremony took place on the state Capitol grounds for the Commonwealth Monument Project.

What is that? It’s a glinting set of cast sculptures, “A Gathering At The Crossroads: For Such A Time As This,” created as a testament to Harrisburg’s rich African American history and commemorating the 150th and 100th anniversaries of passage of the 15th and 19th amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

It also stands as the pinnacle of a year’s worth of impassioned labor and sweat by its creator, ART Research Enterprises of Lancaster.

ART Research Enterprises is a company specializing in art casting and fabrication, as well as the conservation and restoration of art and architectural objects. Artists Becky Ault and Mike Cunningham founded the company some 40 years ago in Cunningham’s garage before moving to its present location outside of Lancaster.

Today, the company runs between 10 and 30 employees, depending on which projects are underway. Its repertoire includes sculptures, memorials, architectural sculptures and restoration work.

“We do everything from 60-foot sculptures to coffee tables,” Ault said. “We’ve also done work for the Franklin Mint, but mostly, we work for ourselves.”

The company averages 200 to 500 projects each year and has shipped castings around the world—to clients in Germany, England, France, Puerto Rico and many other locations.

The Commonwealth Monument, set at 4th and Walnut streets in Harrisburg, was forged in bronze and sculpted as five elements, Ault said. The project’s initial casting was its 4½-foot base, the “Orator’s Pedestal,” featuring 100 names of families from the city’s Old 8th Ward on its sides, along with homages to businesses and churches that once served as community mainstays.

Topping the pedestal is a relief map of the historic neighborhood that was demolished to make way for the Capitol complex through eminent domain.

On Nov. 14, two historic castings, also by ART Research Enterprises, will join two other figures created by the firm that now surround the pedestal. Cast figures include William Howard Day, an educational reformer and civil rights pioneer; Frances Harper, poet, abolitionist and suffragette; Jacob T. Compton, a sergeant in Company D of the 24th U.S. Colored Infantry and local musician; and T. Morris Chester, Civil War correspondent and recruiter.

All figures related to the project have a Harrisburg connection from the late 1800s, as well as connections either to the 15th Amendment, which granted African American men the right to vote, and/or to the 19th amendment, which guaranteed American women the right to vote. The overall work was created as part of the IIPT Harrisburg Peace Promenade.

“The key factors to anything we do is that we try to envision what you feel it should be,” Cunningham said. “My favorite part about doing this sort of work is the creative aspect. It’s a field that’s constantly changing.”

Lenwood Sloan, the project’s executive director, said that a state search committee selected ART Research Enterprises for the project from a field of 20 candidates. Nominees were invited to apply for the project by the PA Department of General Services, which sought recommendations from “various government agencies” that had commissioned the firms for similar projects, Sloan said.

“They came as highly recommended and were highly engaged during their presentation to us,” he said.

Additionally, the search committee was seeking “a woman-owned business” for the project that, in part, acknowledges the passage of women’s right to vote. ART Research Enterprises stands as the only foundry arts partnership in the mid-Atlantic region headed by a woman, Sloan said.

The company also brought plenty of experience to the project. In all, they’ve completed 20 to 30 monuments across the commonwealth, Sloan said, including castings of Pennsylvania state troopers, the Reading Police Memorial and the Cumberland County Memorial.

“We were all just so impressed by ART Research Enterprises and their willingness to collaborate with the community,” Sloan said.

ART Research Enterprises is located at 3050 Industry Dr., Lancaster. For more information, visit www.thinksculpture.com.

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Local leaders, elected officials cut the ribbon on African American history monument

August 26, 2020 | by Maddie Conley

Community members cut the ribbon on a monument celebrating African American history in the state.

As you walk downtown you may see some new faces.

Local leaders, elected officials and community members gathered to cut the ribbon on a new monument on the state Capitol grounds recognizing Harrisburg’s African American history.

For the past few years, members of the Commonwealth Monument Project have been planning and preparing the large bronze monument that now sits at 4^th and Walnut Streets.

“Today’s monument is a long-overdue tribute to the hardworking Pennsylvanians who lived and worked here in the 8^th Ward,” PA Gov. Tom Wolf said.

The project’s Executive Director Lenwood Sloan saw the memorial as a way to pay tribute to Harrisburg’s Old 8^th Ward, a historic primarily Black and immigrant neighborhood that was demolished to make room for the Capitol complex.

The monument is titled “A Gathering At The Crossroads: For Such A Time As This.” The base, or the “Orator’s Pedestal,” features 100 names of families from the Old 8^th Ward. On top sits a map of the historic neighborhood’s streets. Two figures surround the pedestal, African-American abolitionist William Howard Day and suffragist Frances E.W. Harper.

Sloan said on Nov. 14, two more figures will be added, Jacob T. Compton, a sergeant of the 24th United States Colored Infantry (USCT) and local musician, and T. Morris Chester, Civil War correspondent and recruiter.

