Shade Tobacco Stories with Fiona Vernal, PhD

On Sunday, March 13 at 3:00 PM the library will host a virtual program with Fiona Vernal, Director of Engaged Public, Oral, and Community Histories (EPOCH) and associate professor of History and Africana Studies at the University of Connecticut.

In 1910 after many experiments, shade tobacco supplanted broadleaf to become the dominant crop in the Connecticut River Valley. Its aroma, texture, burn, and size helped to create a boutique industry that became an important part of Connecticut lore and romance. Whether they were students recruited from historical black college, or along the eastern seaboard, West Indians and puerto Ricans from the Caribbean, or local day haul and summer workers–tobacco culture touched many lives. Netting, planting, weeding, harvesting, and sewing tobacco brought men, women, youth, and immigrants together in the field and the sheds. Join us for a look at what this premium brand tells us about the role of tobacco in the history of land use, labor, and immigration in the Greater Hartford region and the Connecticut River Valley.

Fiona Vernal is a native of Trelawny, Jamaica and grew up in Trenton, New Jersey. She earned her BA in history with a certificate in African American Studies from Princeton University in 1995 and her MA and PhD from Yale.  Since 2005 she has taught at the University of Connecticut’s Department of History where her courses focus on precolonial, and colonial Africa, the history of South Africa, slavery, and the African diaspora. 

Register for the virtual lecture on the library's events calendar. Registered participants will receive the Zoom link 24 hours in advance of the program.