Goal – Research, disseminate and celebrate the history of diverse populations in Hebron and surrounding communities.
Action steps –
Host an annual celebration of Juneteenth to interest and educate the visiting public about the role of African-Americans in Hebron’s past.
Identify, preserve, mark and commemorate sites in town associated with Indigenous People, African -Americans and other minority groups relevant to the towns’ past.
Promote publication in hard copy or digital internet format documents and resources associated with Indigenous People, African-Americans, and other minority groups relevant to our towns’ past.
Develop QR or docent led tours of areas of town related to Native Americans, African Americans and other minorities.
Consider publication of the town’s history that puts minority groups on par with traditional white male centric histories.
Utilize media, publication, internet and personal engagement to look at alternative views of the towns’ past.
Goal 5a:
Ensure that narrations of the towns’ past, in public records and legal documents, reflect the reality that although Euro-American settlement occurred in the place now called Hebron about 300 years ago, yet Indigenous Americans have used and occupied this same space for over 7 millennia.
Action steps –
Present interested individuals, especially the towns’ elected, appointed and hired individuals, with alternative information and avenues to reflect upon the past as it has influenced the present, in order to make wise decisions for the future.
Support town initiatives, such as the 2022 Plan of Conservation and Development and other master plans, which would preserve archaeological sites within the town with association linked to Indigenous People, African-Americans and other under-represented minorities.
Encourage town government to actively pursue its $20,000 grant from the State Historic preservation office to research Hebron’s Native and African American past to develop a sense of sensitive archaeological or historic zones that best represent the role of these communities in Hebron’s development.
Encourage town officials and committees to update information about the Peters’ House at Burnt Hill Park.
Goal 5b
Ensure that in teaching about our towns’ past a broad perspective of the past including Indigenous people, African-Americans and historic minorities are represented.
Action steps –
Work with RHAM and area elementary school staff to promote the equitable teaching of history within Hebron’s various school systems and levels of education.
Work with students in an inquiry manner posing questions of “what if” to stimulate their curiosity and imagination, as well as foster a sense of awareness that a story might have two or more sides to it.