FLCC to host online talk on Black Revolutionary War soldiers

The author's research began with her family's oral history.

Finger Lakes Community College will host an online talk Wednesday, Feb. 11, by Shirley L. Green, author of a book about free Black men who fought during the Revolutionary War.

The talk will begin at 7 p.m. on Webex and the FLCC YouTube channel.

Green’s 2023 book is titled “Revolutionary Blacks: Discovering the Frank Brothers, Freeborn Men of Color, Soldiers of Independence.” The 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence takes place this year.

It tells the story of William and Benjamin Frank, who joined the Second Rhode Island Regiment in 1777. The brothers became part of a cohort of free Black soldiers serving in an integrated Continental Army. Green takes the reader on a journey based on her family’s history, rooted in its oral tradition. The author uses archival research, interviews, and DNA evidence to authenticate and expand the family’s oral history.

Green earned a doctorate in history from Bowling Green State University after 26 years in law enforcement. She is an adjunct professor of history at the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University.

Green’s talk marks Black History Month and is part of the History Culture and Diversity Series, organized by Robert Brown, professor of history.

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