History Alliance of Kingston: Our New Project

In a time when people are spending more time apart, the History Alliance of Kingston (HAK) is working to bring historical societies and museums together. Their mission is “To bring local history to life for people of all ages through events and activities that reflect and promote a deeper understanding of the diverse social and cultural history of the Hudson Valley.” The D&H Canal Historical Society is one of the founding members of HAK, greatly contributing towards the group's growing success. The Canal Society is largely involved with HAK’s newest project, the Black History of the Hudson Valley Collaborative Research Project and is looking forward to sharing it with our community.

Learn more in the below article shared to the Kingston Wire.

The History Alliance of Kingston (HAK) is pleased to announce its first event of 2021! HAK will introduce to the public our newest project: the Black History of the Hudson Valley Collaborative Research Project in a Zoom presentation as part of Black History Month Kingston on Monday, February 22, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. 

Black History is woven into the fabric of our region’s past, but where can we go to learn about it? The History Alliance of Kingston is designing a digital guide to compile existing Black History of the Hudson Valley resources and collect new ones for researchers and the general public alike. This effort builds on work done by and with the region’s Black community for a long time, including Dr. A.J. Williams-Myers’s research, the creation of the African Roots Center, the Conference on Black History in the Hudson Valley, and many more community projects.

We are working to right a serious wrong. Too little has been written about the Black history of our region, and our institutions did not consciously collect or catalogue items focused on these stories. Now, as our member institutions independently undertake Black history research projects and respond to requests from researchers who are eager to learn more, we decided to pool our resources in an effort to share the source materials that can help tell a more complete story. Our goal is to make these resources -- and stories-- more accessible for researchers and the general public. 

At this public program, HAK members will share an early draft of our Black History of the Hudson Valley Collaborative Research Project, a collection of resources (both published and not) that we have compiled with the help of scholars in the field. We will also share several research projects currently in-progress and invite the broader community to contribute their knowledge. The aim of this session is to introduce this project, and to invite the broader community to help us identify existing resources for inclusion in this guide-- including personal and family stories and collections. Whether or not you can attend, we invite you to contribute your research and collections to it, and to spread the word about it!

The event will be held on Monday, February 22nd, from 7-8pm on Zoom. Advance registration is required to attend the event. To get the link and register, you can find the event on our Facebook page.

Members: Taylor Bruck; Nancy Chando; Troy Ellen Dixon; Christine Ferwerda; Laurie Hancock; Bill Knowles; Sarah Litvin; Henry Lowengard; Courtney McNamara; Bill Merchant; Sarah Wassberg Johnson

Member Organizations: AJ Williams-Myers African Roots Center; Century House Historical Society; D & H Canal Historical Society; Friends of Historic Kingston; Hudson River Maritime Museum; Reher Center for Immigrant Culture and History; Senate House State Historic Site; Theatre on the Road; Ulster County Clerk’s Office; Ulster County Historical Society; Volunteer Fireman’s Hall and Museum of Kingston

The History Alliance of Kingston is working to bring local history to life for people of all ages through events and activities that reflect and promote a deeper understanding of the diverse social and cultural history of the Hudson Valley.

Visit our website for more information about HAK, our member organizations, and our work. If you are interested in participating in our work, complete the contact form here.

Courtney McNamara

Collections Assistant