North Carolina Civil War Conference Oct. 17-18 Examines Freedom at War's Conclusion

RALEIGH, N.C. - Sept. 19, 2013 - PRLog -- WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- The "Lay My Burden Down: Freedom and Legacies of the Civil War" conference Oct. 17-18 will examine many topics including the political views of slaves, the roles of women and free people of color, a prisoner-of-war exchange, and the position of churches on slavery and freedom. This is the second of three conferences that are part of North Carolina’s 150th Civil War anniversary observance.

This conference, part of the 150th anniversary year of the Emancipation Proclamation and the N.C. Civil War Sesquicentennial (http://www.nccivilwar150.com/) observance administered by the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, will be held in Winston-Salem. The 2011 conference focused on memory, and the planned 2015 conference will focus on sacrifice.

The Thursday afternoon keynote address at Winston-Salem State University, "For Light and Liberty: African Descent Spies of the Rebellion," will be presented by Hari Jones, curator with the African-American Civil War Foundation and Museum in Washington, D.C. The other speeches will be at Wake Forest University. The Friday opening address, "Freedom" will be presented by Ira Berlin, University of Maryland historian and author of "Slaves Without Masters:  the Free Negro in the Antebellum South" and "Many Thousands Gone."

"Women Refugees in the Civil War" is the Friday keynote address to be given by Thavolia Glymph, Duke University historian and author of "Out of the House of Bondage: The Transformation of the Plantation Household." Historian David Cecelski will present "Abraham Galloway, Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation"; he is the author of "The Fire of Freedom: Abraham Galloway and the Slaves' Civil War."

A unique treat for the conference will be the delivery of an original poem by author and civil rights activist Maya Angelou, Wake Forest University.

Many distinguished historians will present and also lead conference discussions including Tim Tyson, Chris Fonvielle, Heather Williams, William Link and others. Registration is $20 for the general public and $10 for students. For complete information and to register, visit http://www.nccivilwar150.com/events/wsbrochure.pdf. Early registration is encouraged by check made out to the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association and addressed to Parker Backstrom, 4610 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27610-4610.

For further information call (919) 807-7288.

Financial support is provided by Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem State University, Old Salem Museums and Gardens and North Carolina Literary and Historical Association. Other support is from the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, the Humanities Institute and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

About the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources:

The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources (NCDCR) is the state agency with a vision to be the leader in using the state's cultural resources to build the social, cultural and economic future of North Carolina. Led by Secretary Susan Kluttz, NCDCR's mission is to enrich lives and communities by creating opportunities to experience excellence in the arts, history and libraries in North Carolina that will spark creativity, stimulate learning, preserve the state's history and promote the creative economy. NCDCR was the first state organization in the nation to include all agencies for arts and culture under one umbrella.

Through arts efforts led by the N.C. Arts Council, the N.C. Symphony and the N.C. Museum of Art, NCDCR offers the opportunity for enriching arts education for young and old alike and spurring the economic stimulus engine for our state's communities. NCDCR's Divisions of Archives and Records, Historical Resources, State Historic Sites and State History Museums preserve, document and interpret North Carolina's rich cultural heritage to offer experiences of learning and reflection. NCDCR's State Library of North Carolina is the principal library of state government and builds the capacity of all libraries in our state to develop and to offer access to educational resources through traditional and online collections including genealogy and resources for the blind and physically handicapped.

NCDCR annually serves more than 19 million people through its 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, the nation's first state-supported Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the N.C. Arts Council and the State Archives. NCDCR champions our state's creative industry that accounts for more than 300,000 jobs and generates nearly $18.5 billion in revenues. For more information, please call (919) 807-7300 or visitwww.ncdcr.gov.