The Militia Act of 1862 made it legal for African American men to enlist in state militias, ultimately leading to the creation of Connecticut’s 29th and 30th Colored Infantry Regiments. During his presentation, Mills will delve into the lives and experiences of some of the men who enlisted in Connecticut’s Colored Regiments, what drove them to enlist and a perspective of our state at the time.  Mills will also discuss his research into past enslaved individuals in Connecticut, highlighting their experiences and his work to acknowledge them.

Bio: John is a trained Genealogist, Independent Scholar, descendant of the enslaved and founder of the Alex Breanne Corporation, a Connecticut-based non-profit.  Alex Breanne Corporation focuses on research, interrogation and presentation of lesser-known stories representing the life experiences of the American enslaved, presented from an African American perspective. John focuses on unearthing little- known people and stories, then injecting them into the landscape of the communities where they lived and worked through art, monuments and honorary street names.  John’s goal is to remember the forgotten, as well as to apply critical thinking to our history as a means to find solutions to the many ripple effects today.