The A.R.T Foundry of Lancaster is responsible for creating the monument.

The small plaza where the monument sits is being named the Irvis Equality Circle. It allows visitors to walk around and view the monument.

“It is a proud day to be mayor of the City of Harrisburg,” said Mayor Eric Papenfuse. “This has completely changed the streetscape.”

Papenfuse presented Sloan with the key to the city, a significant gesture he said he doesn’t do often.

Leaders, elected officials and others who had a hand in the project gathered around the monument to form a “unity circle.”

“Behold how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity,” Sloan said.

The Commonwealth Monument Project is part of the IIPT Harrisburg Peace Promenade.

Philanthropist Peggy Grove, Dauphin County and the City of Harrisburg were the top funders of the project. M&T Bank, Giant Company, Highmark and The Foundation for Enhancing Communities contributed as well.

“What started as a vision has come to fruition,” said Phyllis Bennett, a member of the project’s team.

For more information on the Commonwealth Monument Project, visit https://digitalharrisburg.com/commonwealth/. For more on the IIPT Harrisburg Peace Promenade, visit their website.

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Bronze map of Old 8th Ward presented to Dauphin County; Commonwealth Monument Project offers update

August 5, 2020 | by Maddie Conley

Members of the Commonwealth Monument Project present Dauphin County commissioners with a bronze replica of Harrisburg’s Old 8th Ward.

Monuments around the country have been in the news recently, many taken or torn down by people who regard them as symbols of racism.

But for over a year, members of the Commonwealth Monument Project have had a plan to erect a new monument in Harrisburg, one that highlights and honors Harrisburg’s African American heritage.

Today, they discussed updates to that plan, as they also honored the Dauphin County commissioners who helped make it possible.

“In other places in our country, we are seeing monuments taken down,” Commissioner George Hartwick said during a public meeting today. “We are putting monuments up.”

Earlier this year, the commissioners awarded the IIPT Harrisburg Peace Promenade a $100,000 gaming grant, indicating their support for the monument project.

Lenwood Sloan, the project’s executive director, phoned in to the meeting to present the commissioners with a bronze replica of the Old 8^th Ward. The replica shows an aerial view of the historic primarily Black and immigrant neighborhood that was demolished to make room for expansion of the state Capitol Complex.

“We cannot bring back the buildings or the ancestors, but we can raise the level of dignity,” Sloan said.

The bronze map models a larger one that will sit atop the “Orator’s Pedestal”—the base of the forthcoming monument.

The bronze replica presented to Dauphin County today is one of a series of four. The first was given to Peggy Grove, a supporter of the Monument Project. The second went to Gov. Tom Wolf, the third to the City of Harrisburg, and the last to the county today.

The four maps were created by the A.R.T Foundry in Lancaster.

“I would really like people to understand the history of the Old 8^th Ward,” commission Chairman Jeff Haste said. “Bringing history a little more alive for folks will make this a better region.”

The Commonwealth Monument Project is scheduled to be unveiled on Aug. 26 on the Capitol grounds at 4^th and Walnut Streets.

On the pedestal, 100 families’ names are engraved, as well as maps of Old 8^th Ward streets. On top of the pedestal will be the Old 8^th Ward map, as well as four historic African American figures from Harrisburg—Frances Harper, Thomas Chester, Jacob Compton and William Howard Day.

Two of the figures will stand on the pedestal when it is unveiled. The other two are being finished and will be installed by Nov. 14.

Land surveyor Melham Associates has already done construction at the site where the monument will be placed. A small plaza, the Irvis Equality Circle, will allow visitors to walk around and view the monument.

For more information on the Commonwealth Monument Project, visit https://digitalharrisburg.com/commonwealth/. For more on the IIPT Harrisburg Peace Promenade, visit their website.

The Week that Was: News and features around Harrisburg

July 24, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda and Maddie Conley

The Firehouse Restaurant is re-opening under new ownership.

The past week felt like one hot, rainy blur with temperatures in the 90s and nighttime showers. Still, our reporters were out in the heat and humidity covering the local news. If you missed any of our stories, we have them all listed and linked here.

Bob’s Art Blog showcased Kelly McGee, an expressionist whose paintings display her dreams and visions. Read more about McGee and another artist who is using her talents to help feed the hungry in this week’s column.

COVID-19 cases keep climbing in PA, with an average of 800 new daily diagnoses over the past week. Our weekly reporting on the pandemic has the details.

Dr. Kimeka Campbell shares her story of finding joy in justice during a time of nationwide and local Black Lives Matter protests. Read her magazine piece to learn more about why community work brings her peace.

The Firehouse Restaurant is re-opening under new ownership. Much of the downtown Harrisburg restaurant’s character will remain the same with a fresh menu to choose from. Our online story has more information.

