Free and Open to the Public. Registration required.  See below

Please join us for a very special afternoon in New York City.  

• 3:30 PM: Wreath-laying at the Lafayette & Washington statue, Lafayette Square, 114th Street and Morningside Avenue.

• 3:50 PM: Walk (5 minutes through the park) from the statue to the Church of Notre Dame where we will be hosted for a special lecture and musical program.

• 4:00 PM: at Notre Dame Church, 405 West 114th Street, there will be a three-part program…

1. Lecture presented by, Diane Shaw, Director of Special Collections Emerita at Lafayette College, titled: “A sanctuary for the rights of mankind”: Lafayette and Human Rights. The Marquis de Lafayette is best known in America for his role in the American Revolution—from his arrival in 1777 as a nineteen-year-old volunteer to his pivotal contributions to the successful culmination of the Yorktown Campaign in 1781. What is less well known is Lafayette’s remarkable role as an advocate for human rights on three continents. This talk will take an in-depth look at Lafayette’s championship of the antislavery movement, which grew out of his experiences in the American Revolution and continued throughout his life. His efforts in the years preceding the French Revolution for the restoration of civil rights to French Protestants and Jews, his friendship for Native Americans, his support for women writers and reformers, and his opposition to solitary confinement and the death penalty will all be discussed.
2. An organ concert featuring period music composed for Lafayette will be performed by Dr. Kalle Toivio, as well as…
3.  A choir performance under the direction of Mr. Kouadio with African traditional and popular music.

• 6:00 PM: Refreshments in the Community Room will conclude this very special program!

Our heartfelt thanks to Rev. Peter A. Heasley, S.Th.D., Pastor, Parish of Corpus Christi and Notre Dame for welcoming us, and to Mme Françoise Cestac, Honorary president, and Prof. Clément Mbom, Board Member of our Society, for facilitating the event.

Free Event – everyone is welcome.

Registration is required by clicking: HERE

An optional donation of $20 at registration will help defray the cost of the program.

Thank you,

Thierry Chaunu

President, American Society of Le Souvenir Français, Inc

AND…..

Chuck Schwam

Executive Director, American Friends of Lafayette