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May 16, 2022

The Chestertown Spy

An Educational News Source for Chestertown Maryland

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Talbot Board of Education Announces Finalists for Superintendent of Schools

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The Talbot County Board of Education has identified finalists for the Talbot County Superintendent of Schools.  The four finalists, in alphabetical order are:

James C. Bell, Jr., Ed.D., Director of Student Services and Secondary Leadership for the Seaford School District, Seaford, Delaware.  

Dr. Bell earned a Bachelor of Education in Secondary Mathematics from Southern University A & M,  and a Master of Education in School Leadership and a Doctor of Education in Innovation and Leadership from Wilmington University in Georgetown, Delaware.  He began his career as a mathematics teacher in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and was recruited by Talbot County Public Schools to teach at Easton High School, where he was later promoted to Assistant Principal.  Dr. Bell has also served as Principal of Maces Lane Middle School and Supervisor of Student Services for Dorchester County Public Schools.  

Carol E. Flenard, Ed.D., Interim Superintendent, Spotsylvania County Public Schools, Virginia. 

Dr. Flenard earned a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Penn State University, and a Master of Education in Administration and Supervision and Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University.  She began her career as an elementary teacher, and has served as an assistant principal, principal, director of education, executive director of instruction, deputy superintendent-chief academic officer and interim superintendent.   

LeTrecia M. Gloster, Ed.D., Assistant Superintendent of Schools, The School District of the City of York, Pennsylvania.   

Dr. Gloster earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics Education from Bowie State University, a Master of Science in Administration from Trinity University, and a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from Bowie State University.  She taught secondary mathematics in Talbot and Prince George’s County, Maryland and Charlotte, North Carolina, before returning to Maryland and serving as a middle school principal in Caroline and Prince George’s counties. She has also been Executive Director of School Support and Improvement for Metro Nashville Public Schools, Tennessee, and Director of Learning for the District of Columbia Public Schools Leadership Development Division, Washington DC.  

Sharon Pepukayi, Ed.D., Assistant Superintendent of PreK-5 Schools, Appoquinimink School District, New Castle County, Delaware. 

Dr. Pepukayi earned a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education, from Bennett College, a Master of Arts in Early and Middle Childhood Education from Ohio State University, and a Doctor of Education in Innovation and School Leadership from Wilmington University.  She previously served as Assistant Superintendent of PreK-12 Schools, principal, and assistant principal in the Appoquinimink School District.   She also taught in the Dublin School District and was a teacher and an administrator in the Red Clay Consolidated School District in Delaware.  

The four finalists will participate in interviews with the Talbot County Board of Education and with stakeholders to include members of the community, staff, students, and parents. 

The Board has been working with the Maryland Association of Boards of Education  (MABE) to conduct the superintendent search. 

Any questions regarding the search process should be directed to William Middleton, search consultant at MABE at 410-841-5414, or at wmiddleton@mabe.org.  

 

Kent County Public Schools Starts Mentoring Program for Black Boys

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A mentoring program launched in the fall at Kent County High School is already expanding to bring in more students and more community members who want make an impact on a child’s life.

The program was organized by Dr. Angela Holocker, coordinator of student services for Kent County Public Schools and interim principal at Kent County Middle School.

The mentoring program here is a pilot for the state as part of a targeted effort to improve the school experience and educational outcomes of Black boys in Maryland.

Expanding on previous studies and efforts, the Maryland State Board of Education formed the Task Force on Achieving Equity and Excellence for Black Boys in 2020. It issued a resource guide for educators, “Transforming the Culture of Maryland’s Schools for Black Boys,” last year.

Dr. Vermelle D. Greene, who spent her career as an educator in Prince George’s County Public Schools, chaired the task force.

“Our Black boys are intelligent and capable. Like all other children, they want to learn and be successful. Yet this will not happen if as a state education system we — either through ignorance or neglect — fail to educate them in ways that affirm their learning differences, attend to their social-emotional needs, appreciate their culture, set high expectations and respect them as unique individuals,” Greene wrote in the resource guide. 

