Who are the “important” people in our family portraits, and who is missing or invisible?  How can we celebrate our family history when it implicates us in America’s tragic legacy of slavery?

Journalist Elizabeth Moore tells the story of how she slowly came to face unpleasant facts about a prominent Dutch New York ancestor who played a leading role in the city’s slave trade, and where that journey is leading today.

Elizabeth Moore is a freelance writer and journalism lecturer with twenty-five years of award-winning daily newspaper experience focused on government and politics, and was a member of the Newsday team that won a 1997 Pulitzer Prize. She traces her roots to Claes Ripse Van Dam, a carpenter who in 1657 was fined by Fort Orange magistrates for tippling after the ringing of the bell. She lives in Washington Heights.

This talk will be held in person at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery in New York City. Please note that masks are required and all attendees will be required to show proof of vaccination.