The Harrisburg Mile will go on this year despite the pandemic. Our online reporting explains the new modifications to location and rules.

Lenwood Sloan reflects on being a Black historian in Harrisburg and the search to find his “people” in the community. His submission for this month’s “Voices of Our Community” section recounts his efforts to uncover and highlight the city’s African American history.

Maestro Stuart Malina extended his contract with the Harrisburg Symphony for another three years. Our online story tells of his decision to stay and why the symphony feels he is such a great fit.

Paper Moon Flowers is Midtown’s newest flower and décor shop. Owner Shawn Durborow-Bowersox simply wants to make people happy by giving them a local place to buy a bouquet, a candle or a birthday card. Read the story behind the shop in our magazine article.

Peyton’s Law, which seeks to bring awareness to Sudden Cardiac Arrest, including the signs and symptoms, was passed into law. Read more about The Peyton Walker Foundation’s efforts to save the lives of at-risk student-athletes.

The Parkway apartment complex has stood tall for 100 years, still as popular and elegant now as it was when it was built. Read the story behind the landmark building and why it still attracts tenants to this day.

Running has acted as therapy for many people, especially during the pandemic. Our magazine story shows the psychological and social reasons behind that and discusses what running in races looks like during a crisis.

Summertime shrimp is on the menu for Rosemary this month. Fire up the grill and find this “Spicy Calabrian Shrimp” recipe in this month’s issue of the magazine.

A town hall was hosted by activist group The Movement to give Harrisburg residents the chance to ask questions and provide input to city officials. Our reporting discusses the big questions people had and how officials responded.

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Voices of Our Community: Lenwood Sloan

June 30, 2020 | by Lenwood Sloan

Lenwood Sloan

Following the death of George Floyd and the nationwide and local Black Lives Matter protests, we asked several members of our Harrisburg community if they would like to share their personal stories.

I’ve been so many places in my life and times!

My journey includes three U.S. coasts and four continents. Since 2005, I have referred to myself as Harrisburg’s “foster child.” A refugee of Katrina, I fled New Orleans and was lucky enough to land here in the Rendell administration as director of cultural and heritage tourism.

Refugees are different than immigrants. We fled from one place instead of choosing another. Foster children are in a perpetual state of waiting for “a forever family.” While I work hard to belong, I’m constantly confronted with the salutation, “You’re not from here, are you?”

Fifteen years doesn’t count! I know people who have been here five decades and still get the same question. You see, unless you were born here, you are never from here. You’re instantly measured and identified by your church, the neighborhood you grew up in, or the year you graduated from John Harris or William Penn High School. You’re constantly asked, “Who’s your Momma? What lodge did your grandfather belong to?”

Foster children always have that lost look in their eyes. We are always searching for a sense of permanency. We’re always looking for “our people!”

When I arrive in a new place, I always head directly for the town’s MLK Boulevard. Every town usually has a roadway named for the great civil rights leader, right? Not Harrisburg. In fact, it’s the only city I’ve come across that named a boulevard after the Exemplar of Peace and then reversed the action! The only evidence I could ever find of its existence is a disturbing archival record and a pile of signs in the back of a public works building.

As a Black historian, I’m always looking for the presence of the past. Where are the markers of the legacy of my people? Where are the symbols of our achievement against the odds? If you were born here, you might identify the few and vanishing markers of our heritage. If not, you’re lost.

While working on a cultural project along the four-mile Riverfront Park, I could not find a single monument, plaque, bench or emblem of achievement exemplifying the contributions of African Americans. Walk the entire Capitol Complex, and you’ll find precious few markers promulgating our presence there either!

But let’s stay in the present! Where do you take African American tourists to discover Harrisburg’s Black amenities? You’ll find no thriving Black business district, no African American bookstore, art gallery, Black-owned theater, Afro dance center, literary society, public choir. There’s no local Black baseball game to attend or marching band to fall behind. Indeed, when asked, the answer often is, “There used to be!”

“Used to be” is simply not good enough! Cultural identity is built on a foundation of brick-and-mortar institutions, physical signs and symbols which ground and substantiate it. Black-owned enterprises become the loom on which we weave the cultural and multicultural warp and woof of a people. They’re the safe houses of our images, icons, artifacts and memorabilia.

I continue to wonder as I wander, where do Black people exist on the landscape of Harrisburg’s memory? Where are the safehouses of our cultural experiences? Who’s recording what it is to be Black in Harrisburg for present children and future generations? Who’s building monuments to our achievements?

Martin Delaney, the great Pennsylvania abolitionist who fought for freedom with the U.S. Colored Troops in the Civil War, wrote, “Every people should be originators of their own destiny.” Today and every day, we should work hard to pay it forward so that we have something to look forward to with hope and something to look backwards on with pride.

