Administration

Communications

C-SC professor presenter for Black History Month Speaker Series
Thursday, March 01, 2012

CANTON, Mo. -- On Wednesday, February 29th, Culver-Stockton College Associate Professor of History Scott Giltner travelled to the Western Illinois Correctional Facility in Mt. Sterling, Ill., to deliver a presentation on African American history to inmates as part of a lecture series for Black History Month. The lecture series was created by William Twaddell, chaplain at the prison. “We have 2100 inmates in the facility and lecturers can sometimes speak to as many as 50 inmates.” said Twaddell. “We are more interested in a factual/educational approach to Black History.”

Dr. Giltner’s presentation, entitled Who Freed the Slaves?, re-assessed the typical Abraham Lincoln-centered story of Emancipation and focused on slaves themselves as the engines of their own liberation. For Giltner, the chance to visit a correctional facility and speak to inmates was an important opportunity that he could not pass. “I was told that many of the inmates are highly engaged with history and really benefit from such presentations,” Giltner noted. “I was definitely not disappointed. The turnout was not as big as expected since the event overlapped with daily recreation yard time on a nice afternoon, but the audience was really engaging. They asked great question and offered keen observations on the subject. It was an amazing experience that I hope to be able to repeat someday.”