Upon the task force’s report being issued, Dr. Holocker jumped at the opportunity to incorporate some of its recommendations into Kent County Public Schools. In doing so, the state provided the school system here with $76,000 to get started.

First came de-escalation training for teachers and staff.

In reviewing discipline figures, Dr. Holocker found that Kent County Public Schools did not follow the state and national trends showing Black boys being disproportionately suspended from schools. What the numbers here did show, though, was that Black boys were being sent to the principal or having parent conferences called at higher rates than other groups.

“We saw that teachers needed strategies,” Dr. Holocker said.

Those de-escalation training sessions were held last August.

In addition, Dr. Holocker got the greenlight to launch a mentoring program. Pairing Black men in the community with Black boys, the program aims to help students with their school work and their emotional growth and development.

It started at the high school and expanded to the middle school.

“We have mentors who are coming in the middle school and the high school, visiting the lunchroom, walking the halls and being a presence for our young men,” Dr. Holocker said.

The task force guide suggests partnering with existing mentoring programs, bringing those community leaders into the school system.

For Kent County, one of those programs is Rising Sons and one of those leaders is co-founder Harold Somerville. The father of two is a parole and probation officer and also a longtime youth sports coach.

Somerville and a team of mentors started coming into the high school several times a week in the fall to meet with students, talking to them, helping them with school work and maybe playing a game of basketball.

“We do a lot of one on one with them, mostly during lunch shifts.” Somerville said. “We come in and just sit with them and see how they’re doing, if they need help with anything.”

Antoine Reid Sr. has twin boys who are seniors at the high school, where he can often be found in the hallway talking to students as part of his mentoring visits.

Like Somerville, Reid also has a degree in criminal justice and has been active in the community and coached youth sports. 

Both men know the power positive influence can have on a child’s life. And they know that some of the children do not have a strong male role model to guide them.

“We try to fill that void,” Reid said.

Tyray Johnson is another mentor. He has four children, three who have graduated from Kent County Public Schools and one still in middle school. His oldest is the performer known as Yvng Swag.

It was Johnson’s experiences as a parent on the outside of the school system looking in that led him to retire young from an engineering career and sign up first as a substitute teacher and then as an instructional assistant at Kent County Middle School.

Johnson is passionate about being a mentor.

“It’s about being able to make a difference, to make an impact on someone’s life and to leave a legacy,” Johnson said. “Because at the end of the day, the kids are our future. They’re going to be the future leaders of this country.”

Monday mornings have become a special time for the mentoring program at the middle school. Nearly 30 students from all three grades get together for breakfast at the school.

“We’re calling them Mindful Mornings,” Dr. Holocker said. “The students are really enjoying it. It sets those boys in a frame of mind to start the day so they’re ready to go.”

Mentoring activities also extend well beyond the walls of the middle and high schools. 

In January, a group of mentors and students traveled to Wilmington, Del. to see Trojan basketball star Manny Camper play for the Grand Rapids Gold of the NBA’s G League. Students got to meet Camper and take photos with him.

“That was fun,” Johnson said. “Seeing Manny come up from here and now he’s playing in the G League — it was awesome.”

Plans are in the works for a trip to the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

While the mentoring program is focused on providing support for Black boys, the mentors themselves are happy talking to any students who come up to them.

“We’re always here to help,” Somerville said. “We want any kid to feel welcome and invited when they see us.”

The program is looking for mentors.

“You’ve got to have a love for kids and a passion for kids. And you’ve got to have patience, because you’re dealing with individuals with different personalities and different backgrounds,” Johnson said. “But it’s so rewarding to be able to see the impact that you can make on a person in a positive light.”

Those interested in signing up should contact Dr. Holocker at aholocker@kent.k12.md.us.

 

The Magic of Books at Galena Elementary

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Last week at a special assembly, kids at Galena Elementary were treated to the magic of books and reading as magician Brian Curry showcased his favorite children’s books while performing magic tricks to engage the students.

