“Melvina: Runaway Slave” to be presented March 4

Gwendolyn Quezaire-Presutti will perform in "Melvina: Runaway Slave" on March 4.
Courtesy photo

OGUNQUIT - Gwendolyn Quezaire-Presutti, artist-in-residence at the Connecticut Historical Society Museum, will present an historical reenactment of former slave, Melvina Hardin, at the Wells Public Library at 6:30 p.m. on March 4.

Through her one-woman presentation, attendees will relive the struggle, courage, determination and endurance of women of color.

The audience will be transported to the year 1913 - 48 years since slavery became illegal in the United States and 50 years since President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, abolishing slavery in the Confederate states.

In this year, Melvina Hardin, former slave, traveled from Nacimiento, Mexico, to reunite with her son and old friend, Jacob Townsend. A bevy of reporters and the curious have gathered to ask questions.

As Melvina answers their questions, the result is a dramatic, heart-rending chronicle that underscores both the horrors of slavery and the enormous courage of many who risked everything to be free - including the dangerous journey made by runaway slaves headed north on the Underground Railway.

Melvina Hardin, while not an historical person, is a character composite based on selected biographical, cultural, occupational, and other characteristics of real people. Taken from researched historical documents, this presentation is suitable for audience members in grade 4 through adulthood.

Quezaire-Presutti is a storyteller and researcher who has plied her craft through thousands of performances at conferences, workshops, libraries, museums and school assemblies. She is the recipient of the Directors Award for Excellence from the Institute of Texan Cultures, the 2006 recipient of the Boston Fund individual Artist Fellowship and a member of numerous organizations such as The National Association of Storytellers, the National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc., the African American Associations of Museums and the League for the Advancement of New England Storytelling (LANES).

Elizabeth Santoro, teacher at Bucks Hill School, Waterbury, Conn., has described the presentation as a "spellbinding, captivating and riveting performance that takes the audience back to the time of slavery in America."

This event is co-sponsored by Wells-Ogunquit Adult Community Education, Friends of the Wells Public Library and the Historical Society of Wells and Ogunquit as a tribute to Black and Women's History Months. For more information, contact 646-4565.

There is no charge for this performance and refreshments will be served. In case of inclement weather, a snow date of March 11 has been scheduled.