The Mitchell Center for African American Heritage invites you to experience a masterful delivery of one of Frederick Douglass’s most powerful and well-known speeches, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” by actor Carlo Campbell. Originally given in 1852, this speech was revised and recited by Douglass numerous times in the years before, during, and after the Civil War. With each rendition, the words took on new meaning for Americans during a period of rapid change and constant upheaval, as the nation struggled to define the freedoms it had pursued during the American Revolutionary War le ..read more

The Jane and Littleton Mitchell Center for African American Heritage at the Delaware Historical Society proudly supported the creation of a video overview of the Peter Spencer Heritage Hallway in partnership with the Peter Spencer Heritage Hallway Committee. You can watch a preview of the video below. A clip of the Peter Spencer Heritage Hallway video You can watch the video in its entirety here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDjNYL5TDw0. Visit the Forging Faith, Building Freedom: African American Faith Experiences in Delaware to learn more about Peter Spencer and his legacy ..read more

Family & Community Day In collaboration with the Route 9 Library & Innovation Center and Christina Cultural Arts Center, the Mitchell Center and Delaware Historical Society had our first Family and Community Day program in celebration of August Quarterly. Guests learned about August Quarterly through the images and objects in our “Forging Faith and Community” exhibit in the Mitchell Center while enjoying story time and creating crafts. What Is August Quarterly? The August Quarterly is an African American religious festival that has been celebrated annually in Wilming ..read more

Happy Harriet Tubman Day! To celebrate Harriet Tubman Day, the Mitchell Center has invited Deanna Mitchell, Superintendent of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park, to speak on Harriet’s story along with discussing the contributions of African Americans in the study and preservation of the environment. A transcription for this program will be available soon. If you enjoyed this presentation, consider giving us with feedback on our program survey here: https://forms.gle/9ASXr2bW3Koz4zHq8 ..read more

Saturday, August 20, 2022, 1- 3 pm Delaware History Museum 504 N. Market St. Wilm, DE 19801 The Delaware Historical Society, the Jane and Littleton Mitchell Center for African American Heritage, and our community partners are excited to introduce seasonal family programming Saturdays. Together we will explore Delaware’s most distinctive people, places, and events. In collaboration with the Route 9 Library & Innovation Center and Christina Cultural Arts Center, the Jane and Littleton Mitchell Center for African American Heritage at the Delaware History Museum invites families to join us as ..read more

June was a month filled with celebration, reflection, and communities coming together. As we move into July, let’s take a moment and look back on some of our favorite highlights of June! Juneteenth Flag-Raising Ceremony Our partners at the Delaware Juneteenth Association (DEJA) started the month off with a Juneteenth flag-raising ceremony at the Route 9 Library & Innovation Center, which provided an opportunity for community members to reflect on the importance of Juneteenth.  Juneteenth Flag Raising CeremonyGovernor John Carney Speaking at the Juneteenth Flag Raising C ..read more

The Jane and Littleton Mitchell Center for African American Heritage at the Delaware Historical Society, is proud to launch the Journey to Freedom Blog! Here are some reasons why we started this blog and what you can expect.  Why a blog? As you may know, the Delaware Historical Society is closed to the public due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. To ensure the safety of our staff and community, the Mitchell Center has shifted to prioritizing online programming and digital initiatives. From webinars to a virtual open mic, the Mitchell Center has been experimenting with different virtual pl ..read more

For this month’s post, we are featuring one of the Mitchell Center’s partners: The Bryan Allen Stevenson School of Excellence (BASSE). We’ve brought on Rahsel Holland, Community Outreach Coordinator at BASSE to talk about the school’s mission, goals, and Bryan Stevenson. THE BRYAN ALLEN STEVENSON SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE By Rahsel Holland When you were in high school, did you notice challenges within your community that you could impact? Were you driven by social change but felt like you were voiceless? Did you wish you could do more than just question the problem, but have the means to solve it ..read more

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing the founder of the Delaware Social Justice Remembrance Coalition, Savannah Shepherd. At 15, Savannah Shepherd founded the Delaware Social Justice Remembrance Coalition after she attended the opening of the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama in April 2018. She has won awards such as the NAACP Youth Visionary Award and was instrumental to the erection of the historical marker commemorating the lynching of George White and the re-dedication of the marker when it was stolen just weeks after its erection ..read more