The Book Club: The Magic Assembly was sponsored by Chestertown Rotary Club supporting Galena Elementary School One School One Book program, a national nonprofit whose mission is to “create a culture of literacy in every home.”

Curry, who travels from Florida to Vermont with his magic show promoting reading, says that each school engagement is unique and always satisfying. The contagious excitement in the room spoke for itself. Teachers and staff were not immune to being called to the stage to help perform some of Curry’s illusions, and there was a certain glee when physical education teacher Jillian Kinnamon got sprayed with silly string by one of the students.

Each of the four books covered during the Magic Assembly were donated to the school, along with copies of The Mouse and the Motorcycle for each student.

This video is approximately three minutes in length. For more information about the One School One Book Program, go here. 

Profiles in Education: A Chat with Radcliffe Creek School’s Ben Joiner

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For 26 years, Radcliffe Creek School has excelled in offering students alternative ways of learning based on the principle that bright students who struggle in traditional learning environments can succeed with customized instruction.

For nineteen of those years, Ben Joiner has devoted his teaching and administrative skills to Radcliffe, first as a teacher and since 2016 as Assistant Head of School after two years as Assistant Head of School at Kent School.

Noting that every student responds differently to teaching and that some students engage more successfully in smaller-class, individualized learning, Joiner sees Radcliffe as a dynamic environment to empower children by taking classes based on their skills rather than their age.

Although Joiner spends most of his time in his administrative position, the pandemic required a nimble “all hands on deck” approach to keeping the school open, safely regulated, and staffed, a need that returned him to the classroom.

“Because we are small, have a small faculty and small student body, it gives us an opportunity be nimble. We can make changes, we can be dynamic and look ahead and anticipate what we need to do to make ourselves better,” he says.

Asked if he wanted to address any misconceptions about the alternative learning environment, Joiner said that he wanted people to more fully understand students as “unique learners,” and because their education is customized and non-traditional it should not be confused with therapeutic schools for students with emotional and behavioral problems or a school for kids who “can’t hack traditional schools.”

In fact, many bright Radcliffe students perform well beyond their grade level. It’s about finding the right fit for their learning.

The Spy recently talked with Ben Joiner about the Radcliffe Creek School teaching environment.

This video is approximately ten minutes in length. More about Radcliffe Creek School may be found here.

The Dorchester Race to Read: Jymil Thompson and the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading

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The John & Janice Wyatt Foundation, the funder of Dorchester County’s Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, made an aspiring choice in hiring Jymil Thompson to lead this ambitious literary initiative for the next several years.

The product of Penn State, followed by two master’s degrees from Trinity and Howard Universities, Jymil found himself moving to Cambridge after a successful career as an assistant principal at Sierra High School in Colorado Springs, CO. This unique transition was due to his work with the former Mace’s Lane Middle School in Dorchester County Public Schools, located in Cambridge.

But this transition was more than a matter of changing mountain scenery to the vistas of the Chesapeake Bay. Jymil, clearly familiar with poverty and education challenges in poor communities, still found Cambridge shockingly different from previous experiences. As he notes in our Spy/WHCP interview, he came to realize there was a significant difference between urban and rural conditions for young people. And that related to access to learning programs.

While poor neighborhoods in America’s largest cities have unique challenges, what they share in common is the number of choices young students have in the form of after-school programming and learning opportunities. In a place like Cambridge, in contrast, he noticed how few options these kids have after their schools dismiss them every afternoon.

One of those gaps was programs devoted to improving the reading skills of those children.

The sobering fact is that without proficiency in reading by the end of third grade, a time when students shift from learning to read to reading to learn, those children fall behind. Those that fail to reach this critical milestone falter in the later grades and often drop out before earning a high school diploma.

The Grade-Level Reading initiative intends to attack this problem head-on. As Jymil outlines in our conversation, his job is to engage the community, remove barriers, expand opportunities, and assist parents in fulfilling their roles and responsibilities to help their children read.

This video is approximately 9 minutes in length. For more information about the Campaign for Grade Level Reading in Dorchester please go here. To find out more about the national effort please go here.

