History Book Festival to host 20 presentations Sept. 27
The ninth annual History Book Festival is set for Friday to Sunday, Sept. 26 to 28, at several venues in Lewes.
Attendees can access their choice of 20 author presentations Saturday, Sept. 27, all free of charge.
Saturday program topics include the history of the Chinese passengers who survived the Titanic, and the vision of a Black state in Reconstruction-era Oklahoma.
Author Steven Schwankert will discuss “The Six: The Untold Story of the Titanic’s Chinese Survivors.” It tells the little-known story of six Chinese passengers who survived the sinking of the supposedly unsinkable Titanic. The six were expelled from New York shortly after their rescue, a story that reflects the experience people of Chinese descent faced in America at that time. A historian and documentarian, Schwankert is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and divides his time between New York City and China.
Rehoboth Beach Film Society has signed on as a community partner in support of Schwankert’s event.
Author Caleb Gayle will present “Black Moses,” his story of the remarkable Edward McCabe, whose plan to found a state for Black people to reside in and govern was ultimately foiled by politics, business interests and white settlers who also wanted the Oklahoma land.
The Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice and the Delaware Historical Society have signed on as community partners in support of Gayle’s presentation.
To learn more, go to historybookfestival.org.
