The Shared History of German Immigrants and African-Americans

German culture specialist Dr. Sydney Norton will speak about abolitionist German immigrants, including politicians Friedrich Muench, Arnold Krekel, Henry and Augustus Boernstein, who mobilized the German community to support Abraham Lincoln and fight for democracy at the time of the Civil War, and after Emancipation to institute laws of social equality for all. Then, Sociologist and playwright Cecilia Nadal follows, discussing German abolitionists and their complex, evolving historical relationships with African Americans in the same period. She adds personal insights she gained after discussions with Missourians of both ethnic groups. Nadal also discusses how this history shaped the direction of her play, An Amazing Story: German Abolitionists of Missouri.