John Brown Project

Ida B. Wells, a Tuskegee Airman and Dave Brubeck walk into a documentary film... "When Did It End?" connects the dots of history. Join the filmmakers Nov. 5 on Zoom for a free crowdfunding kickoff party. bit.ly/JBP-Kickoff Be part of this.

John Brown Project reposted

We filmed the glue last week. With the interview complete, we finalized the script for cohosts Daniel Morrison (left) and Sùle Greg C. Wilson (right). And then we filmed them saying it. Here, they're at Motram Airfield, where the Tuskegee Airmen took to the skies to fight Nazis.

MOTON airfield. 🤦🏼‍♂️ wish we could edit posts

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And before so that, we went to a (very red) recording studio in Robertsdale, Alabama called Red Room Sound Studio to get the final cut on The Ballad of Mr. Plessy, an original song written by Sùle G. C. Wilson for this film.

The whole trip ended with a group hug at the airport. The film premieres Nov 19 live steamed on our YouTube channel and live screened in Torrington, CT. Stay in the loop: bit.ly/ptr-vip

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Before Tuskegee, we filmed at Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson.

After filming at the museum, we paid our respects to Medgar Evers. We met Charles Taylor, head of Mississippi NAACP, who explained the series of events the day a KKKoward shot a hero in the back and ran away when the neighbor fired back.

From there, we went to Tuskegee proper, and learned how to 'preserve' confederate statues that the state refuses to remove and place somewhere safe. It is shameful to memorialize a legacy of brutality and treason.

John Brown Project reposted

30 Aug

We just wrapped filming on a pilot episode of an abolitionist cooking show. Chef Lewis Sheridan Hughes* (right) and 'Chefilini,' aka Kareem Holbrook (left). First dish: seafood boil.

The image for “When Did It End?” the 1st in our 'Pushing the Rock' docu-series The slope is an inclined timeline since the Civil War. Youngsters push up front, parents / grandparents behind, ancestors have their backs. bit.ly/JBP-Kickoff Crowdfunding Kickoff Party Nov 5, 7:00 EST

John Brown Project reposted

1 Mar 2025

When in the course of Human events, it becomes necessary for an oppressed People to Rise, and assert their Natural Rights, as Human Beings, as Native and Mutual Citizens of a free Republic, and break that odious yoke of oppression, which is so unjustly laid upon them by their fellow countrymen, ...

30 Aug

We just wrapped filming on a pilot episode of an abolitionist cooking show. Chef Lewis Sheridan Hughes* (right) and 'Chefilini,' aka Kareem Holbrook (left). First dish: seafood boil.

30 Aug

We just wrapped filming on a pilot episode of an abolitionist cooking show. Chef Lewis Sheridan Hughes* (right) and 'Chefilini,' aka Kareem Holbrook (left). First dish: seafood boil.

20 July

We are very thankful you the Northwest Connecticut Arts Council for placing Old John Brown on the cover of their monthly Calendar (and a shout-out too Litchfield Historical Society for keeping this work in the collection). #johnbrownwasright

johnbrown250.orgA Declaration of Liberty by the Representatives of the Slave Population of the USA — JohnBrown250

4 July

Happy 'All People Created Equal' Day! Let's live up to it. www.johnbrown250.org/primary-sour...

14 June

We showcased at @nyhistory.bsky.social conference and had a blast meeting fellow history nerds 🤓 💥 📖 #johnbrownwasright

johnbrown250.orgA Declaration of Liberty by the Representatives of the Slave Population of the USA — JohnBrown250

1 June

It's time for another look at this historic document as we contemplate #America250

24 May

Historian Mat Callahan spent years recovering songs written by enslaved people. Register: bit.ly/jbp-choir The Berea Choir, led by Dr. Kathy Bullock, performs them live in Torrington CT June 22. Trinity Episcopal Church 7 PM Register: bit.ly/jbp-choir

23 May

youtu.beDr. Margaret Washington: Declarations of Independence & Sentiments (JohnBrown250 Roundtable, 2026)YouTube video by John Brown Project

22 May

A recent Browniac250 Roundtable featured Dr. Margaret Washington, who opened the conversation but dissecting the Declarations of Independence & Sentiments (women's suffrage). Neither one included Black women. She is brilliant.

youtu.beShawndel Fraser, M.A. on John Brown's Masculinity (JohnBrown250 Roundtable, 2026)YouTube video by John Brown Project

19 May

DEFINING JOHN BROWN’S MASCULINITY: NONTOXIC From a recent Roundtable, John Brown and Abolitionist Women. In this clip, psychologist Shawndel Fraser, M.A., explores John Brown’s masculinity through her work with contemporary men who earn a living with their hands.

12 May

Growin' up Brown Sunday, May 17, join Dr Lou DeCaro as he commiserates with Marty Brown on myth-busting through the decades. Marty is the great great granddaughter of America's most disunderstood character, John Brown. Register now: bit.ly/jb250-rt4 (#johnbrownwasright)

17 May

This is going to be a good one.

John Brown Project reposted

12 May

youtu.beAbolitionist Women Write Letters To John Brown w/ Dr. Louis A. DeCaro Jr. (3/26)YouTube video by John Brown Project

14 May

From the roundtable discussion, 'John Brown and Abolitionist Women' Louis A. DeCaro Jr., Ph.D. and featuring historian Margaret Washington, Ph.D., and environmental psychologist Shawndel Fraser, M.A. DeCaro reads excerpts from two letters to Brown framing how female abolitionists saw Brown.

