On Saturday, February 25, Dr. David Ballew, Associate Professor of History, served as a guest lecturer at the Hope Plantation as part of Hope Plantation’s 29th Annual Black History Month Lecture and Lunch. He served as one of two lecturers for the event, along with Michelle Lanier, Director, N.C. Division of State Historic Sites and an educator at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies.

Dr. Ballew’s lecture “Plantations, Fields and Churches: Challenges of Writing African-American History under Slavery” shared how the Civil Rights Movement inspired a new generation of historians to challenge the status quo interpretation of slavery. The new histories written in the 1970s and after challenged racist stereotypes and explored the ways that African Americans resisted enslavement, created communities, and developed their own religious practices and institutions. Dr. Gregory Taylor, Associate Professor of History, attended the event citing that Dr. Ballew “offered an interesting historiography of slavery, and presented a very useful talk.”

The event at the Hope Planation was organized by Chowan University alumna Allison Gupton ‘18, who serves as Hope Plantation’s Docent and historian. Gupton was assisted by current Chowan University history major, Jeanette Ahmes serves as an intern at the Hope Plantation. Following the event, Gupton led a personal tour of the Hope Plantation for Dr. Ballew and Dr. Taylor, along with Ahmes.

For more information on Chowan University or the Department of History, visit chowan.edu.

About the Hope Plantation

The Historic Hope Plantation is the “restored home of former North Carolina Governor David Stone (1770-1818). Located four miles west of Windsor, NC, the plantation complex offers unique insights into the late 18th- and 19th-century rural life in eastern North Carolina and the South.” Learn more at https://historichope.org/