Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership Unveils New Book:
Honoring Their Paths: African American Contributions
Along the Journey Through Hallowed Ground
Available July 16 at JTHG Annual Meeting in Gettysburg

For Immediate Release  
July7, 2009
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Waterford, Virginia — On July 16, in Gettysburg during their 3rd annual partners meeting, the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership will unveil, Honoring Their Paths: .African American Contributions Along the Journey Through Hallowed Ground.

The book shines a light on the realities of slave life, freemen, nationally acclaimed artists and civil rights leaders, revealing three hundred years of untold contributions to our American heritage.

Robert K. Sutton, PhD, Chief Historian for the National Park Service said, “After three years of extensive research, this remarkable book brings to the public a rich and complex component of our American narrative by looking beyond the bricks and mortar of historic sites to the people who—through courage, creativity and conviction—helped shape our nation.”

Written by Dr. Deborah Lee, Honoring Their Paths: .African American Contributions Along the Journey Through Hallowed Ground, is a 248-page book that was produced with the keen insight and expertise of 34 historians and academicians. It includes fifteen easy-to-use maps, fascinating profiles as well as archival images depicting many of the indelible contributions made by African Americans who lived within the four-state Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area that runs from Gettysburg, PA to Monticello, VA.

“Generation after generation, the people of this amazing region have been called upon to define what it means to be an American,” said Cate Magennis Wyatt, president of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership. “Yet we found many of these extraordinary stories were untold. Accordingly, we sought and fortunately secured funding to ensure we had the finest scholars and the most dedicated team to more fully uncover this history”

The book will be unveiled on July 16, in Gettysburg at the Majestic Theater during the JTHG Partnership’s annual meeting. Press should register in advance.

Dr. Lee, who will be at the book unveiling in Gettysburg, said, “Understanding the African American experience lends new dimensions to the phrase ‘hallowed ground.’ We owe gratitude to the many African Americans, famous and anonymous, who have enriched our world in so many ways. Through their lives and work, their struggles and achievements, they hallowed this ground. Through this project, and through visits to the places they knew, we seek to honor their paths.”

Honoring Their Paths: African American Contributions Along the Journey Through Hallowed Ground is published by the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership and has been made possible by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, Pennsylvania Museum and Historical Commission, Loudoun Preservation and Restoration Society, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and individual contributions.

Honoring Their Paths: African American Contributions Along the Journey Through Hallowed Ground retails for $20.