Slideshow: Hands Off! Gettysburg protesters bring awareness to impact of current U.S. administration’s policies

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More than 550 people gathered Saturday afternoon at Gettysburg’s Lincoln Square for a peaceful protest against the current administration’s policies and actions. Cheered on by honking horns and encouraging shout-outs from passers-by, the protesters held signs addressing – among others – the administration’s disregard for the Constitution and laws; the removal of top military and

Local Human Relations Committees continue to protect residents

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In the wake of a series of U.S. Presidential Executive Orders relating to diversity, equity, inclusion, we write to assure the people of the Borough of Gettysburg, and of Adams County more generally, that they can continue to find support if they believe they have experienced discrimination. The Borough of Gettysburg adopted an anti-discrimination ordinance

CONOZCA SUS DERECHOS – KNOW YOUR RIGHTS:  Legal workshop prepares immigrant families in Adams County

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Today marks the first day of the new U.S. administration. Incoming President Donald Trump has vowed to put into place policies on Day One that include deporting “illegal” immigrants in grand sweeps.  In a time of anti-immigrant rhetoric and uncertainty about the impact the new policies will have on our local immigrant communities, many migrants

MLK’s ‘beloved community’ has inspired social justice work for decades − what did he mean?

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By Jason Oliver Evans, University of Virginia Since 1983, when President Ronald Reagan signed Martin Luther King Jr. Day into law, many Americans have observed the federal holiday to commemorate the life and legacy of the civil rights leader, Baptist minister and theologian. MLK Day volunteers typically perform community service that continues King’s fight to

Adams County Black History Trails Tour announced

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***Abraham Brian moved from Maryland to Gettysburg in 1840 and bought a 12 acre farm on what is now Gettysburg battlefield. Returning after the armies departed to find his animals and crops gone and his farm damaged, Brian and his family slowly rebuilt. James Warfield was a farmer and blacksmith, living at the time of

Lincoln Cemetery Project Association sponsors Memorial Day ceremonies

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Memorial Day ceremonies were held at the Lincoln Cemetery on Sunday. The ceremonies were led by Jean Green, Chair of the Lincoln Cemetery Project Association. In introductory remarks, she explained that the small orange flags mark 136 burial sites with no headstones. These burial sites were identified with ground penetrating radar. Green reported that the

Nancy Lilley, Green Gathering, Susann Samples to receive Peacemaker Awards

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Every year, the Interfaith Center For Peace and Justice likes to lift up some members of our community who we think best embody the mission of our organization, which is to promote respectful dialogue on peace, social justice and equity, multiculturalism, and environmental sustainability. The Lifetime of Peacemaking Award is given to a local resident

Third annual “Celebrate Your Health” day celebrated by local Latino community

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Local Latino families and health care and service organizations gathered on a beautiful, sunny Palm Sunday, to participate in the third annual “Celebrate Your Health” (¡Celebra tu Salud!) event at Gettysburg College. The annual gathering, sponsored by WellSpan Health and organized by Casa de la Cultura, Migrant Education, and Collaborating for Youth, was initially conceived

Adams County Heritage Festival community meeting focuses on the future

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The Adams County Heritage Festival planning committee and interested community members convened on March 12 to deliberate on the festival’s future and discuss strategies to enhance its community impact. Chaired by Bill Collinge, the meeting saw active participation from various community stakeholders, reflecting a collective endeavor to sustain and enrich the festival’s legacy. Established in

Jean Green cares for Gettysburg’s Lincoln Cemetery

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“This cemetery is the only concrete evidence there was a Black community in Gettysburg,” said Lincoln Cemetery Project Association Director Jean Green as she surveyed the 1.6 acre cemetery on the corner of Long Lane and Lincoln Lane in Gettysburg. The cemetery is Gettysburg’s only surviving Black cemetery and the final resting place of more

George Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ is a story of jazz, race, and the fraught notion of America’s melting pot

