John Brown Symposium presented by Bach to Books
By Tom Keener
Bach to Books presents a John Brown symposium 7 p.m. Saturday, February 7 at the library. This free symposium examines the life of the abolitionist John Brown and his impact on American history.
An advocate of armed resistance against slavery, in 1856 John Brown led a group of volunteers in a raid on the Pottawatomie River in Kansas that resulted in the death of five pro-slavery Southerners. In 1859, he led another raid at the U.S. armory at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, in an attempt to gain arms for a slave insurrection. This action resulted in the death of seven men, including one free black man. Although he was tried for treason and hung, many Americans at the time considered him a hero. Some scholars believe that John Brown’s actions at Harper’s Ferry were the defining moment that led to the Civil War.
The symposium is composed of University of Texas Professor Evan Carton and local Allen resident Alice Mecoy, a direct descendant of John Brown. Dr. Carton will deliver a survey on John Brown’s life and Ms. Mecoy will discuss the impact of John Brown’s legacy on his descendants.
As a special treat for this event, baritone Donnie Ray Albert will sing. He performed the role of Frederick Douglass in the John Brown opera, which debuted in Kansas City in 2008 to rave reviews. As an acclaimed concert artist, Mr. Albert has sung with the orchestras of Washington DC (National), Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Jerusalem, Seattle, Los Angeles, Vienna and Linz, Austria. He has also served as a resident artist with the Center for Black Music Research at Chicago's Columbia College.
Born in Louisiana, Donnie Ray Albert earned a bachelor of music degree at Louisiana State University and a master of music degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. His engagements have included Salome in Sao Paulo, Brazil; Dallas Opera's La Vida Breve; Flying Dutchman with the Austin Lyric Opera; I Pagliaci with Opera Pacific; and Florentine Opera's Il Trovatore.
Evan Carton is a professor of English at the University of Texas at Austin and the director of the University of Texas Humanities Institute, which he founded in 2001. Raised in Newton, Massachusetts, he attended college at Columbia University and graduate school at Johns Hopkins, joining the University of Texas faculty in 1978. Carton is the author of two books on 19th century American literature, another on the history of 20th century literary criticism and theory, and, most recently, a narrative non-fiction account of the life and times of John Brown, entitled Patriotic Treason: John Brown and the Soul of America (New York: Free Press, 2006). In 2007, Patriotic Treason was awarded the Robert W. Hamilton Book Award for the best book published by a member of the University of Texas faculty in the preceding year.
Raised in Palo Alto, California, Alice Mecoy was unaware of her close familial connection to John Brown until she was in high school. It had been considered a family secret. Jean Libby, nationally-known John Brown scholar, approached Alice and took her picture for her research. For over 30 years, they have remained close friends and have collaborated on John Brown research. After her sons Manfred and Geoffrey started high school, Alice began a passionate search for family history and relatives. Her travels took her to Kansas City, North Elba, and Osawatomie. She is participating with National Park Association for the 2009 sesquicentennial of Harper’s Ferry, serving on the descendants location committee.
This program is co-sponsored by Debra Preston with the library’s adult services. For information, call Tom Keener at 214-509-4911 or visit www.cityofallen.org.
|
