Dr. Edna Greene Medford is one of the few Black female historians who is considered an authority on the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War era and African-Americans in the Reconstruction era.
Medford is a historian, one of the few Black female historians who is considered an authority on the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War era and African-Americans in the Reconstruction era.
The sesquicentennial, the recognition of the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States, now in its third year of a four-year commemoration, has helped put the issues of slavery and the Civil War back on the front burner and has kept Medford busier than usual, she says. Many institutions, including local and state government agencies, are staging events to recognize the significance of the war.
Black Americans are being encouraged to be more than bystanders in today’s sesquicentennial activities, says Medford, marking a dramatic change from the 100th anniversary commemoration programs 50 years ago.
Today, sponsors of sesquicentennial events are making sure Blacks have a part, she says, thereby recognizing the important role Blacks played leading up to, during and immediately after the war.
Among her chances to discuss what she feels are important aspects of the era, Medford refers to an opportunity she had recently to speak at a sesquicentennial event at the Virginia Statehouse.
“It is the most important period of American history,” says Medford, chair of the Department of History at Howard University, explaining how President Lincoln and the ending of the Civil War set the stage for the nation to chart a new future. “We were at a crossroads. The issues we deal with today were born in this particular period.”