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Ryan Raul Bañagale, Colorado College February 12, 1924, was a frigid day in New York City. But that didn’t stop an intrepid group of concertgoers from gathering in midtown Manhattan’s Aeolian Hall for “An Experiment in Modern Music.” The organizer, bandleader Paul Whiteman, wanted to show how jazz and classical music could come together. So

Maryland Governor Wes Moore to deliver keynote at Gettysburg College’s 22nd Blavatt lecture

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Gettysburg College’s College Union Building Ballroom will soon be echoing with insights and visions for America’s future. On Nov. 1, the Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College will host Maryland Governor Wes Moore as the keynote speaker for its renowned 22nd Annual Blavatt Lecture. Governor Moore, who made history as Maryland’s first Black Governor, will address

Heritage Festival will mark 32nd year

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The 32nd annual Adams County Heritage Festival will kick off, rain or shine, at noon on Sunday, September 17, at the Gettysburg Recreation Park, 545 Long Lane.  With a goal of celebrating community unity, Festival organizers, the Interfaith Center for Peace and Justice, and the YWCA of Gettysburg and Adams County have planned a full afternoon

How book-banning campaigns have changed the lives and education of librarians – they now need to learn how to plan for safety and legally protect themselves

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Nicole A. Cooke, University of South Carolina Despite misconceptions and stereotypes – ranging from what librarians Gretchen Keer and Andrew Carlos have described as the “middle-aged, bun-wearing, comfortably shod, shushing librarian” to the “sexy librarian … and the hipster or tattooed librarian” – library professionals are more than book jockeys, and they do more than

Braver Angels Gettysburg conference seeks to depolarize the nation

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The Governor of Utah, Republican Spencer Cox, received a standing ovation Saturday when he announced a new initiative to more than 700 delegates and speakers nationwide at the Braver Angels convention held at Gettysburg College last week. “I want to thank you for your blood and toil, your labor and sacrifice to try and teach

Expect Wonders at the Project Gettysburg-León Garden Party

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This year marks almost 40 years of cultural exchange and friendship between Gettysburg and León, Nicaragua, through Project Gettysburg-León (PGL). Since it was founded in 1986, PGL has fostered cultural exchange and supported projects in León to educate children, offer access to healthy food and water through gardens and portable water systems, and sponsor cultural

“ALL are created equal!”

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GETTYSBURG, PA — The 7th Annual Gettysburg Pride Fest will be held June 2-4, 2023, with over 50 different local small businesses, four all-loving/affirming inclusive local churches, and ten other nonprofit organizations sponsoring the weekend’s fest with various events for all ages. Premiere-level sponsors are WellSpan Health, Field & Floor FX, and Graphcom, as well as

Refugee Resettlement Partnership of Gettysburg, Contreras, Kellett, Duffy and Murphy win 2023 Peacemaker Awards

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The Gettysburg/Adams County Chapter of  Interfaith Center for Peace and Justice (ICPJ) honored the 2023 winners of its Peacemaker Awards this week during a well-attended ceremony at the Valentine Hall Auditorium on the Lutheran Seminary campus.  Darren Glass, President of ICPJ opened the ceremony and mentioned that, since inception of the program in 1995, the

ICPJ to give Peacemaker Awards

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The Interfaith Center for Peace and Justice has selected the winners of its Peacemaker Awards for 2023. Amelia Contreras will receive the Lifetime of Peacemaking Award. The Refugee Resettlement Partnership will receive the Peacemaker of the Year Award. The three most recent former presidents of ICPJ, Christine Kellett, MJ Duffy, and Dennis Murphy, will receive

Slideshow: “Angels in America” at the GCT

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Part 1 of the Gettysburg Community Theatre’s dramatic production of Tony Kushner’s two-part play “Angels In America” opened tonight on the stage at 49 York St. The play won Pulitzer and Tony awards. Please see our photo gallery below for scenes from the show. Part 1 will also be presented Saturday May 6 at 7:00

The “Living Library” – Volume 2: Levato (“Vetti”) Jacobs (Thomas)

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We have much wisdom to gain by learning to understand other people’s cultures and permitting ourselves to accept that there is more than one version of reality. — Louis Menand, Pulitzer Prize-winning author. When people mention “the Greatest Generation,” they’re usually referring to the men who rid the world forcibly of Hitler, Mussolini, and the Japanese

