Hempsted Houses Host Juneteenth: Continuing the Conversation Featuring Tammy Denease and Tamara Lanier
HEMPSTED HOUSE
New London, CT – On Saturday, October 24 th from 1 to 4 pm, Connecticut Landmarks’ Hempsted Houses will host Juneteenth: Continuing the Conversation on Facebook Live in partnership with the NAACP – New London Branch, and our neighbor the Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC).
TAMMY
From 1 to 2 pm, Tammy Denease and Tamara Lanier will consider the legacy of slavery and societal reparations. Lanier will discuss her case to reclaim possession of her enslaved ancestor’s photographs. With the assistance of the Nationally Acclaimed Civil Rights Attorneys, Benjamin L. Crump and Michael Koskoff, Lanier has filed a landmark reparations lawsuit against Harvard University, forcing this nation to reckon with its history of slavery in the United States; asking the courts to consider – Who should own the rights to the violence of the past? Then at 2 pm, enjoy a dance performance by TigerEye, followed by the lively Jazz, Blues and Latin music of the New London-based JHunter Group.
TAMARA
Admission is FREE, donations welcome to support the Hempsted Houses, NAACP – New London Branch, and OIC. Juneteenth: Continuing the Conversation will be broadcast on Facebook Live, tune in at https://www.facebook.com/HempstedHouses. The free event is supported in part by: the Frank Loomis Palmer Fund, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee; the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut; and the Chelsea Groton Foundation, Inc.
JHUNTERGROUP
For more information, visit www.ctlandmarks.org; https://www.facebook.com/HempstedHouses, email hempsted@ctlandmarks.org; or call (860) 443-7949.
About Tammy Denease
An accomplished performing artist/storyteller living in Connecticut, Tammy Denease specializes in bringing the lives of very important, yet “obscured” women in history to life. Tammy Denease was born in Columbus, Mississippi where she spent countless hours with her great-grandmother and grandmother. Her great-grandmother was a former enslaved person who lived to be 125 and her grandmother lived to be a 100. Both were known storytellers, and passed this gift along to their granddaughter. More information about Tammy Denease is available at her web site www.hiddenwomen.org.
About Tamara Lanier
Tamara K. Lanier is a tireless champion for truth and justice. Lanier is a 27-year veteran of the State of Connecticut Judicial Branch, retiring in 2017 as a Chief Probation Officer II in the Norwich Probation Office. In May of 2015, she was named Woman of the Year by the Connecticut General Assembly’s Commission on Afro-American Affairs. Lanier received the Connecticut Commission of Human Rights and Opportunities’ Leaders and Legends Award in November of 2016, and the 2019 Inspirational Women’s Award. She is an active, engaged member of the ACLU of CT, the Board of the Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project, Saint John’s Christian Church of Groton, and serves as Vice President of the New London NAACP. Lanier has also traveled the country promoting the need for a national dialogue relative to slavery and its impact on society.
About The Hempsted Houses
The 1678 Joshua Hempsted House is the oldest house in New London and is one of New England’s best-documented dwellings. Adjacent to the Joshua Hempsted House is a rare stone house built in 1759 by Nathaniel Hempsted. Both structures survived the 1781 burning of New London and stand today as testaments of 17th and 18th-century daily life. The Hempsted Houses engage the public in understanding the historical roots, development, and current-day implications of issues related to equality and freedom, with a special focus on slavery, through events like their annual Juneteenth Celebration, and empower people to make a difference.
About Connecticut Landmarks
Connecticut Landmarks uses historic properties to inspire an understanding of our complex past. Founded in 1936 as the Antiquarian & Landmarks Society, we are a state-wide network of ten significant historic properties that span four centuries of New England history. Our real-life stories, as told through our collections, make history matter. For more information, please visit