By: Richard L. Smith
Author and historian Thomas J. Ward Jr. will deliver a virtual presentation titled African-Americans in the Civil War on Wednesday, February 25, at 7 p.m., hosted by the Englewood Public Library.
The program will be held via Zoom and is open to the public at no cost. Advance registration is required at bccls.libcal.com/event/16276664, and a Zoom access link will be emailed to registrants approximately one hour before the program begins.
The event is being offered free of charge thanks to the sponsorship of The Friends of the Englewood Library.
During the presentation, Ward will explore the often-overlooked but critical role African Americans played during the Civil War.
While the conflict is widely recognized for leading to the abolition of slavery, the talk will focus on the broader contributions of Black Americans, including the more than 200,000 Black soldiers and sailors who served in the Union forces.
The discussion will also examine how Black leaders influenced wartime policy and how both free and enslaved African Americans, in the North and South, contributed to the war effort.
Ward is an award-winning historian and serves as Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Farmingdale State College.
He has previously presented several programs for the Englewood Public Library, including lectures on Black physicians in the Jim Crow South, Black prisoners of war in Confederate prisons, and Black soldiers in the Korean War.
His work has been featured in major national publications, including The New York Times and The Atlantic, and he regularly speaks at events across the country.
Ward is currently working on a book project examining health care and the Civil Rights Movement.