Lenwood Sloan is the executive director of the Commonwealth Monument Project. He serves as the governor’s appointee to the Capitol Preservation Committee and board member of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.

A June to Remember: Revisiting a month of history

June 30, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda and Maddie Conley

The Black Lives Matter movement dominated our news coverage over the past month, as thousands of people gathered for protests and rallies in Harrisburg demanding justice and civil rights.

Online, we featured numerous stories, editorials and photo galleries dedicated to the many events that took place. We now want to share snippets of our web-only work for our magazine readers.

Why We’re Here

Unity. Peace. Justice.

Those words were heard over and over during Sunday’s rally at the PA Capitol, the latest in a weeklong series of protests following the death of George Floyd and demands for equal rights and fair justice.

Several hundred protestors gathered at the state Capitol and marched along downtown Harrisburg streets and over to City Island before returning to the Capitol steps to rally again.

Along the way, the diverse crowd held signs decrying police violence and engaged in chants such as “Say His Name: George Floyd” and “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot.”

“This march is one of solidarity,” said community activist Kevin Maxson, speaking to the crowd. “We demand change. That’s why we’re all here today.”

—Lawrance Binda

Juneteenth Plan

It was just last year that Gov. Tom Wolf signed a bill officially recognizing June 19 as a state holiday celebrating freedom from slavery, known as Juneteenth.

In the wake of the death of George Floyd and other black men and women at the hands of police, Juneteenth takes on special meaning this year in the midst of protests and calls to action.

The Harrisburg Young Professionals of Color, La Cultura, Capital Rebirth and The Bridge are joining forces to host festivities in Harrisburg this Friday.

“It’s a celebration,” Mikell Simpson, founder of the nonprofit Capital Rebirth, said. “We have gained a lot of momentum. Now, let’s take a break for a day and celebrate.”

—Maddie Conley

African American Music Appreciation Month

If you live in central PA, you’ve probably heard of Shawan Rice and her band, Shawan and the Wonton. The singer-songwriter has brought her melodic voice and heartbreaking lyrics all across Pennsylvania and the east coast.

There is no other way to describe the 25-year-old’s voice but soulful. Her music, featuring traces of blues, R&B and folk laced together with her autobiographical lyrics, will probably wreck you but help you heal all over again.

“It’s soul music—music made for the soul,” she said. “You can feel it inside you.”

—Yaasmeen Piper

Editorial: “We Stand in Support”

We at TheBurg stand by the principals of this historic movement. We join this community in opposing racism and police brutality and in supporting equality, civil rights and black-owned businesses.

It is my greatest hope that this movement results in substantial and lasting change. I am amazed at what has already been accomplished in such a short time and look forward to seeing genuine progress towards greater equality and more opportunities in our community and our country.

—Lawrance Binda

Conversations

Every so often, the Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC hosts a seminar, but this one was different.

It was one that chamber board Vice Chair Meron Yemane has waited years for.

Today, the Chamber held a webinar entitled, “Chamber Live: A Conversation about Systemic Racism.”

Yemane explained how he believes this is the beginning of the process towards change for the chamber. He pointed out the power structures within the organization itself and the hope he has for positive movement towards inclusivity.

“Next year, I’ll be the first black chair of the chamber, and that doesn’t mean anything if there’s not a second,” Yemane said. “The chamber can lead in this.”

—Maddie Conley

Stories of the Past

The weather may have been gloomy, but the day was filled with celebration as the state recognized Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the freedom of enslaved African Americans.

As part of the day’s events, members of the IIPT Harrisburg Peace Promenade presented the City of Harrisburg with a bronze map replica of the historic Old 8th Ward.

The bronze map shows houses, churches, synagogues and other landmarks from the neighborhood that was demolished for the expansion of the Capitol grounds. The Old 8th Ward was primarily an African American and immigrant community that was displaced with the expansion.

“The future is judged by how well we preserve the true and just stories of the past,” said Lenwood Sloan, director of the project.

—Maddie Conley

Editorial: “This Remarkable Week”

A month or so ago, I told a colleague how disappointed I was with my generation—the Gen X/Baby Boomer crowd. When I was young, I attended many protests, thinking that our voices could lead to change. Looking back, however, I felt like we failed to make much progress toward a better, more equitable society.

But now this time has come like a bolt, a renewed era of activism and optimism, led by young people and people of color, but including a broad swath of society across cultures and generations—and now with, of all the unimaginable twists, assists from the U.S. Supreme Court.

Life remains unsettled. There are still plenty of questions, struggles and unknowns, especially as the global pandemic grinds on. But suddenly, the world seems so much more hopeful, so much brighter. For this incredible, history-making week, we can believe again in Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous quote: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”

—Lawrance Binda

Visit www.theburgnews.com to read the full stories from these excerpts.

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