SUNDERLAND — As the Sunderland Public Library continues its series exploring social justice, it is hosting a free presentation Wednesday evening on the presence and role of slavery in the valley and across New England.

The library is welcoming Springfield College associate professor of history Ian Delahanty at 6:30 p.m. to present “Slavery’s Footprint in the Connecticut River Valley,” which will help dispel the notion that slavery was purely a southern practice.

“It’s very particular and very local,” said Suzanne Ryan, a member of the Sunderland Human Rights Task Force, which is co-sponsoring the event. “It’s really important to know and it’s also really fascinating. I think [people’s] minds would be blown to learn about some of this stuff that was happening right where we live.”

In an event announcement, Delahanty explained the extent of slavery varied based on the settlement, but enslaved people were still an “unmistakable presence,” even in remote communities.

“In the heart of 18th-century Deerfield, for example, one out of 10 people were enslaved, and in Newport, Rhode Island, it was one out of four,” Delahanty said. “Here in New England, contrary to what many believe, slavery was widely prevalent.”

Delahanty explained the roles of both Indigenous and African slaves also varied depending on their location, with most enslaved men often participating in agricultural work or carpentry in regions like Franklin County, while women in all regions were forced to be domestic servants.

When abolitionism began to take hold in the mid-1800s, Delahanty said many people did not acknowledge their complicity in the system they now opposed.

“All sorts of ancillary businesses and supporting industries that benefited from the institution of slavery were located in our region,” he said. “They owe much of their wealth, directly or indirectly, to slave labor.”

The program will focus on both the wider regional system, as well as individual stories to show how the economy, legal systems and culture shaped the lives of those enslaved in the Connecticut River Valley. Much of the history, Ryan said, will focus on Deerfield, Northampton and Hatfield because those communities’ history has been particularly well-preserved.

Ryan said the program came together in Sunderland after she and several other members of the Sunderland Human Rights Task Force attended Delahanty’s presentation in Easthampton, which she said was a “sobering” experience.

“Just listening to him connect the dots to the type of slavery that was happening here to the slave trade, it was really eye-opening to me,” she said. “We left that talk saying, ‘Everybody needs to know this history.’”

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.