Statement on the occasion of Juneteenth being recognized as a United States federal holiday:

"Harriet Beecher Stowe used her voice to raise awareness about issues of slavery in her time. Today, we as the board of the Friends of the Harriet Beecher Stowe House, acknowledge and are pleased with the fact that the federal, state, and local governments now recognize the end of slavery as a holiday, Juneteenth."
 
Signed,

Board of the Friends of the Harriet Beecher Stowe House
Approved 6/24/2021

​Kelly Blewett is an assistant professor of English at Indiana University East, where she also directs the writing program. She joined the Board in January 2021. Following are edited excerpts from an interview with Dr. Blewett.
 
When did you first learn about the Harriet Beecher Stowe House?
I first learned about the House when I did a service project through my church in 2012. Our assignment was doing work at the House. I later researched the House more in 2014 when I was working on a project at the University of Cincinnati.

What is one piece of advice you would give someone who is interested in becoming a volunteer, member, or even a board member?
Go ahead and jump right in! I thought about getting involved with the Friends of Harriet Beecher Stowe House for a long time. In 2020 I decided to reach out and see if there were any openings on the Board. I was interviewed by Kathryn and Christina and started my position on the Board in January 2021. It has been a pleasure working with this community. I love to see people invest in their local communities and give their time and talent to organizations that they believe in.  
 
Kelly aims to use the same ideas that are taught at the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in her classroom by being attentive to equity and inclusion issues. A former book publicist, Kelly is a voracious reader and spoke of the book, The Black Friend by Frederick Joseph. The Black Friend offers up personal stories of Fred and other activists to teach White audiences about racism.

CINCINNATI — Perhaps one of the most amazing pieces of hidden Cincinnati lies just up the road from WCPO’s station in Walnut Hills. It’s a place you have probably passed hundreds of times but never visited, and one that once housed the author of one of the greatest catalysts for the end of slavery in America.

​Continue reading at WCPO.com.