The registration for the one-day symposium organized in recognition of the 325th anniversary of the Salem Witch Trials is now open: Salem’s Trials: Lessons and Legacy of 1692 is co-sponsored by the SSU History Department, the Essex National Heritage Area, and the Salem Award Foundation for Human Rights and Social Justice , and will be held on June 10 (the execution date of the Trials’ first victim, Bridget Bishop) at Marsh Hall on the campus of Salem State University. All are welcome: we are hoping that the symposium will be both academic and accessible, introductory and interactive.
We’ve been fine-tuning the program for quite a while, and I think it now has the perfect balance of perspective, time, and place. I don’t want to speak for all of my committee members, but to me the title of the symposium, Salem’s Trials, refers not only to the Trials of 1692 but also to their continuing legacy: Salem seems to want to replay this event over and over and over again, for redemption and for profit. We will have a trio of Salem experts on hand, including my colleague Tad Baker, Margo Burns, and Marilynne K. Roach, as well as people with expertise in other areas and disciplines to broaden the cultural context of 1692. There will be a panel on teaching the trials led by my colleague Brad Austin featuring area educators, and another colleague, Andrew Darien, will be enabling descendants to record their oral testimonies (I think descendants of “perpetrators” too, although we should use another word—accusers is better). Because the symposium is happening close to the dedication of the Proctor’s Ledge memorial, the recently-verified site of the executions, we really wanted to focus on space almost as much as time, and consequently we chose a geographer to give our keynote: Kenneth Foote, the author of Shadowed Ground. America’s Landscapes of Violence and Tragedy.
There will also be a plenary panel on “The Making of Witch City” which we envisioned as historical but will likely veer into the present with audience participation. It seems like the present always bears on the past in any consideration of the Salem Witch Trials, a tendency that was definitely cemented by the observances of its last big anniversary, the Tercentenary of 1992. That year, Arthur Miller and Elie Wiesel were present at the dedication of the Salem Witch Trials Tercentenary Memorial, and the very first Salem Award was given to actor Gregory Allan Williams, who rescued a victim of mob violence in the midst of the “Rodney King” race riots in Los Angeles. All week long, I’ve been hearing anniversary reflections on these riots on the radio, and just last night the Salem Award Foundation awarded a new commendation, the Salem Advocate for Social Justice Award, to musician-activist John Legend at a packed event at Salem State University. Everything comes around again.
The 1992 Memorial off Charter Street by artist Maggie Smith and architect James Cutler, courtesy Cutler Anderson Architects.
May 3rd, 2017 at 1:33 pm
Sounds like a wonderful event. I would love to attend & will try to do so. Personally, I remain skeptical of Proctor’s Ledge being the actual execution site & have questions as to the evidence that has been presented in regard to “proving” it to be the site. Frankly, had this been a murder investigation, the evidence would not even have warranted prosecution. I certainly do respect Dr. Baker & his team, however, while at the same time I understand that making an all-out effort and spending a lot of time investigating something does not mean that the end result is always correct or “proof positive” of anything. In my opinion, the recent investigation could only be said to be “inconclusive”.
May 3rd, 2017 at 1:36 pm
Well I’ll leave that to Dr. Baker, Alan. There will be another event at the SMNHS Visitors Center in July completely devoted to the Procter’s Ledge site. I’ll keep you posted.
May 3rd, 2017 at 1:59 pm
Thanks, Donna. Naturally, as I say, it’s all just personal opinion.
May 3rd, 2017 at 7:57 pm
How amazing that victims’ descendants will be able to record their oral testimonies, especially since you note that the Trials of 1692 have a continuing legacy.
Definitely the descendants of perpetrators should also be able to record their oral testimonies … their families were equally blighted. But I wonder if their early 18th century births, deaths and marriage certificates will be honest and complete.