NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Educator and storyteller Desiree Taylor connects the past to the present by engaging her audience in the shared American experience. 

 

The former educator and park ranger feels presenting history story style makes it more accessible.

 

"What I do is take that kind of storytelling that you see in places like libraries or the National Park Service, or in school and take that to the public in programs," she said. "And we have a good time."

 

Taylor's focus has been on African American history and on Tuesday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m. she will be leading a storytelling on "Berkshire History: Government, Race and the Life of Elizabeth Freeman."

 

Freeman, also known as Mumbet, sued the man who enslaved her, which would lead to the prohibition of slavery in Massachusetts. 

 

The talk will be held on Zoom; email taylortalkshistory@gmail.com for the link. 

 

The event is free and open to the public thanks to grant through the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire.

 

"What I hope people walk away with is a better understanding of their own world, and how this history that seems maybe so alienated from them, before they heard the story now seems like part of their own heritage," Taylor said.

 

Taylor holds master's degrees in education and in American studies from the University of Massachusetts at Boston. She's done more than 100 of these adult programs in the Boston area, including at the Boston Athenaeum. 

 

A native Texan, she's spent most of her career around Boston but became a sometime Berkshire County resident over the past decade. She moved to North Adams permanently this summer. 

 

Below is a Q&A with Taylor; answers were edited for style and length. 

 

Question: How did you become a storyteller?

 

Answer: I've always been interested in history. ... I was always fascinated by the stories we were hearing, but I was always disappointed that we didn't really get a chance to understand some of the things and some of the stories we were being exposed to. In school, as you know, a lot of emphasis is on major events, major people and dates. And in between all of that, there were these things that I wondered, you know, well, how did how did the ordinary people adjust to this big change ... What was that like for them? What was that time period like?  

 

I've worked for the National Park Service telling stories as a park ranger. And I really loved doing that. And then I thought, you know, there needs to be more avenues for this more ways to talk about history with the community because so often, when I talk about history with people, they're afraid of it  ... it sort of makes people very stressful. And I'm like, you know, that shouldn't be because if we're separated from our history, we don't really know who we are or where we're at in the moment.

 

A: Why did you choose Elizabeth Freeman?

 

Q: I had already always heard this story, through studying history, because I focused on African American history ... about a slave who was hit with a shovel, like a fire poker shovel. And one way of resistance or protests that she did, having been wounded by her owner is that she wouldn't cover it up. And so whenever anybody said, 'how did you get this injury?' She would say, 'ask madame.'

 

When I started to be interested in in this area and interested in relocating to this area, of course, what's the history of the Berkshire? And I realized that that story is an early Berkshire story. ... I was like, oh my gosh, 1700s and slavery in Massachusetts, we don't hear a lot about that. 

 

I started digging into her story to see what was there and there's a lot even though she was not literate, and didn't write anything down. There's still a lot that we can uncover about her story. And its legacy. 

 

Q: Did you use a lot of local resources in your research?

 

A: Yes, I did. There was actually a house in Sheffield [the Colonel Ashley House], where she was enslaved. And what's interesting about that house is for some reason it was preserved. And it's apparently one of the oldest or the oldest house in the Berkshires. 

 

So you can actually go there ... She ended up leaving after her freedom, she ended up leaving Sheffield and was employed by the lawyer [Theodore Sedgwick] who helped free here so you can visit her grave. There's just so many resources through historical society. 

 

Q: How do you present the story? Is there a Q&A?

 

A: First, I'm going to do a presentation so we can sort of understand the whole story and then there'll be a Q&A. So people can ask their questions then and, hopefully, connect to their neighbors through the Zoom activity.

 

It's a low-key conversation, no pressure, but just something where people can say, you know, I'd always heard this or I wasn't familiar with that or this surprised me about that story.

 

 It's an hour long, so it is limited in that way. But there will be some a chance to again, ask questions and to make statements of how the story affected the listener.

 

 Q: Zoom and that sort of digital and virtual presentations, how has that helped you? Or has it helped you in reaching people and educating people?

 

 A: That's an interesting question, because that's one reason I wanted to go to the Mass Cultural Council for this program is because I'm transitioning some things online to use this new medium to present programs. 

 

 I guess the biggest plus I would have to say is that there's less intimidation about going, in that people feel like they can just tune in and be anonymous. A lot of times when you're going to a library event or something like that people can feel sort of, oh, I don't know, exposed in a way. And I think being in the comfort of people's own home, It's almost like the television but live. 

 

 I really am using this opportunity to branch out in a new direction. It's still in its infancy.

 

 Q: Is this Cultural Council grant only for the Freeman talk or is this for some other talks coming up as well?

 

A: Right now this one is only for the Freeman talk and what was really great about the Cultural Council here is that -- I was explaining how I want to develop this program and get the things in place that I need some of the media equipment and things like that to be able to transition my programs online. So I'm really thankful that they appreciated that and funded that endeavor of moving these things online because I think from now on that's going to be important. 

 

I don't think Zoom is going away. 

 

More information on Taylor and her programs can be found on her website taylortalkshistory.com.

 

A guide on the Upper Housatonic Valley African-American Heritage Trail, which includes public places such as the Colonel Ashley house in Sheffield, can be found here.