A History of the Underground Railroad and Abolitionists throughout South Central Pennsylvania
Thursday, July 31 • 6:15 PM • Steinman Hall
Free and open to the public!
6:15 PM • Pre-Screening Panel & Piano Performance
7:00 PM • Documentary Screening
8:30 PM • Post-screening Q&A
Keystones Oral Histories presents a free screening of A History of the Underground Railroad and Abolitionists throughout South Central Pennsylvania, a new documentary by filmmaker Bryan Wade. The film highlights the collaboration of freedom seekers and abolitionists during the period of slavery throughout South Central Pennsylvania.
Before the film screening, there will be a panel discussion with award-winning author Scott Mingus; Dr. Jennifer Burke, Associate Professor at Millersville University; Lenwood Sloan, executive director of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Monument Project; Ruth Evelyn Hodge, an American archivist, author, educator, and community activist; and Dr. Cooper Wingert, Assistant Professor of Civil War and Reconstruction Era History at Fordham University.
Following the panel, there will be a piano performance by renowned musician, pianist, and composer Joel Martin, who will provide a vignette of music from the documentary.
Immediately following the film, there will be a post-screening Q&A with the film’s director, Bryan Wade, and Dan Zekewski, Video Production Manager for DAZA Development.
About the Filmmaker
BRYAN WADE is a native of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a former York educator, government official, and television talk show host with 20 years of radio, television, and documentary production experience. Wade served in both the United States Navy and the Army National Guard. As a Minister, award-winning television producer on race and racism, radio broadcaster, K-8 educator, two-branch military veteran, and award-winning documentary producer, Wade has had an eclectic and expansive professional career.
About the Panelists & Performers
Multiple award-winning author SCOTT MINGUS is a retired scientist and executive in the global specialty paper industry. The Ohio native graduated from Miami University. He was part of the research team that developed the first commercially successful self-adhesive U.S. postage stamps, and he was a pioneer in the early development of bar code labels. He has written more than 30 Civil War and Underground Railroad books and numerous articles for Gettysburg Magazine and other historical journals. He has appeared on C-SPAN, C-SPAN3, PBS, PCN, and several other TV networks.
JENNIFER BURKE is a Associate Professor at Millersville University with a deep passion for all education, but specifically social studies education. I earned my Doctorate in Education from Rutgers University, specializing in social studies education. With over 20 years of teaching experience across early childhood, elementary, and middle school levels, I have dedicated my career to nurturing young minds and fostering a love for learning.
LENWOOD SLOAN is well known across the U.S. as a catalytic agent, animator and facilitator of cultural and heritage programs. He serves as executive director of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Monument Project which preserves, conserves, and rededicates historic and cultural monuments throughout the state. He has served as a member of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, the Pennsylvania Downtown Association, LancasterHistory, the Lancaster Public Arts Advisory Board, the Harrisburg Sprocket Mural Project and as co-convenor and moderator of Lancaster Arts Talk.
RUTH EVELYN HODGE is an American archivist, author, educator, and community activist who has furthered the advancement of African-American and United States military history research and writing during the 20th and early 21st centuries. “African-Americans played a great part in building America,” she said during a newspaper interview in 2000. “The more people know, the better they understand and the better they get along.”
JOEL A. MARTIN is an internationally renowned and award-winning classical and jazz pianist, producer, composer, and arranger of JAZZICAL who has collaborated with, and/or written music for, Grammy® Award-winners Alan Menken (Disney composer), Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, among many others. At age 17 Joel was the youngest and the first African-American pianist to compete in the 1985 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (the Olympics of classical piano). For the last 13 years he toured as pianist with 5x Grammy-winning MET Opera legend soprano Kathleen Battle, including 6 years touring the world with Ms. Battle’s signature project, “The Underground Railroad: A Spiritual Journey.”
COOPER WINGERT is an Assistant Professor of Civil War and Reconstruction Era history at Fordham University. He is the author of numerous books and articles about the Civil War, slavery, emancipation, and the Underground Railroad, including Slavery and the Underground Railroad in South Central Pennsylvania.
A longtime resident of south-central Pennsylvania, DAN ZALEWSKI III studied Communications with a focus in Broadcasting at Millersville University from 2015-2019. Dan then went on to work on a variety of media projects, including television programming for channels such as A&E and commercial marketing for companies such as Johnson&Johnson, Cumulus Media, and GSK, among others. He has worked with Bryan Wade of Keystones Oral Histories on a variety of projects over the past five years through both Ruby Media and DAZA Development.