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'Dear Mary, Dear Luther': Jill Snyder Explores Family History Through Love Letters

Jill Snyder’s parents carried on a long-distance courtship through letters.

After her mother’s death, Snyder found these letters, and compiled them into a book, called Dear Mary, Dear Luther: A Courtship in Letters.

This hour, Snyder joins us to talk about her family’s story. It’s a lens into the lives of African Americans in the Northeast before the start of World War II.

Snyder tells us why it’s especially important for Black families to document their own family history.

Jill Snyder will be giving a virtual talk at the New Haven Museum on February 10, 2021, at 6 p.m. Viewers can watch the talk live on the New Haven Museum’s Facebook page. The presentation is based on Snyder’s book, Dear Mary, Dear Luther: A Courtship in Letters, which is available for purchase by emailing info@newhavenmuseum.org or calling 203-562-4183, ext. 119.

GUESTS:

  • Jill Snyder - Author of Dear Mary, Dear Luther: A Courtship in Letters
  • Nora Galvin - Certified professional genealogist based in Northeast Connecticut

Read a short exerpt from "Dear Mary, Dear Luther" below:

Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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Lucy leads Connecticut Public's strategies to deeply connect and build collaborations with community-focused organizations across the state.
Carmen Baskauf was a producer for Connecticut Public Radio's news-talk show Where We Live, hosted by Lucy Nalpathanchil from 2017-2021. She has also contributed to The Colin McEnroe Show.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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