Tomorrow: Uncovering Hidden Stories -- Black Soldiers

in the Revolutionary War

Ramin Ganeshram

In observance of Black History Month and Presidents Day, the Y's Men will be welcoming Ramin Ganeshram as the featured speaker tomorrow morning. She is the Executive Director of the Westport Museum for History and Culture and a 2025-2026 George Washington Presidential Library Fellow.

Ganeshram will shed light on a little-known chapter of our nation's founding: the Black soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War, with a special focus on actual local men who served on both sides of the conflict.

During the Revolutionary War, approximately 820 African American soldiers and seamen from Connecticut served, representing 80 towns across the state. These men faced an agonizing choice: fight for the Patriots, promising liberty while many remained enslaved, or answer Lord Dunmore's 1775 proclamation offering freedom to enslaved people who would join the British Ethiopian Regiment. Their service—on both sides—reveals the complex situation African Americans navigated during the birth of our nation.

Y's Men Thursday morning meetings are in Hoskins Hall downstairs in the Saugatuck Congregational Church, 245 Post Road East in Westport. Coffee, donut, and bagel social hour begins at 9:00 am, business meeting at 10:00 am, speaker at 10:30 am. Come early and meet your fellow members. Guests are always welcome.

And in the Weeks Ahead:

Jeff White, From Little League to the Big Leagues;

The Staples Stradivarius Chamber Orchestra Performs

Jeff White, will be the featured speaker on Thursday, March 5, talking about "From Little League to the Big Leagues." Jeff has served Westport Baseball and Softball, Inc. (WBS) as a coach, Treasurer, Commissioner and President since 1983 when the first of his three children started playing.

On Thursday, March 12, the regular morning meeting will be devoted to a concert by the Staples Stradivarius Chamber Orchestra in the sanctuary of the Saugatuck Congregational Church. Coffee and donuts as usual from 9:00 am to 10:00 am in Hoskins Hall and then upstairs to the sanctuary where no food or beverages are allowed.