RON SOODALTER

A passionate educator and lay historian, Ron Soodalter, talks about the slave trade, past and present.

"On a frosty day in late February 1862, hundreds gathered in New York City's "Tombs" prison to watch the execution of Nathaniel Gordon. A sea captain from an old and respected Portland, Maine family, Gordon was about to become the only man in the history of the United States to be hanged for slave trading."

In his compelling book, Hanging Captain Gordon: The Life and Trial of an American Slave Trader, Soodalter deconstructs the events leading to this pivotal moment, and explores the many issues that came together to seal one man's fate. While telling Gordon's story, Soodalter probes the history and meaning of the slave trade in America. In the book's final chapter – "Captain Gordon’s Legacy" – he addresses and exposes the modern-day slave trade.

Most Americans are unaware of the extent to which the crime of human trafficking has blighted America. Soodalter shows how tens of thousands of people are brought into the United States every year and forced to work as slaves in nearly every state - in our citrus groves, laundries and restaurants, brothels and strip joints, and in our homes, not being afraid to say, "The slave trade didn't die with Captain Gordon; it merely went dormant for over a century, and now it's back."

A native New Englander, Ron Soodalter has pursued a variety of diverse careers. He earned a B.A. in American History and masters degrees in Education and American Folk Culture. Ron has taught in New York City's Riker's Island Prison, in a bilingual school in Spanish Harlem, and in a small upstate New York high school. He has worked as curator of a Colorado history museum, where he served on the board of directors of the 10-state Mountain-Plains Museums Conference. As a young teenager, Soodalter was fortunate to have studied Flamenco guitar with the world renowned Carlos Montoya, and has played professionally all his life. Also an accomplished scrimshaw artist, Ron has been featured in a prominent Manhattan art gallery. For the last several years, he has operated Ron Soodalter Associates, Inc., which represents and produces for high-end special effects and animation studios, primarily in Europe.

Contact the lecture bureau to schedule Ron Soodalter for your next event.

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