Lectures
Remember Me to Your Sister™
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I offer lectures drawn from my ongoing research for Remember Me to Your Sister: The True Story of Dr. Rebecca J. Cole (1845–1922), a biography that restores the life of the second Black woman in the United States to earn a medical degree.
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These talks are grounded in archival research and explore the people, places, and institutions that shaped Dr. Cole’s world. They are designed for libraries, historical societies, museums, universities, community organizations, and public audiences interested in history, place, and memory.
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Each lecture centers on original material drawn from primary sources, including newspapers, census records, deeds, institutional archives, and family papers. Programs typically run 60 to 75 minutes and include time for questions and discussion.
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Additional topics may be developed in consultation with host organizations.
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​​​​Lectures are offered in-person under the Remember Me to Your Sister™ program and, when appropriate, in virtual formats. Programs are tailored to the host organization and audience.
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Honoraria vary based on event type, audience, and location. Travel and lodging for in-person engagements are ordinarily provided by the host organization.
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Format and Logistics
These lectures are available for booking by libraries, historical societies, museums, universities, and community organizations.
1
Dr. Rebecca J. Cole and the Making of a Life in Medicine
An introduction to Dr. Cole’s life and work, tracing her path from Philadelphia’s free Black community to the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, and into a long career devoted to public health, education, and service.
2
Philadelphia’s Black Intellectual World in the 19th Century
A look at the families, schools, churches, and civic networks that shaped a generation of African American leaders, including the Institute for Colored Youth and the city’s abolitionist circles.
3
From Philadelphia to New York, Washington, D. C., and Columbia, SC
How place shaped opportunity and constraint for Black professionals after the Civil War. This lecture follows Dr. Cole’s work across regions, illuminating the different worlds she navigated in Pennsylvania, New York, Washington, D.C., and South Carolina, and the shifting landscapes of education, medicine, and public life she encountered along the way.
4
Memory, Records, and the Silences of History
An exploration of what it means to write biography when personal papers are missing. This talk focuses on method: how historians reconstruct lives through fragments, community records, and context.
To inquire about availability, scheduling, or program details, please call, text, or email Marianne.
904-392-7602