KCPS students honored at annual Dr. King Day Observance

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Four students in Kent County Public Schools were celebrated for their community involvement Monday, Jan. 17 as part of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance here.

The students received their awards at the Presbyterian Church of Chestertown in a ceremony presented by the Chester Valley Ministers Association and broadcast on Youtube.

The Rev. Sheila Lomax presented the Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award to Kent County High School senior Myona Moore for her outstanding work.

“I would like to thank everyone who chose me for this award,” Moore said. “And I would also like to say, hard does pay off. So, thank you.”

The Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast Committee and the Kent Cultural Alliance honored three Kent County Middle School students with the Vincent Hynson Memorial Youth Award. The award is named for the late Kent County MIddle School teacher.

Lomax and the Rev. Mary Walker presented the awards to sixth-grader Noelle Demby, seventh-grader Jayla Lewis and eighth-grader Temani Darden.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Day event also honored African American Trailblazers in Kent County. Among them was Alleesa Stewart, supervisor of finance for Kent County Public Schools and a graduate of Kent County High School.

“I am humbled and I am honored to be one of the recipients and I would like to thank you all so much,” Stewart said.

She also had a message for the young people watching the ceremony.

“Whatever dreams, whatever goals, whatever your hearts’ desire — keep going. Don’t give up and don’t throw in the towel. You can make it and you can win,” she said.

The Kent County High School Jazz Band led by Keith Wharton joined the ceremony, performing “Fat Cat” and “Isn’t it Special.”

To view the presentation, find the Chester Valley Ministers Association on Facebook and follow the links to YouTube.

Md. Department of Education Encourages In-Person Learning as COVID Rates Climb; One School System Has Gone Virtual

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In response to coronavirus case surges and fears of the omicron variant across the state, one Maryland public school veered back to virtual learning while the state is urging schools to stay open for in-person instruction.

In a statement, the Maryland State Department of Education wrote that the agency will support local school systems to keep “each and every public school open.”

The state department will support a transition to virtual learning “only on a case-by-case basis under the most exigent of circumstances and in close consultation with State and local health departments,” the statement read. Local school systems that do transition to virtual learning “will need to immediately and aggressively work to bring students back to in-person normal attendance and learning,” the statement continued.

The announcement came Monday after Prince George’s County Public Schools quickly moved students to virtual learning this week, citing COVID-19 related concerns. Students will return to in-person classes on Jan. 18, around two weeks after winter break ends, according to a statement by Monica Goldson, the chief executive officer of Prince George’s County Public Schools. And students who have been enrolled in a virtual program throughout the fall will remain remote until Jan. 31.

“The increased positivity rates have significantly challenged the ability to [maintain in-person classes], causing anxiety among many school communities and disruption to the school day,” Goldson wrote in a letter to parents, students and staff.

Appearing on Fox News Sunday, before he tested positive for COVID-19 the following morning, Hogan called the shift “a terrible mistake, and something we’re very opposed to.”

“[O]ur duly elected school boards in these counties have the powers to make those decisions,” he said. “Unfortunately, I don’t have that power as governor. But we’re going to make it very clear that we think it’s a mistake.”

Hogan said the county should have “ramp[ed] up testing” rather than “shutting down an entire school system of kids that have already struggled with distance-learning for nearly a year.”

When the state’s COVID-19 dashboard was partially restored Monday after more than two weeks of outages related to a cyberattack, county-specific COVID transmission data was not available; Prince George’s County has seen some of the highest local transmission rates in the state at points in the pandemic.

Other local systems have tried to restrict student activities and others underscored their commitment to keep students in classrooms with as little disruption as possible.

On Monday, Baltimore County school officials promised in a statement that they would keep all schools open for in-person learning unless local or state government officials mandate them to close schools. “As a result of our comprehensive COVID-19 health and safety practices, we can and will maintain in-person learning five days a week for all students,” Superintendent Darryl L. Williams wrote in the statement.

