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  Abolitionist Aunty: Jane Chester

  Christopher Mundis and Katie Heiser

  Presented on Friday, February 21 as part of Messiah College’s 2020 Humanities Symposium. This exhibit, “Vulnerabilities & Securities in Historic Harrisburg: From Abolition to Suffrage,” was produced by the Center for Public Humanities Student Fellows and Dr. Sarah Myers’s Public History Class.

  Jane Morris Chester was born enslaved in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 5, 1801. Around 1828, she escaped enslavement and made a treacherous journey north to Harrisburg, where she married George Chester. After George’s death in 1859, Jane, fondly called “Aunty” by Harrisburg citizens, continued to operate the restaurant and opened a premier catering business for Harrisburg elites, including events for two Pennsylvania governors. Using funds from her business, Jane purchased a home in the Old Eighth Ward at 305 Chester Street, where she hosted meetings and dinners with many important people from across the nation. Jane was also renowned by locals for her homemade taffy.

  This poster was edited by Dr. Jean Corey, Katie Wingert, and Dr. Sarah Myers.

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  Ardent Activist: Anne E. Amos

  Anna Strange and Michaela Magners

  Presented on Friday, February 21 as part of Messiah College’s 2020 Humanities Symposium. This exhibit, “Vulnerabilities & Securities in Historic Harrisburg: From Abolition to Suffrage,” was produced by the Center for Public Humanities Student Fellows and Dr. Sarah Myers’s Public History Class.

  Amos was involved in the temperance movement in Harrisburg. As a founding member of the Independent Order of Daughters of Temperance, she served as the Grand Recording Scribe and District Grand Deputy of the Good Samaritan Council, no. 1. The Council listed under her address on South Avenue functioned as a political hub in the Eighth Ward. Serving different roles in various social organizations, Amos was committed to what she viewed as the intertwined causes of temperance, women's suffrage, and the betterment of the African American community in Harrisburg. At the 1902 Colored Ministers Conference in Harrisburg, Amos was the sole female speaker, joining other politicians and influential citizens such as Governor William Stone, Mayor Vance McCormick, Professor John P. Scott, and Mr. Dennee Bibb.

  This poster was edited by Dr. Jean Corey, Katie Wingert, and Dr. Sarah Myers.

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  Conductor of the Old Eighth: Harriet M. Marshall

  Ian McIlrath, David Ford, and Josh Acevedo

  Presented on Friday, February 21 as part of Messiah College’s 2020 Humanities Symposium. This exhibit, “Vulnerabilities & Securities in Historic Harrisburg: From Abolition to Suffrage,” was produced by the Center for Public Humanities Student Fellows and Dr. Sarah Myers’s Public History Class.

  Harriet McClintock Marshall was born in 1840. Her mother, Catherine, was one of the founding members of Wesley Union African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, and Harriet worked with her mother to continue establishing the church's reputation. Wesley Union, located on Tanner's Alley, was a haven for those seeking freedom through the Underground Railroad. Harriet's and her mother's work in the Underground Railroad grew even more dangerous - and illegal - with the passage of 1850 Fugitive Slave Act. The church's proximity to the Mason-Dixon Line increased the risk.

  This poster was edited by Dr. Jean Corey, Katie Wingert, and Dr. Sarah Myers.

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  Musician and Church Leader: Hannah Braxton Jones

  Isis Ortiz-Scarlett, Max Weaver, and Jarod Fry

  Presented on Friday, February 21 as part of Messiah College’s 2020 Humanities Symposium. This exhibit, “Vulnerabilities & Securities in Historic Harrisburg: From Abolition to Suffrage,” was produced by the Center for Public Humanities Student Fellows and Dr. Sarah Myers’s Public History Class.

  Hannah's leadership and administrative skills extended beyond the church to civic organizations such as the House of Ruth, Good Samaritans, and Daughters of Samaritans. In addition, she was a dedicated music teacher. She did all of this while providing for her family by working as a domestic, one of the few jobs available to African-American women at that time. In 1928, when Hannah died, she left behind a rich legacy for her family and community. Hannah's great-granddaughter, poet and activist Marian Dornell, explores the complicated history of race and segregation in Harrisburg in her collection of poems, Unicorn in Captivity.

  This poster was edited by Dr. Jean Corey, Katie Wingert, and Dr. Sarah Myers.

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  Renaissance Woman: Gwendolyn Bennett

  Eva Cunningham-Firkey, Kennesha Kelly-Davis, Janelle Soash, and Faith Swarner

  Presented on Friday, February 21 as part of Messiah College’s 2020 Humanities Symposium. This exhibit, “Vulnerabilities & Securities in Historic Harrisburg: From Abolition to Suffrage,” was produced by the Center for Public Humanities Student Fellows and Dr. Sarah Myers’s Public History Class.

  While she was still an undergraduate, Bennett established her reputation as a poet when her poem “Nocturne” was published in The Crisis (the journal of the NAACP), and her poem “Heritage” was published in Opportunity (a magazine published by National Urban League). Just a year later, Bennett read “To Usward, ” her tribute to novelist Jesse Fauset, at the now famous Civic Club dinner in New York. The gathering of African-American creative talent launched the Harlem Renaissance, the flourishing movement of African American writers, artists, and musicians. Bennett was not only a contributor to the Harlem Renaissance, but she also nurtured other voices in the Renaissance by starting a support group for artists and writers, including Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Zora Neale Hurston.

  This poster was edited by Dr. Jean Corey, Katie Wingert, and Dr. Sarah Myers.

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  Rhythms of Resilience in the Eighth: from Abolition to Suffrage

  Jean Corey and Katie Wingert

  Presented on Friday, February 21 as part of Messiah College’s 2020 Humanities Symposium. This exhibit, “Vulnerabilities & Securities in Historic Harrisburg: From Abolition to Suffrage,” was produced by the Center for Public Humanities Student Fellows and Dr. Sarah Myers’s Public History Class.

  This exhibit seeks to honor the spirit of perseverance and resilience demonstrated by many individuals who fought for their rights and contributed positively to the community of the Old Eighth, Dauphin County, and beyond. In this year, we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the 15th Amendment and the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. 2020 is also the year of our nation's 24th census.

  This poster was edited by Dr. Jean Corey, Katie Wingert, and Dr. Sarah Myers.

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  The Political Pen: Alice Dunbar-Nelson

  Kate Kuc, Melissa Boyer, and Chloe Dickson

  Presented on Friday, February 21 as part of Messiah College’s 2020 Humanities Symposium. This exhibit, “Vulnerabilities & Securities in Historic Harrisburg: From Abolition to Suffrage,” was produced by the Center for Public Humanities Student Fellows and Dr. Sarah Myers’s Public History Class.

  In 1895, Alice Dunbar-Nelson published her first collection of short stories and poems, Violets and Other Tales. She also published a few plays, such as Mine Eyes Have Seen (1918) in The Crisis, the official magazine of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People. Dunbar-Nelson often used her creative works to address racism and limitations placed on women. Her poem "I Sit and Sew" expresses anguish about the way that society prevented African-American military nurses from serving in World War I. In her poem "Memoriam, " Dunbar-Nelson critiques the ways that society belittles women.

  This poster was edited by Dr. Jean Corey, Katie Wingert, and Dr. Sarah Myers.