Upcoming virtual events from President James K. Polk State Historic Site

President James K. Polk North Carolina State Historic Site, 12031 Lancaster Hwy, Pineville, pays tribute to our 11th president and presents living history that brings the early 19th century to life. It’s always free to visit.

The site is temporarily closed, but is still presenting virtual events.

Here’s what’s coming up:

Enslaved and Entrenched: Elias Polk
Saturday, February 20th, 2021
10 a.m.
Free, but follow above link to register

Zacharie Kinslow’s research focuses on the life and career of Elias Polk. Once enslaved by President James K. Polk, Elias rose from the confines of bondage to become a leading black conservative in the American southeast. Supporting southern Democrats, who had earlier enslaved him and his people, Elias Polk’s story reveals a complex and pragmatic figure who did what he could to survive in post-Civil War America, while also actively working to secure and perpetuate African-American economic independence.

After registering, please be sure to click the Zoom link in your confirmation email to get access to the webinar.

Singing to be Heard: Ella May Wiggins
Saturday, March 13th, 2021
10 a.m.
Free, but follow above link to register

During this program Jason E. Luker, Director of the Gaston County Museum of Art and History, will be examining Ella May Wiggins, her difficult life, role in the 1929 Loray Mill textile strike, and how her words and deeds still challenge us today.

After registering, please be sure to click the Zoom link in your confirmation email to get access to the webinar.

Sorting Out Charlotte
Saturday, April 10th, 2021
11 a.m.
Free, but follow above link to register

Dr. Tom Hanchett, retired staff historian for Levine Museum of the New South, visits to talk about the new edition of his UNC Press history of Charlotte, entitled Sorting Out the New South City. It traces how Charlotte became a big city — and delves deeply into the surprising story of how we became segregated, both by race and class. It’s powerful history that can help us understand issues that are swirling in the headlines today.

Click here for options to purchase Tom’s book, Sorting Out the New South City, via Amazon.

After registering, please be sure to click the Zoom link in your confirmation email to get access to the webinar.

First Lady: Sarah Childress Polk
Saturday, May 8th, 2021
10 a.m.
Free, but follow above link to register

Sarah Childress Polk devoted her considerable intelligence and political understanding to advancing the Southern planter’s agenda: small government, low tariffs, and states’ rights. She and husband James K. Polk saw eye-to-eye on political matters and functioned as a nineteenth-century power couple in their home state of Tennessee and in the nation’s capital. Their private and public partnership remained strong throughout Mr. Polk’s brief but effective Presidency. His untimely death in 1849 left her bereft but not forgotten, as the many visitors and well wishers to her home attest.

After registering, please be sure to click the Zoom link in your confirmation email to get access to the webinar.