While acknowledging that there is a substantial increase in coronavirus cases in the state, Montgomery County also pledged on Monday to keep schools fully in-person.

One school district tried to restrict school activities, but failed.

Howard County Superintendent Michael Martirano announced last week that all sports and extracurricular activities would be canceled through mid-January due to an “alarming rate” of positive COVID-19 cases, but the county school board quickly overruled his decision and reinstated all activities with a plan to require mandatory testing for students participating in sports and theater.

At the start of the school year, the Maryland State Board of Education voted to require all teachers, students, staff and visitors to wear masks inside public school buildings. This emergency regulation expires on Feb. 25, 2022, and the State Board of Education recently approved a plan that would lift the mandate if local vaccination rates are high or COVID-19 transmission rates are moderate or low.

To keep students in classrooms as much as possible, the Maryland State Department of Education encouraged a “test-to-stay” approach, which allows students who may have been exposed to COVID-19 in school to still attend classes in-person rather than quarantine as long as they test negative for COVID-19 and show no symptoms.

In previous board meetings, state Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury has consistently advocated for schools to stay open for in-person instruction with proper COVID-19 safety measures, contending that in-person instruction is the best way for students — especially historically underserved students — to learn.

“We have seen the devastating impact of school closures and long-term virtual instruction on student learning here in Maryland and across the country. When COVID-19 transmission increases and health measures become a necessity, schools must be the last places to close. With unprecedented federal and State resources and tools, we can keep schools safely open for in person, full-time learning,” Choudhury said in a statement.

By Elizabeth Shwe

Talbot County Superintendent Kelly Griffith to Retire Next Year

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Talbot County Public Schools Superintendent Kelly L. Griffith, Ed.D. has announced that she will retire as of July 1, 2022 after 39 years as an educator.  

Dr. Griffith was appointed as the Interim Superintendent in 2013, and was officially appointed TCPS Superintendent in 2014 after a national search was conducted.  She holds a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership and Innovation from Wilmington University, and a master’s degree in Educational Administration from Salisbury University, where she also earned her undergraduate degree.  Dr. Griffith began her career as a teacher in Delaware in 1983, and joined the TCPS team in 1988. Her leadership positions included serving as an assistant principal and principal of Easton Middle School, principal of Easton and Chapel District Elementary Schools as well as Easton High School, Director of Student Programs and School Improvement, and Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services. 

“As I complete my ninth year and second contract serving in this capacity, I make this decision with mixed emotions,” Dr. Griffith said in a letter to the community.  “Simply stated, it is time for me to embark upon new opportunities in both my personal and professional life.”

Susan Delean-Botkin, Talbot County Board of Education President stated “Dr. Kelly Griffith was just awarded the Maryland Superintendent of the Year, and is now in contention for that same recognition nationally.  What a fitting way to conclude 39 years of professional teaching, child advocacy, administrative leadership, team building, foresight, and inclusivity. In those 39 years, starting as a middle school teacher, she gave so much to so many for so long that there are few in the Mid Shore area untouched by her passion for children, quality education, teacher and staff advocacy, diversity and equity.”  

“Dr. Griffith promoted Talbot County wherever she went and served on multiple community organizations in her efforts to build bridges between the school system and the whole community,” Ms. Delean-Botkin added.   “We wish her and her husband the very best in her retirement. And we salute her for giving Talbot County the wonderful gift of complete dedication for so many years.”

Dr. Griffith will remain actively involved in the community as an Easton Rotarian (currently President-Elect), a member of the Talbot Family Network, Talbot Mentors, Junior Achievement Board, the Local Emergency Preparedness Committee, and an Executive Board Member of the Talbot County Chamber of Commerce.  She also volunteers for the Waterfowl Festival, Meals on Wheels, and Junior Achievement.  

 “During the remaining months of my time as your Superintendent, I will continue to work with the Board to promote the best possible decisions on behalf of our children and staff,” Griffith added.  “I am also committed to making the smoothest possible transition for my successor’s administration.  I am truly grateful for my TCPS and community family.”

