Finding Freedom in the 21st Century: The Geography of Resistance

Dr. Cheryl LaRoche (Special Guest) 

For more than a decade, archaeologist Dr. Cheryl LaRoche has been researching and physically exploring the landscapes of 18th and 19th century free Black communities, their churches, cemeteries and institutions, and their relationship to the Underground Railroad. She is a historical and archaeological consultant who combines law, history, oral history, archaeology, geography, and material culture to define nineteenth century African American cultural landscapes and its relationship to escape from slavery. She often works at the sometimes contentious interface between the public and scholars, professionals and municipalities. 

She has physically walked historic landscapes from New Hampshire to Missouri to Canada. Her first book Free Black Communities and the Underground Railroad: The Geography of Resistance was published at the beginning of 2014 by the University of Illinois Press. In 2011, The Society for Historical Archaeology awarded LaRoche the John L. Cotter Award for her exemplary work in bringing a multidisciplinary approach to the study of African American archaeology. Learn more about Dr. LaRoche and her work by visiting www.drcheryllaroche.com

 

Richelle Terese (Host)

Richelle is the NAACP New Jersey State Conference Communications, Press and Publicity Committee Chair. and a 2021 Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) Senior Fellow. She is committed to her work as a freelance marketer, assisting community organizations with communications, media, graphic design, community engagement, research, campaigns, and program planning/coordination. Richelle studied at Rutgers University majoring in Africana Studies (Black studies), History and Education.