223. The 'Great Temperance Times' in Nineteenth-Century Black Connecticut
About this episode
This episode explores how the temperance movement served as a vehicle for social change among Black activists in 19th century Connecticut.
At first glance, alcohol and racial equality might seem unrelated—but for Black activists, the temperance movement was a powerful vehicle for social change. In this episode of Grating the Nutmeg , Natalie Belanger of the Connecticut Museum chats with Mackenzie Tor about her research into Black temperance activism in 1830s and 1840s Connecticut. Mackenzie talks about how people like Maria Stewart, James Pennington, and the Beman family used temperance as a strategy for civic inclusion. Through their words and organizing efforts, from newspaper columns to church halls, abstaining from the bottle became a radical tool for political belonging in the hands of Connecticut's Black communities. She also discusses the flip side of this – how accusations of intemperance could be wielded to bring down successful Black men, like New Haven's William Lanson, when their business and civic ventures threatened the power of white elites. Mackenzie, a PhD Candidate in History at the University of Missouri, did research for this project at the Connecticut Museum as part of the New England Regional Fellowship Consortium. Learn more about the Consortium and the support it provides for scholars here…
People in this episode
Host: Natalie Belanger
Guest: Mackenzie Tor
Topics covered
- temperance movement
- Black activism
- racial equality
- 19th century history
- civic inclusion
- social change
Keywords
- temperance
- Black communities
- social change
- civic inclusion
- 19th century
- Connecticut
- activism
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Connecticut Museum, New England Regional Fellowship Consortium, Connecticut Explored
Places: New Haven, Connecticut
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