Historical Society programs in February celebrate Black History Month

QUINCY — The Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County is offering two programs to raise awareness of February as Black History Month.

“Slavery and Abolition in Northeast Missouri and Western Illinois,” a program by Patrick Hotle, Culver-Stockton College professor emeritus in history, and HSQAC board member and local historian Terrell Dempsey is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 11.

The presentation is based on a collaborative book the two are writing and will be held at the Quincy Senior and Family Resource Center, 639 York. The book will be published by the University of Missouri Press in 2024 or early 2025. This will be Terrell’s second book with the press. He previously published “Searching for Jim: Slavery in Sam Clemens’ World.”

The artistry of Faye Dant is on display during February at the society’s History Museum on the Square, 332 Maine. The exhibit, “Freedom Is …” will showcase several of her collages which are based on vintage photographs with a historical narrative.

Dant will be available at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25, at the museum, where she will discuss her works, their meanings to her and the process by which she takes inspiration, settles on a subject and goes about realizing the image as it has taken form in her mind.

At an informal reception after the presentation, Faye will offer a question-and-answer session about the subjects represented in her works as well as her other projects, and the future of the museum. Several of her collages will be on display in February at other locations including the Quincy Public Library, Calftown Café and Quincy University.

After a soft opening of the exhibit entitled “See Me: Race and Culture” in early February, the exhibit will continue throughout the month, free of charge to visitors during regular museum hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Both programs are open to the public free of charge.

A fifth-generation African American Hannibalian, Dant’s life experiences in the era of segregation, integration, Jim Crow and the Civil Rights movement led to the creation of Jim’s Journey: the Huck Finn Freedom Center in Hannibal, Mo., where she is the founding executive director.