By Susana Moreno
In honor of Black History Month, Samuel Rogal, former chair of the humanities and fine arts division, will lecture on the Black Loyalists in Canada.
His lecture, "Back Road to Freedom: Black Settlers in Birch Town Nova Scotia" will be on Feb. 9 at 2 p.m. in F-113, for the Honors Colloquium. The presentation is open to the public and free of charge.
The lecture will cover the period in 1789 when blacks immigrated from the south to Nova Scotia. Rogal said the highlights include when the blacks immigrated, the empty promises they were given, the Methodist missionaries from England who tried to convert the settlers, and the harsh winters in which the settlers struggled to survive.
"It is a subject people know very little about," Rogal said. "No one really discusses these loyalists who were essentially American colonists who were loyal to the king. It is an important part of history, both black and white, and an important aspect of black history."
Rogal, who has written many articles and over 20 books, retired from IVCC in 1998.