Oxford Black History Month Program

From the Oxford Historical Society:

February 9 2020

The Oxford Historical Society and the Oxford Public Library will observe Black History Month with a special program on Feb. 15.

The life of Ebenezer D. Bassett, America's first African-American diplomat, will be featured. Basset grew up in the Naugatuck Valley and was a student at Oxford's Five Mile Hill School. His grandfather was a slave in Oxford, freed to fight in the American Revolution. His family had ties to Oxford throughout his life. As ambasador to Haiti in 1869, he took a brave stand which resulted in saving hundreds of Haitian lives.

The Oxford Public Library and Seymour Town Historian Marian K. O'Keefe will present information on his ties to Oxford and the Valley and show the documentary film, "A Diplomat of Consequence."

The program will be held in Meeting Room 1, at the Library, on Saturday, Feb. 15, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. (Snowdate Saturday February 29.) Registration for the event is free and can be accessed here: http://www.eventkeeper.com/code/ekform.cfm?curOrg=OXFORD&curID=425073

For information, contact: Dawn Higginson, (203-888-6944 x 2) dhigginson@oxfordlib.org or Oxford Town Historian Dorothy A. DeBisschop (203-910-4574).

This press release was produced by the Oxford Historical Society. The views expressed here are the author’s own.