On Tuesday, September 10, author and historian Amy Godine will be visiting Great Camp Sagamore to talk about her newest book The Black Woods: Discovering Racial Justice on the Adirondack Frontier. 

Adirondack History has no shortage of stories.  But for far too long, they have been almost exclusively white stories.  Indeed, the term "Adirondacker" tends to evoke some combination of Irish or Quebecois heritage.  Certainly, those are stories worth sharing, as they have done so much to define the region.

Yet other stories have gone untold--including those of African Americans who lived and settled amongst New York's great northern woods and mountains.  Some came for voting rights.  Others came for opportunity.  And still others journeyed here following a higher justice, either fleeing enslavement, advocating for its abolition, or both.  And they all contributed to making the "Black Woods," turning Adirondack spaces into fights for racial justice, and--sometimes--homes and hearths as well. 

Join author and historian Amy Godine and Sagamore Historian Connor Williams for an afternoon and evening discussing Godine's new book The Black Woods: Pursuing Racial Justice on the Adirondack Frontier. 

Guests have three options to participate…join for the public conversation, choose to dine with them beforehand, or attend a "doing Adirondack History" workshop before dinner and receive a signed copy of Godine's book! 

Great Camp Sagamore is proud to serve as a site for these important conversations, and we hope you'll join us for the event!

Select the participation option that you prefer:

Option One
WORKSHOP, DINNER & CONVERSATION - 4:45-8:15 PM
$79.95 per person, which includes the workshop, dinner, conversation & book (Advance reservations required)
Are you curious about how practicing historians encounter Adirondack archives, how we read these pieces of the past, and how we find and formulate our arguments?  Are you interested to learn how documents and ephemera from our past can help us think about our lives today?  And just what is "Adirondack History," anyway? Enjoy and participate in a pre-dinner workshop answering those very questions by analyzing and discussing primary sources, then dinner with the two historians, and finally attendance at the public conversation afterwards.  You will also receive a signed copy of Godine's book.

Option Two
DINNER & CONVERSATION - 6:00-8:15 PM
$29.95 per person, with beer, wine and cider available for purchase (Advance reservations required)
Extend the experience even longer by joining Amy and Connor for dinner in Sagamore's historic dining hall.  Enjoy the opportunity to dine on Sagamore's hearty. whole-foods inspired fare and discuss any number of topics relating to history with two Adirondack historians!

Option Three
CONVERSATION - 7:15-8:15 PM
Free and open to the public (Advance reservations required)
Join Amy Godine and Connor Williams for a conversation on Amy's research, findings, and experience in writing The Black Woods.  They'll discuss the details of African American life, labor, and movements in the Adirondack past, and their importance for our Adirondack present.