A new online talk at Finger Lakes Community College will spotlight the overlooked role of free Black men who fought for American independence.
FLCC will host author and historian Shirley L. Green at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11, for a virtual presentation marking Black History Month.
The talk will stream on Webex and the FLCC YouTube channel. Access links are available through the college’s events calendar at flcc.edu/events.
Green is the author of the 2023 book “Revolutionary Blacks: Discovering the Frank Brothers, Freeborn Men of Color, Soldiers of Independence.” The book explores the lives of William and Benjamin Frank, who enlisted in the Second Rhode Island Regiment in 1777 and served in an integrated Continental Army.
The presentation comes as the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence later this year.
Green traces the brothers’ story through her own family’s oral history, supported by archival research, interviews, and DNA evidence. The book blends personal narrative with historical scholarship to document the experiences of free Black soldiers during the Revolutionary War.
Green earned her doctorate in history from Bowling Green State University after a 26-year career in law enforcement. She now serves as an adjunct professor of history at the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University.
The event is part of FLCC’s History, Culture and Diversity Series, organized by history professor Robert Brown.
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