See Their Names

The East Hampton Library’s Long Island Collection will host a live Zoom lecture program, “See Their Names: The Lives and Stories of the Enslaved and Free People of Color of Shelter Island,” on Monday, May 16, at 5:30 p.m.

Donnamarie Barnes, director of history and heritage at Sylvester Manor, and Rachel C. Lucas-Beruan, former archivist of the Shelter Island Historical Society, will present the program for the Library’s Long Island Collection, discussing the research work done to uncover the stories of the enslaved and free people of color of Shelter Island.

The program will be presented online to better facilitate up-close viewing of the associated archival documents.

“We believe that names are important and hold memory and power,” Barnes stated. “Discovering the names of African American Shelter Islanders in various documents and records and telling the stories of their lives restores them to their rightful place in our history creating a community historical narrative we should all know and share.”

Many of the names and stories that will be explored have ties to holdings in the Long Island Collection, including material on the Sylvester and Dering families of Shelter Island. Additional information on East Hampton will be included as well. This program also dovetails with the current Long Island Collection exhibit in the East Hampton Library’s lobby, “Enslaved People of East Hampton,” focused on the ongoing efforts to commemorate the lives of local individuals who have been identified through archival research.

To register for the free program, visit eventbrite.com, call 631-324-0222 ext. 4 or email andrea@easthamptonlibrary.org.