United We Stand
Ohio has a rich history of abolitionism and civil rights activism, from its status as the first state formed under the first US government document to prohibit slavery and a crucial part of the Underground Railroad, to the home of the first private Black college and one of the longest sustained protests of the civil rights era.
Ohio’s incredible legacy of Black history and civil rights is a story worth telling, as are the more challenging parts of our state’s history.
The United We Stand Speakers Bureau provides organizations with access to free or low-cost public programming that provides a platform to talk about contemporary civil rights issues, including the prevalence of hate groups in Ohio and their influence on our history and life in our state today.
Scholars in fields including history, religion, law, comparative studies, international relations, conflict and peace studies, and feminist and queer studies are available to nonprofit organizations, schools, colleges, universities, or other groups through the Ohio Humanities Speakers Bureau.
The United We Stand Speakers Bureau is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities’ United We Stand: Connecting Through Culture initiative.
United We Stand Speakers
Julia Applegate
Julia M. Applegate, MA, MPH is an HIV and LGBTQ+ health advocate, researcher, and administrator who has taught Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies classes at Ohio State, Wright State University, and Ohio University since 1996. Presently, she is directing and producing an Ohio Humanities-supported documentary film project that tells the story of Ohio’s longest running lesbian bar.
Barry Jackisch
Barry Jackisch, PhD is an associate professor at the University of Toledo and Director of UToledo’s Roger Ray Institute for the Humanities. He is an historian of modern central and eastern Europe with research interests related to democracy, fascism, and communism in the mid-20th century.
LuSter
LuSter is a Zanesville native fascinated by the intersections of ‘isms’ and how they inform and instruct positive perceptions of faith and gender in our daily lives. They are a community leader and creator of queer programming, educational series, presenter-led-discussions and more. Currently, they are co-directing an Ohio Humanities-supported documentary film project that tells the story of Ohio’s longest running lesbian bar.
William Trollinger
William Trollinger, PhD is professor of history in the History and Religious Studies Departments at the University of Dayton and the director of UD’s Core Integrated Studies Program. His research has focuses on American Protestantism, fundamentalism, creationism, Protestant print culture, and the Ku Klux Klan in Ohio.
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