2024 TROUTBECK SYMPOSIUM Lead Image
2024 TROUTBECK SYMPOSIUM
“This is about uncovering truths that will indeed set us free, especially when you see it in the eyes, in the minds, in the smiles of the kids. As educators, as teachers, as those who believe in truth, I don’t think there’s anything better than what has been accomplished here, and continues to be accomplished, and the ways that it grows: Empowering students, young people, children to believe that they themselves with a little bit of knowledge can be the force that’s necessary to create the change that we need.”
— Dr. Hasan Jeffries
On May 1-3, 2024, the Troutbeck Symposium—the student-led historical educational forum—returned for its third consecutive year at Troutbeck in Amenia, New York. Middle and high school students from 15 regional public and independent schools gathered to listen, present, and discuss findings of their research projects uncovering little-known local histories of communities of color and other historically marginalized groups that tie to our national fabric. Like their celebrated predecessors, students gathered at Troutbeck to reveal truths—sometimes uncomfortable ones—in a significant site in the history of American thought and social movements.
Distinguished returning guests, Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries, Associate Professor of History, The Ohio State University; Dr. Christina Proenza-Coles, Lecturer American Studies Department, University of Virginia; Michael Morand, Director of Community Engagement; and Frank Mitchell, The Amistad Center for Art & Culture's Curator at Large and CT Humanities; and artist Taha Clayton.
On Wednesday, May 1 at 6pm, Troutbeck and The Du Bois Forum co-hosted a dedication ceremony for a new historical marker commemorating the Amenia Conferences of 1916 and 1933—two pivotal moments for the NAACP, strengthening the organization leading up to the Civil Rights Movement—that took place at Troutbeck. The Amenia Conferences were hosted by the NAACP under W.E.B. Du Bois’ leadership at the home of Joel and Amy Spingarn, longtime owners of Troutbeck and Jewish-American civil rights activists. This dedication is thanks to students from Arlington High School in Dutchess County who were awarded a grant from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation for a historical marker to commemorate the Amenia Conferences. This is the second historical marker to be placed at Troutbeck—the first commemorates Troutbeck’s first proprietor, Myron Benton and his frequent guests, Naturalists Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and John Burroughs, but the celebration of the property's historical significance in civil rights activism is the epitome of what the Troutbeck Symposium is all about: uncovering and amplifying lesser-known narratives. Read more about the historical marker dedication ceremony here.
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On Thursday, May 2, students gathered in Troutbeck’s Ballroom to present their research findings, commune, and learn from each other, combined with conversations led by our inspiring educators. The students’ presentations took the forms of visual art, documentaries, personal and historical narrative, photographs, and multiple forms of storytelling, and ranged in topics including the 1917 NAACP Silent Protest Parade (very much spurred by the 1916 Amenia Conference at Troutbeck); the significance of Black hair as a source of self-expression and pride, and a historically powerful tool used to relay messages to enslaved people in search of freedom before abolition; iconic Black artists, such as Langston Hughes, Nina Simone, Lorraine Hansbury and Lois Mailou Jones; and the lesser-known history of the nearby Schaghticoke of northwest Connecticut, and more.
Marvelwood High School Senior, Wyatt Lee, opted to expand on his award-winning short film Black Moses, about controversial civil rights leader Marcus Garvey, which he screened as a sophomore at the very first Troutbeck Symposium. That short film went on to win awards at the Denton Black Film Festival (Best Student Film), The Ogeechee International History Film Festival (Best Student Film) and the Student World Impact Film Festival (Semi Finalist - Best Short Film). This year Wyatt turned that short film into a 40-minute feature about Garvey.
BACKGROUND
The Troutbeck Symposium originated from a 2020 collaboration of two educators: Rhonan Mokriski (The Salisbury School) and Ben Willis (formerly at the Marvelwood School, currently at University of Vermont). Amid the constraints of the Covid-19 lockdown, they guided students in producing a series of short documentaries highlighting underexplored aspects of African American history in the local area. By the following school year, the project had expanded through a partnership with Troutbeck, attracting participation from nine schools and culminating in the inaugural Troutbeck Symposium — a multi-day event at Troutbeck to display the students' work. In 2022 and 2023, the Symposium grew to include 14 schools and over 250 students and broadened its scope to cover overlooked topics such as the history of mental health, Indigenous Americans, and women's rights. University professors and professional historians attend every year, having recognized the uniqueness of the initiative and its distinctiveness as it gives significant agency to students—who conduct the research, produce the documentaries, and share their findings themselves.
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2024 PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS — Arlington High School, Canaan Public School, Cornwall Consolidated Public School, Explorations Charter School, The Hotchkiss School, Housatonic Valley Regional High School, Lee Kellog School, Marvelwood School, Northwest Community College, Salisbury Central School, Salisbury School, Sharon Center School, Suffield Academy, Washington Montessori School, Webutuck High School
COMMUNITY PARTNERS — Amenia Historical Society, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University, Cornwall Historical Society, Draper Foundation, The Du Bois Forum, The Du Bois Freedom Center, Dutchess County Historical Society, Litchfield Historical Society, The Norfolk Historical Society, Northwest CT Community Foundation, Salisbury Association, Sharon Historical Society, Sheffield Historical Society, Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area, Wassaic Project
SPONSORS — AWCF, Baldor Specialty Foods, Burlington Construction Company, Champalimaud Design, Four Brothers, Grimaldi Farms, Harney and Sons, The Hotchkiss School, J.MAK, Joshua Simpson Photography, Katrina Moore, Karen Bertha in memory of Katherine Overton, Mackey, Butts & Whalen LLP, Maitri Farm, Ramar Event Pros, Salisbury School, TenMile Distillery, James and Linda Quella, Vitsky Bakery
All Photos courtesy of Joshua Simpson
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STUDENT PROJECTS
Roots (2024) Documentary by the Salisbury School
Black Soldiers of the Berkshires (2024) Documentary by the Salisbury School
We Finish To Begin (2024) Documentary by the Salisbury School
Brotherhood of Black Hair (2024) Documentary by the Salisbury School
The Other (2024) Documentary by the Salisbury School