The “Living Library” – Volume 1:  Jenine Weaver and Judy Leslie

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We have much wisdom to gain by learning to understand other people’s cultures and permitting ourselves to accept that there is more than one version of reality. — Louis Menand, Pulitzer Prize-winning author. The YWCA Gettysburg and Adams County Library System provided human books for checkout during National Library Week, April 24 to 29, allowing participants

LGBTQ+ community members focus on allyship and inclusion

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Dozens of community members came together at HACC Gettysburg last week to learn more about issues of inclusion and how the community can create safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth through allyship and inclusion. The first hour of the event was led by Phacelia Cramer, a LGBTQ+ Youth Support Consultant with the Center For Youth and

Vida Charter School Celebrates Black History Month in the classroom and in the community

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Over the course of her time at Gettysburg’s Vida Charter School, current principal Elaine Nashelsky has watched the school’s Black History Month celebrations transform and grow. “Having now been at Vida for almost seven years. I’ve had the opportunity to see Black History Month blossom,” she said. The charter school’s Black History Month events take

Chad-Alan Carr joins Keystone Equality

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Gettysburg Borough Council member and Executive/Artistic Director of the Gettysburg Community Theatre Chad-Alan Carr has been elected as a board member of the newly-formed nonprofit Keystone Equality. Keystone Equality is a nonpartisan organization formed to mobilize awareness of statewide LGBTQ political issues. Keystone Equality will endorse candidates for public office, mobilize LGBTQ voters, and become a

Local residents celebrate MLK Day with motor cavalcade

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A motor cavalcade wended its way through the downtown Gettysburg on Martin Luther King Day, 2023, passing by some of the historical African American sites in the borough. The cars displayed red, black, and green colors representing Marcus Garvey’s Pan African movement. The motor cavalcade ended at the Gettysburg Recreational Park where the crowd ate

MLK Celebration at Christ Chapel on Monday Jan. 16

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The 41st Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration “From the Mountaintop” will be held on Monday Jan. 16 from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. at Gettysburg College’s Christ Chapel. Keynote Speakers include Gettysburg Mayor Rita Frealing, and Taurean (Tory) Moses, the first African American member and current Vice President of the Adams County Bar Association. Musical

Photo Gallery: 2022 Adams County Heritage Festival

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The 31st Annual Adams County Heritage Festival was held yesterday on a bright sunny day with perfect weather. Hundreds of people came to the Gettysburg rec park to celebrate culture with music dancing, bike rides, food and more. The stage events were hosted by Mark Purdy, Master of Ceremonies, with Bob Ranalli as Sound Technician

Sneak preview of this year’s Heritage Festival

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The 31st annual Adams County Heritage Festival, scheduled for Sunday, September 18, from noon to 4:00 p.m. at the Gettysburg Rec Park, promises to be one of the best ever.  The planning committee has already signed formal contracts with three performing groups and awaits confirmation from a fourth.  On stage will be local musician Freya

Gettysburg Celebrates Juneteenth

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Gettysburg celebrated Juneteenth today with a Parade and Jamboree.   The festivities began at noon when an interracial group of about a hundred people congregated in front of the Ploughman Taproom on Lincoln Square.  Opening  remarks were provided by the event’s MC, Larock Hudson, who explained that Gettysburg’s first Juneteenth celebration was planned by a

Hayes, Shahid, and Gagliardi win 2022 Peacemaker Awards

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The Interfaith Center for Peace and Justice (ICPJ) recognized the 2022 winners of its Peacemaker Awards at a ceremony on the Lutheran Seminary campus this evening. This year’s honorees were Yeimi Gagliardi, who received the Lifetime of Peacemaking Award, and Blessing Shahid and Alex Hayes, who received Peacemaker of the Year Awards. Hayes, nominated by

