I See the Valley: Stirring the Ashes

Anika Lopes unveils the obscured and lesser-known history, dating back to before the Civil War, of Black and Afro-Indigenous residents of the Valley. Archives are brought to life by oral histories of enslavement and genocide, and of individuals who escaped or were freed and took part in military actions that enforced the Emancipation Proclamation of 1865. Acknowledgment is given to local figures who made significant contributions to arts and culture, commerce and education. Testimony is also recorded of those who provided housing for Black people newly arrived from the South.