John Brown Project reposted

21 Apr

Cinco de Mayo Liberation Party Tue, May 5, 6:00 p.m. at El Tenate (131 Water Street, 2nd floor) Taco Tuesday menu, mocktails (or BYOB), music, and speakers exploring these shared threads of historical resistance. (Note: the event space is accessible by stairs only). RSVP: bit.ly/5demayo-jb

youtu.beAbolitionist Women Write Letters To John Brown w/ Dr. Louis A. DeCaro Jr. (3/26)YouTube video by John Brown Project

25 Apr

A clip from our recent Browniac Roundtable on John Brown's relationships with abolitionist women, Black and white. In this clip, Dr. Lou gets the discussion started be reading a couple of letters to Brown in his cell awaiting execution...

21 Apr

johnbrownproject.orgTHE JOHN BROWN PROJECT ANNOUNCES INAUGURAL "JOHN BROWN WEEK" IN TORRINGTON — The John Brown ProjectA week of local events, concerts, and scholar panels to celebrate the Torrington-born abolitionist, his family's local roots, and the universal fight for human rights.

14 Apr

WE'RE DOING IT! John Brown Week in Torrington, CT Deets to follow

9 Apr

The John Brown: America250 roundtable series focuses on the provenance and restoration of the notable marble bust of John Brown, originally sculpted by Edward Augustus Brackett. 4/27/2026 7:00 - 8:30 PM eastern Via Zoom bit.ly/jb-in-art

8 Apr

Paid a visit to my friend General Enoch Woodhouse II JD, aka, Woody. We interviewed him in Sep 2024 for our upcoming film, and he recently celebrated his 99th birthday. Gen. Woodhouse is one of the few remaining Tuskegee Airmen. Murals are in Terminal C, Logan Airport, Boston, Mass #pushingtherock

johnbrownproject.orgUN Resolution Affirms the Gravest Crime Against Humanity — The John Brown ProjectOne hundred and twenty-three nations agreed this week that kidnapping, brutalizing, and enslaving millions of Africans over three centuries was wrong.

5 Apr

New Browniac Digest post!

A MAGICAL night! We were able to film Ysanne Marshall last night singing the lead on an amazing piece of American music history, that we cannot wait to unveil, but you're just gonna have to wait. The Warner Theatre was generous enough to let us film on the main stage.

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but sometimes the gravity of the work is missed in the moment. Because we're watching the levels on batteries, adjusting the lights, looking for sand bags... This was not one of those moments. It seemed that we were all in alignment with the Great Spirits.

We were filming an important superimposition of Black girl magic (present/future) over historic past (Jim Crow segregation), including the Tuskegee Airmen's struggle to get combat planes into the air. It seems that everyone understood the mission.

Dustin Pfaender engineered the audio recording, Brian McKenna and Shane Scully filmed the performance, and my friend Angaza Mwando played the ghost of Louis Armstrong, alone in the audience. As usual, Ysanne was amazing, Dustin was perfect, and Angaza was solid.

The film crew, however, completely knocked it out of the park, understanding the coalition of community, history, duty, honor, and unbridled fun that kindled this opportunity. You know we mutter things like "... need to get this in the historical record..."

20 Mar

Dave Brubeck seems like an unlikely civil rights icon, but he comes by it honestly—as John Brown did. Brubeck’s parents were quick to teach racial equality and the horrors of enslavement, and Dave steadily pushed the rock forward. During WWII, he formed the first integrated band in the US Army

20 Mar

After the war, he toured Eastern Europe for the State Department’s cultural exchange program, to promote democracy through jazz, returing to violent segregation in the US. Our upcoming film, Pushing The Rock, features American heroes like Dave Brubeck, who pushed the rock through tough times.

14 Mar

Happy History Day! Our Executive Director, Daniel Morrison was a judge at CT History Day today in Torrington, and wow, were the papers great! #historyday

13 Mar

Second Roundtable: John Brown and Abolitionist Women March 16; www.eventbrite.com/e/john-brown...

John Brown Project reposted

eventbrite.comJohn Brown and Abolitionist WomenHosted by biographer Louis A. DeCaro Jr., Ph.D., featuring historian Margaret Washington, Ph.D., and psychologist Shawndel Frasier, M.A.

28 Feb

John Brown and Abolitionist Women is the next John Brown: America 250 Roundtable on Monday, March 16 at 7:00 PM Lou DeCaro Jr. Ph.D. will host historian Margaret Washington Ph.D and another scholar. Please register below...

eventbrite.comJohn Brown and Abolitionist WomenHosted by biographer Louis A. DeCaro Jr., Ph.D., featuring historian Margaret Washington, Ph.D., and psychologist Shawndel Fraser, M.A.

5 Mar

The second John Brown: America 250 Roundtable is on March 16 Biographer Louis A. DeCaro Jr., Ph.D., hosts historian Margaret Washington, Ph.D., and psychologist Shawndel Fraser, M.A. They'll go beyond the bond between Brown and Harriet Tubman to other abolitionist giants of the day.

eventbrite.comJohn Brown and Abolitionist WomenHosted by biographer Louis A. DeCaro Jr., Ph.D., featuring historian Margaret Washington, Ph.D., and psychologist Shawndel Frasier, M.A.

28 Feb

26 Feb

John Brown: America 250 is a loose coalition of “Browniac” organizations, advocates, scholars, and regular folks who celebrate Brown’s passion for equality and America’s founding principles of a multiracial democracy.

johnbrown250.orgJohn Brown: America250 | Renewing the RevolutionLearn the hidden history and patriotic legacy of John Brown, celebrating America's founding principles with educational events, discussions, and commemorations.

26 Feb

As we mark America’s 250th anniversary, we are setting the historical record straight about a patriot who gave his life for the founding principle that all people are created equal. The website is live (and mostly filled in)!

26 Feb

Next roundtable is March 16: John Brown and Abolitionist Women Stay tuned for details.

John Brown Project reposted