Family Revealed: From Slavery to Hope
Wallis and Reggie
In an evening of engaging music and conversation, Reggie Harris and Wallis Wickham Raemer, one Black and one white, and both descendants of a Confederate enslaver, tell their story through their respective lenses.
As recently embraced cousins, they relate their experience of discovering the other’s deeply held feelings, pain, and hope on their journey to reclaiming history and becoming present day family.
Wallis Raemer, a retired educator and school administrator who grew up in Richmond, Virginia, thought it was cool to have a statue of her great-great-grandfather, Williams Carter Wickham, in the center of town. But as she grew older, she changed her mind–especially after meeting Reggie Harris, who also is a descendant of the same Confederate general but by way of Bibhanna Hewlett, one of the 275 people that he enslaved.
As recounted on CNN, in a recent book, and in an article in The NY Times, following the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Wallis, Reggie and other family members wrote a letter to the city of Richmond, Virginia requesting that the statue be removed. But it remained in place until protesters dragged it down with a rope in 2020.
For Reggie Harris, a gifted folksinger, educator and a prominent interpreter of the use of music in historical movements for social change, the statue was a painful reminder of the abuse his family suffered and the refusal of America to fully acknowledge its past.
This is real, complicated history that they face by talking and by refusing to be defined by past realities. Choosing to be active participants, they are changing the frame of possibility by sharing their stories and acting with purpose to shape a more unified future.
As recently embraced cousins, they relate their experience of discovering the other’s deeply held feelings, pain, and hope on their journey to reclaiming history and becoming present day family.
Wallis Raemer, a retired educator and school administrator who grew up in Richmond, Virginia, thought it was cool to have a statue of her great-great-grandfather, Williams Carter Wickham, in the center of town. But as she grew older, she changed her mind–especially after meeting Reggie Harris, who also is a descendant of the same Confederate general but by way of Bibhanna Hewlett, one of the 275 people that he enslaved.
As recounted on CNN, in a recent book, and in an article in The NY Times, following the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Wallis, Reggie and other family members wrote a letter to the city of Richmond, Virginia requesting that the statue be removed. But it remained in place until protesters dragged it down with a rope in 2020.
For Reggie Harris, a gifted folksinger, educator and a prominent interpreter of the use of music in historical movements for social change, the statue was a painful reminder of the abuse his family suffered and the refusal of America to fully acknowledge its past.
This is real, complicated history that they face by talking and by refusing to be defined by past realities. Choosing to be active participants, they are changing the frame of possibility by sharing their stories and acting with purpose to shape a more unified future.
General Information about the 2023 Spring Education Series
All three programs will be broadcast on Zoom. Register to receive the Zoom link.
Family Revealed: From Slavery to Hope
Thursday, September 28, 2023
The Movement Made Us
Thursday, October 12, 2023
Civil Rights Activism from Yesterday to Today
Thursday, November 2, 2023
Programs start at 4:30 pm PT, 5:30 pm MT, 6:30 pm CT, 7:30 pm ET and run for one-hour, followed by a half-hour question and answer post-discussion.
All programs are free and open to the public. Minimum suggested donation is $15 per program ($45 total) and it's never too late to donate! You can register for 1, 2, or all 3 programs!
Your donations make it possible for the Living Legacy Project to continue to bring you relevant programming like this series and make them available to all, regardless of economic circumstances. Please give generously.
Thursday, September 28, 2023
The Movement Made Us
Thursday, October 12, 2023
Civil Rights Activism from Yesterday to Today
Thursday, November 2, 2023
Programs start at 4:30 pm PT, 5:30 pm MT, 6:30 pm CT, 7:30 pm ET and run for one-hour, followed by a half-hour question and answer post-discussion.
All programs are free and open to the public. Minimum suggested donation is $15 per program ($45 total) and it's never too late to donate! You can register for 1, 2, or all 3 programs!
Your donations make it possible for the Living Legacy Project to continue to bring you relevant programming like this series and make them available to all, regardless of economic circumstances. Please give generously.