Common Ground

Established in 2018, Historic Sotterley's Common Ground initiative, is more than a program, it is a mindset and spirit where we all learn, grow and heal together to achieve an equitable world, building hope and heritage for all, now and for the future.

Sotterley's Common Ground programming takes many forms, including monthly speaker events, partnerships with other organizations, and special events.

Events are all supported by members of Sotterley’s Descendant community who provide leadership and vision for Common Ground.    Many of the events are in partnership with the Big Conversation.

Awards

2020 Maryland Preservation Award for Excellence in Public Programming

2021 Underground Free Railroad Press 2021 Leadership Award for Common Ground and Descendants Project

Upcoming Common Ground Events

Sotterley Presents: People & Perspectives with Caitlyn Hunter

March 20, 2024 – Caitlyn Hunter joins Historic Sotterley to discuss her book, “Power in the Tongue”, which fuses history and folktales to show Black perseverance across centuries. Her book is a hybrid of memoir and fiction which digs into the history of herself and…

Sotterley Presents: People & Perspectives with Jaelon Moaney, Phoebe Tate, Roderick Lewis, and host Kelsey Bush

April 10, 2024 – Historic Sotterley will be proud to host a virtual moderated panel of exceptional young professionals to discuss the topic “How far have we come, and where do we need to go?”. 2024 has been proclaimed Maryland Year of Civil Rights as…

Sotterley Presents: People & Perspectives with David Brown, Donald Barber, and Janice Walthour

May 8, 2024 – Historic Sotterley’s next Sotterley Presents: People & Perspectives event will introduce a new book, The Barber Family: From Slavery, Through Segregation, and The Civil Rights Movement, by Donald Barber and David Brown. The Barber family are Sotterley Descendants, and the book…

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