 

Mid-Shore Education: A Chat with Gunston School’s John Lewis

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It is instinctively hard for any thoughtful leader of an institution to use the word “thriving” to categorize the current state of their enterprise while the country recovers from an international health crisis.  Yet, that might be the only word applied to The Gunston School these days.

At a time when many other schools need to slowly work their way back from the devastation that COVID-19 brought to secondary education, Headmaster John Lewis reports in his latest Spy interview on the fact that the Centreville-based Gunston is firing on all cylinders.

Not only is the school hitting record enrollment numbers, with now more than 230 students attending the 9-12 grade school, but, with the exception of the first dark months of the pandemic, those young people have been in the physical classroom as well.

In fact, with this remarkable stability in place, Headmaster Lewis is not thinking of keeping the status quo. He and his board of trustees have now embarked on a new strategic vision intended to allow the school’s physical plant to catch up with the kind of school Gunston has grown into since becoming a co-ed high school in 1995. That includes plans for more STEM classroom space, a dedicated performing arts center, and the addition of an athletic center that matches Gunston’s ever-expanding sports teams and fitness requirements.

The Spy drove over to talk with John Lewis a few weeks ago to hear about this remarkable phase in Gunston’s 110-year history as he begins his twelve-year as its headmaster.

This video is approximately six minutes in length. For more information about The Gunston School please go here.

The Frederick Douglass Honor Society Honors A True American Hero on Saturday

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The Frederick Douglass Honor Society, the Town of Easton, Talbot County Government, and Talbot County Free Library are pleased to announce their annual Frederick Douglass Day celebration will take place on Saturday, September 25, 2021. This virtual event is brimming with awe-inspiring creativity, world-wide participation, and an abundance of history, entertainment, and fun for people of all ages.

The story of Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) is immensely inspiring as his life embodies the American dream of surmounting immense obstacles to achieve greatness. His many triumphs changed the way the nation regarded oppression and equality. An abolitionist, statesman, and self-educated man, Frederick Douglass became one of the most prominent Americans of his time. He was a masterful writer, world-famous orator, an advisor to presidents, U.S. Marshall, Ambassador, Bank President, and the first African American to have his name placed in nomination as a presidential candidate for the United States.  Douglass’s publications and speeches influenced the adoption of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Constitutional Amendments, known as the Reconstruction Amendments.

More than most, Frederick Douglass was the author of his life, educating himself, planning and effecting his escape from slavery, and creating his subsequent career as an abolitionist and advocate for equal rights for all oppressed people. His lifetime spanned the Civil War, the end of slavery, and the beginning of segregation. His legacy is timeless – a man for all seasons whose writings to this day inspire people around the world.  He is far and away Talbot County’s most famous native son. 

A broad-shouldered man with wide-set eyes and a deep and memorable voice, Frederick Douglass stood six feet, two inches tall. He was a devoted father and family man. He and his first wife, Anna Murray Douglass, raised three sons and a daughter. Their children worked closely with Douglass as educators, printers, and business correspondents. Anna played many roles, including accomplished chef, business manager, and anti-slavery campaigner. She was also an important conductor on the Underground Railroad. Financially savvy, Anna saved enough money to finance Frederick Douglass’s escape to New York, wearing a sailor uniform she sewed for him for his disguise. 

Twelve years ago, the Town of Easton and the Frederick Douglass Honor Society formed a partnership to bring the Frederick Douglass statue project to a successful conclusion. Over the following eighteen months, they approved a sculptor, secured a permanent location for the statue, and planned a four-day celebration known as “Douglass Returns”. Overwhelming financial support was received from the community, state government and agencies, and generous donors from near and far. Ten years ago this year, on June 18, 2011, the statue of Frederick Douglass was unveiled before a crowd of more than 3,000.  Dr. David Blight of Yale and former Governor Martin O’Malley spoke about the depth of Douglass’s courage, the significance of his life, his messages that have withstood the test of time, and his lifelong fight for justice.  The impact of Douglass’s fight for equality and justice holds a permanent place in America’s history, one that all visitors are reminded of when they catch sight of his statue on the courthouse lawn. 

