The Gardiner Library will host a virtual book discussion on the publication In Defiance: Runaways From Slavery in New York’s Hudson River Valley 1735-1831 on Monday March 29 from 7 to 8 p.m. Susan Stessin-Cohn will be speaking on her publication documenting the essence of slavery. The natural “fight or flight” instinct in every human being dominated the minds of all those who were treated as property. Humanizing an otherwise largely silent population, advertisements for fugitive slaves provide an exceptionally valuable window into black life in Early America-from the nature of the slave system and the master-slave relationship to fascinating glimpses into material culture and folk life. Join for this fascinating glimpse inside the life and minds of “runaways.”

Contact Nicole Lane at nlane@rcls.org to register. For further information call 255-1255 or visit www.gardinerlibrary.org or the library’s Facebook page.