Monument honors 15th, 19th amendments
A Gathering at the Crossroads’ makes history
At a time in the U.S. when monuments that told one racial narrative were coming down, Messiah University played an integral role in another one — featuring abolitionists and orators — going up Aug. 26. The artwork, called “A Gathering at the Crossroads,” located on the Capitol Complex in Harrisburg, is the culmination of the Commonwealth Monument Project (CMP), in which Messiah’s professors participated.
The existing resources of Messiah’s Digital Harrisburg Initiative and the Center for Public Humanities Fellows Program proved integral to the CMP.
“Collectively, we had a good collection of digital resources such as demographic databases, historical documents, images, online historical maps, digital exhibits, and local poetry produced through Poetry in Project workshops,” said David Pettegrew, co-chair of the Department of History and professor of history and archaeology at Messiah. “The organizers of CMP asked us to contribute and were keen on having Messiah students involved.”
Pettegrew worked with students and colleagues to develop several materials, including a published collection of historical essays written by students and scholars, a digital book of 100 important individuals of Harrisburg’s historical African American community, and interactive historical maps of the city.
“It was pretty amazing to be immersed in the inspiring stories of these phenomenal change agents over the last few months as ongoing protests call us to reckon with enduring legacy of slavery,” said Jean Corey, associate professor of English. “The Messiah students and staff involved in the project all found our work on the project to be a truly transformational educational experience. As we worked alongside African American community partners and cultural agents, white faculty and students had the rare opportunity to step into a world we would likely have missed altogether.”
The CMP celebrates the histories of forgotten communities and their historical struggle for justice. While the monument commemorates the passing of the 15th and 19th amendments, which gave African-American men and, eventually, all women the right to vote, it also specifically honors Harrisburg’s Old Eighth Ward, an immigrant and African-American neighborhood demolished to create the green park around the Pennsylvania State Capitol.
“It honors the important men and women in the city’s Black community who lived their lives in pursuit of equality, justice and racial reconciliation. Our community partners pursued the monument’s dedication as an act of faith,” said Pettegrew. “Local institutions invested resources in the work. And state and local officials legislated in support of the installation. That it all came to fruition was incredible—and even more so at such a pivotal moment of racial reckoning across the country.”