July 12

6:30 PM Business Meeting

• Call to Order
• Approve minutes from 2020 Peacham Library Annual Meeting
• Trustee’s Report
• Treasurer’s Report
• Library Director’s Report
• Election of trustees, Officers and positions
• Other Business
• Adjournment

7:00 PM Guest Speaker Shanta Lee Gander

Guest speaker Shanta Lee Gander of the Vermont Humanities Council Speakers Bureau will present “Bearing Witness and the Endurance of Voice.” The presentation explores the life and legacy of Lucy Terry Prince (c.
1730-1821), a resident of Guilford, Vermont, who is considered to be the first known African-American
poet in English literature.

Lucy Terry Prince was born in Africa, where she was kidnapped by slave traders and transported to Rhode Island. Prince later regained her freedom and moved to Guilford, Vermont with her husband, Abijah Prince, and fought for her family’s land rights all the way to Vermont’s Supreme Court. In this presentation, Shanta Lee Gander illustrates Prince’s importance as a poet and orator, and as one unafraid to
fight for her rights within the landscape of early Vermont, New England, and America. Gander will also perform Prince’s only surviving poem, “Bars Fight.” Of note: The day prior to the annual meeting, July 11th, marks the 200th anniversary of Lucy Terry Prince’s death, and is being marked with remembrances, celebrations, and state proclamations highlighting the important role that Lucy Terry and her husband Abijah Prince played in their communities and in the state.

This talk is free, open to the public, and accessible to those with disabilities. For more information, contact Peacham Library at (802) 592-3216 or peachamlibrary@gmail.com.

Bearing Witness and Endurance of Voice: The Legacy of Lucy Terry Prince is a Vermont Humanities program hosted by Peacham Library. (Supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the NEH or Vermont Humanities.)