Reminder: Next Wakecogen Virtual Meeting - June 28 - NC Moravian Culture in Early - Mid 1800's

There is still plenty of time to sign up for our next virtual Society Meeting. Mark your calendar for Tuesday, June 28, 6:30pm.

Topic: Wachovia, Where German Moravians Became Slaveholding Americans and Avid Confederates

Speaker: Dr. Larry E. Tise, Author, Educator, Historian

I grew up as a Methodist in the Moravian religious preserve originally denominated as Wachovia in 1753. Despite the demise of its best-known homemade namesake Wachovia Bank and Trust Company, the metes and bounds and symbolic power of the name Wachovia has remained a looming presence in the land where Moravian ideas, ideals, and customs were established. Some of those traditions can still be observed in Winston Salem today. We grew up listening to Moravian bands, eating Moravian buns and cookies, and flocking to Moravian love feasts. Austerity, love, and religious ceremonies set the Moravians apart for us. The story of how they came into the backcountry wilderness to practice their gentle religion set them apart from all other Christians for us. We were in awe of their gentle ways and their spirituality. They were pacificists during the American Revolution.

Moravians were for us a holy people. Thus, imagine how difficult and shocking it was for us as citizens of an imperfect nation and a complicated world to learn that our beloved Moravians were slaveholders. Not just owners of slaves, but adroit managers of enslaved peoples. Sometimes traders in flesh. Embracers of the notion that white and black Christians should be separated one from the other. Proud employers of black slaves in every trade and in factories fabricating uniforms for Confederate soldiers. Even progenitors of well-clad young men who volunteered enthusiastically to defend the Confederate States of America from Bull Run in 1861 until the surrender of Confederate officers and beleaguered warriors at Bennet’s Place near Durham Station in North Carolina in 1865. This is the story of how this transformation began in colonial America and flourished in the land known as Wachovia from its Moravian founders until the emergence of the Old South.

This virtual meeting and presentation is open to all, but registration is required.  Visit the WCGS Events page to access the registration link.

 

To learn Zoom tips for successfully joining the meeting, please read Important ZOOM Tips.

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