2022 Juneteenth Celebration and Parade Announced

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An afternoon of activities and entertainment celebrating African American history and culture will be held on Sunday, June 19, 2022.  The events include a parade beginning on the Gettysburg Square at 12:00 p.m. and an afternoon of activities at the Gettysburg Recreation Park from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. Indigenous Glow/ I Glow Black,Inc. is hosting

Hispanic community celebrates family health at inaugural “Celebrate Your Health” day

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Dozens of Hispanic families came to the Ballroom at Gettysburg College on Sunday for the first ever “Celebrate your Health Day.” The event, sponsored by Collaborating for Youth, Wellspan, Casa de Cultura, and Amerihealth Caritas, included an obstacle course, bouncy house, and games for children, as well as crafts, yoga, dance, fitness training. Also available were

What I learned at Peace and Justice Week

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Gettysburg College’s 6th annual Peace and Justice Week was held last week. The event, which had the theme of “decolonization,” was attended by students and faculty from the college’s Peace and Justice Studies minor. According to the Miriam Webster Dictionary decolonization means to “free from the dominating influence of a colonizing power.” On the second day

Peace and Justice Week keynote address focuses on U.S. “settler colonialism”

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Decoloniality, anyone? This big-chewy-cookie of a word is the theme for the Sixth Annual Peace and Justice Week being held from March 21-26 on the Gettysburg College campus. On Monday, Dina Gilio-Whitaker, Lecturer of American Indian Studies at California State University San Marcos, provided the keynote for  the week with a lecture on “Decolonizing and  Indigenizing

Gagliardi to present in Kiwanis speaker series

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The Gettysburg Adams Kiwanis Club has announced a new monthly speakers series beginning on Monday, January 24 at its 7:00 p.m. meeting. The first speaker in the series will be Yeimi {Jaime) K. Gagliardi, a Latino health educator in Adams County for WellSpan Health and chairperson for the Latino Services Task Force and the Tobacco

Sidney Poitier – Hollywood’s first Black leading man reflected the civil rights movement on screen

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Aram Goudsouzian, University of Memphis In the summer of 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. introduced the keynote speaker for the 10th-anniversary convention banquet of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Their guest, he said, was his “soul brother.” “He has carved for himself an imperishable niche in the annals of our nation’s history,” King told the

Pennsylvania revises Confederate markers, recasts forces as “enemy” soldiers

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By Colin Deppen of Spotlight PA Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. After removing a trio of Confederate historical markers an hour west of Gettysburg, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has

Pasa La Voz provides news and Information to local Hispanics via text messages

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Gettysburg Connection partners with Casa de Cultura, Collaborating for Youth, Manos Unidas, South Central Community Action Programs (SCCAP) and other local agencies to share information to Spanish-speaking populations in Adams County and the surrounding area through the Pasa La Voz program. “Pasa La Voz” (Spanish for “Spread the Word”) is a free, participatory local news

Today is Juneteenth: Do you know its historical legacy?

On “Freedom’s Eve,” or the eve of January 1, 1863, the first Watch Night services took place. On that night, enslaved and free African Americans gathered in churches and private homes all across the country awaiting news that the Emancipation Proclamation had taken effect. At the stroke of midnight, prayers were answered as all enslaved

The Black Influence – Series 3 – Gettysburg’s Underground Railroad

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Black History in Adams County cannot be complete without paying respect to the escaped slaves that followed the Underground Railroad (UGRR) through Adams County. The National Park Service describes the UGRR by saying: “Beginning in the 17th century and continuing through the mid-19th century in the United States, enslaved African Americans resisted bondage to gain

The Black Influence – Series 2: 1847 to 1864

In 1847, John “Jack” Hopkins was a custodian at the Gettysburg College. He was hired making only $15 a month. This was the normal wage for a free Black man in Pennsylvania. He was held in high esteem by the faculty and students. It is said that he helped freedom seekers during their passage in

The Black Influence – Series 1: 1780 to 1850

In 1780, Pennsylvania lawmakers passed “An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery.” The Act stated people born into slavery in 1780 and after, would be freed when they turned 28 years old. However, people born into slavery before 1780 were still enslaved for life. For the time, this was a progressive step, but don’t