Shade Tobacco Stories with Fiona Vernal, PhD: Land, Labor, and Immigration in the Connecticut Tobacco Valley Online
In 1910 after many experiments, shade tobacco supplanted broadleaf to become the dominant crop in the Connecticut River Valley. Its aroma, texture, burn, and size helped to create a boutique industry that became an important part of Connecticut lore and romance. Whether they were students recruited from historical black college, or along the eastern seaboard, West Indians and puerto Ricans from the Caribbean, or local day haul and summer workers–tobacco culture touched many lives. Netting, planting, weeding, harvesting, and sewing tobacco brought men, women, youth, and immigrants together in the field and the sheds.
Join us for a look at what this premium brand tells us about the role of tobacco in the history of land use, labor, and immigration in the Greater Hartford region and the Connecticut River Valley. Join Fiona Vernal, Director of Engaged Public, Oral, and Community Histories (EPOCH) and associate professor of History and Africana Studies at the University of Connecticut to learn more about this fascinating history. Please register.