As part of our celebration of Black History Month, we held a program featuring executives from Capital Community College who oversee its Black History Project who discussed on the history of Hartford’s first Black church, which is around the corner from our Hartford office. 

The Talcott Street Church and its school for Black children was the center of Black community in 19th century Hartford and home to remarkable figures such as the Rev. James Pennington, author Ann Plato, and artist and Black business owner Augustus Washington. The church stood from 1826 to the 1950s and is now home to Capital Community College. 

Thanks to the work of a student research team and a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the history and relevance of Talcott Street Church is being brought out of the shadows through the Black Heritage Project. 

Presented by Dr. G. Duncan Harris, CEO of Capital Community College; Dr. Frank Mitchell, curator of the Nutmeg Pulpit exhibition; and Dr. Jeff Partridge, Black Heritage Project director, this presentation introduced participants to the project and posed questions about public memory and how we can all participate in shaping it.

Murtha’s involvement with the Pennington Lecture came through the partnership that Diversity Chair and Immigration Partner Dana Bucin created with Capital Community College and its CEO Dr. G. Duncan Harris which led to them hosting the National Day of Romania and helping our Ukrainian clients with educational choices.