'Hartford Courant' Magazine Tackles Slavery Issue

By: Chris Nammour The Hartford (Conn.) Courant, one of the nation's oldest newspapers, made news in July 2000 when it printed a front-page apology for running advertisements during the antebellum era that sought the return of escaped slaves. But according to Kathy Colello, public relations specialist for the Courant, the theme of Sunday's Northeast Magazine was unrelated to the paper's earlier apology. "With all this recent talk of reparations, it seemed like a timely subject that needed to be addressed," Colello said.

Reaction to Northeast Magazine's 80-page special issue on slavery has been "amazing," said Jenifer Frank, the magazine's editor. The September 29th issue focused on Connecticut's role in the institution of slavery, and how that shaped the state's history. "We've gotten responses from teachers, both in and out of the state, who want to use it in their classrooms, and from just plain folks who are saying it's about time," Frank said.

"It's a remarkably well-researched, nuanced, and sophisticated interpretation," said Rob Forbes, associate director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University. "It highlights an important event without seeming sensationalized. What the Courant produced was not only fine journalism, but exemplary corporate behavior. It's a model to approaching this difficult but not impossible issue."

Criticism so far has been slight. "I can only think of two, maybe three people that said 'So what? It's ancient history,'" Frank said. "But that's how we understand where we are today."

Forbes agreed. "As long as this is a part of our heritage and we don't explore it, it will continue to generate consequences that we don't understand," he said. "We need to know what kind of land mines the past laid for us in order to disarm them and a crucial piece of this is taking the stance that the Courant did."

To view the magazine online, including downloadable PDFs, visit http://www.ctnow.com/news/local/northeast/hc-slavery.special.