Lydia Hamilton Smith not only lived a remarkable life as the confidante of Thaddeus Stevens, but also as an accomplished woman in the years following his death. While many know Smith in relation to Stevens, she carefully crafted a life shaped by hard work, dignity and egalitarian values. An astute businesswoman and an important figure in social circles in both Gettysburg and Washington, D.C., this talk will explore how Lydia Hamilton Smith figured among the circles of Black entrepreneurs in the nation’s capital.
Dr. Tamika Nunley (pictured), who will be presenting the program, is the Research Professor of History at Duke University. Along with articles, essays and reviews, she is the author of At the Threshold of Liberty: Women, Slavery, and Shifting Identities in Washington, D.C., which received the Letitia Woods Brown Memorial Book Award, the Pauli Murray Book Prize and the Mary Kelley Book Prize. Her article, Thrice Condemned’: Enslaved Women, Violence, and the Practice of Leniency in Antebellum Courts, received the Letitia Woods Brown prize for best article in African American Women’s History and the Anne Braden Prize for best article in Southern Women’s History. Dr. Nunley recently released her new book, The Demands of Justice: Enslaved Women, Capital Crime and Clemency in Early Virginia with the University of North Carolina Press. Her work has been featured in The Washington Post, NewsOne, Smithsonian Magazine, Ms. Magazine, and Fortune Magazine. In 2023, the Librarian of Congress named her the Cary and Ann Maguire Chair in Ethics and American history. 5 p.m. reception. 5:30 p.m. program. 230 N. President Ave., Lancaster. Free program, but reservations are needed.