News Release

Park Ranger to Lead a Walk and Talk at the Corinth Contraband Camp: Education as a Pathway to Freedom

Entrance to the Corinth Contraband Camp

NPS Photo/Mekow

News Release Date: January 3, 2024

Contact: Chris Mekow, 731.689.5696

Shiloh National Military Park is pleased to announce a special ranger-led program on Saturday, February 10, at the Corinth Contraband Camp located at 800 North Parkway Street in Corinth, Mississippi. Join Ranger Laura Lee McKellips to learn about the evolution of education from slavery to Civil Rights. This program is part of the park’s celebration of African American Heritage Month held annually in February.  

Participants will meet at the Corinth Contraband Camp at 11:00 am and learn about the evolution of education in the community of new Freedmen. Visitors will explore how literacy became one of the steppingstones to freedom for the former slaves. A hundred years later, the mission of theContraband Camps continued with the Niagara Movement at the turn on the century and the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s.

The program will last an hour with some walking on a concrete pathway. Participants should wear clothing and footwear appropriate for the weather. Sunscreen and water are also recommended.

Registration for the program is recommended. Everyone is invited to call the Corinth Civil War Center at 662-287-9273 to reserve their spot.

For more information on upcoming events at both the Shiloh and Corinth Battlefields go to www.nps.gov/shil, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/shilohnmp, or follow us on Twitter @ShilohNPS.