The virtual event, which goes live at 10 a.m. online at www.FrederickDouglassHonorSociety.com or www.FrederickDouglassDay.com , features four main components:  a Welcome Ceremony with Mistress of Ceremonies Brenda Wooden, President of the Frederick Douglass Honor Society, a libation ceremony led by Harriette Lowery, the Morgan State University Choir, Dr. David Blight, Governor Larry Hogan, Terron Quailes, Rabbi Peter Hyman, Phylicia Rashad, former Governor Martin O’Malley, Professor John Stauffer, Mayor Robert Willey, Talbot County Councilman Corey Pack, Talbot County Free Library Director Dana Newman, Talbot County Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Helga Einhorn, Cameron McCoy, Brandon Coleman, and recollections from the “Douglass Returns” celebration.  

The Talbot County Free Library (11 AM) highlights Kenneth Morris, Jr. (Co-founder and President of the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives) sharing his story about Anna Murray Douglass, his great-great-great grandmother. Laura Era, local artist, teacher and owner of Troika Gallery will unveil her portrait in oils of Anna Murray Douglass. The portrait will be presented to Director Dana Newman and donated to the Talbot County Free Library. Following the unveiling, Dr. David Blight (Director of the Gilder-Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition), Dr. John Stauffer (Sumner R. and Marshall S. Kates Professor of English and of African and African-American Studies, Harvard University) and Dr. Celeste-Marie Bernier (Professor of U.S. and Atlantic Studies, University of Edinburgh) will review one of each other’s published books about Frederick Douglass.  

The Children’s Village (11 AM) provides great entertainment for young children including free Frederick Douglass coloring books, a map game showing where Frederick Douglass lived and traveled, story time with Shauna Beulah, Talbot County Free Library- St. Michaels Branch Librarian, Zoom background, memes and opportunities to win fun experience based prizes from a visit to the Maryland Zoo Baltimore to the National Aquarium, a ride aboard the Oxford Bellevue Ferry, membership to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, gift certificates and more.   

The Frederick Douglass Honor Society invites you to virtually join them at 11:30 AM as they introduce their new video “The World Honors Frederick Douglass”. This film brings together people and places across our nation and abroad paying homage to Frederick Douglass and the footprints he has left over the past two centuries. 

The 2021 Frederick Douglass Lecture features Historian and Pulitzer Prize Winner Dr. David Blight and Keidrick Roy, a PhD Candidate in American Studies at Harvard University. The virtual lecture will go live at 1 PM. Following the lecture, questions can be presented to Dr. Blight and Keidrick Roy on the Frederick Douglass Facebook page.  

At sunset on the evenings of September 24 and September 25, a special illumination of Frederick Douglass images will be shown on the front of the Talbot County Court House. The presentation is provided by Patrick Rogan, a designer of exhibitions for museums. His firm, Assemble, works with institutions to share compelling stories through images and other multimedia tools. 

Last year, thousands of people visited our virtual Frederick Douglass Day events. Favorable comments were received from around the globe. “With so many viewers enjoying our 2020 Virtual Frederick Douglass Day celebration, the Frederick Douglass Honor Society will make all components of this year’s event viewable on our website for the next eleven months”, said Brenda Wooden, President of the Frederick Douglass Honor Society.    

All events, timeline, and virtual instructions can be viewed at www.FrederickDouglassDay.com and www.FrederickDouglassHonorSociety.com.  The virtual event is made possible by the Talbot County Arts Council, Maryland Arts Council, Paul and Joanne Prager, Blue Point Hospitality, Rise Up Coffee, The Town of Easton, Bay Photographic Works, Dr. Dodson House, the Star Democrat, Dock Street Foundation, Mr. & Mrs. Herb Miller, Mr. & Mrs. Richard Tilghman, Mr. & Mrs. Tom Hill, Jennifer Stanley, Queenstown Bank, and other community donors.