Friends of Fort Trumbull to present program on Prudence Cradall

The Friends of Fort Trumbull to present a program on Prudence Crandall

On Thursday, May 27, 2021, the Friends of Fort Trumbull will present a program on Prudence Crandall, the Connecticut State Hero. Because of Covid-19, this program will be presented on Zoom as part of the Friends 2021 program on Women’s Suffrage.

Many people know that Crandall established an early academy for African-American women in 1833; however, few realize that she also participated in the Woman Suffrage Movement and other social justice reforms after leaving Connecticut. Joan DiMartino will share how Crandall continued her activism years after her school closed, focusing on her work with women’s rights. As Crandall once said, “I venture to enlist in the ranks of those who…dare hold combat with prevailing iniquity.”

In July, 2018, Joan was hired as the Curator of the Prudence Crandall Museum in Canterbury, CT. Formerly, she was the Executive Director of the Smith-Harris House in Niantic, and the Communications and Museum Administrator for the Colchester Historical Society. She earned an MA in Public History from Rutgers University, where her scholarly focus was the Progressive-Era militant suffrage movement.

Before the meeting, the members will be sent information on how to join the Zoom presentation. More information about the Fort and the Friends of Fort Trumbull is available at www.fortfriends.org and on Facebook at Friends of Fort Trumbull State Park.

Photo1: Crandall and the Museum

Photo2: Joan DiMartino testifying at State Capitol

Photo3: Prudence Crandall Museum

Photo4: Prudence Crandall Portrait