By David J. Kent
Washington D.C.
Monday, September 13, 2021
Back in mid-July, I was happy to report that the Lincoln Group of DC was going back to live, in-person, programming. What a difference a couple of months makes. As readers will already have seen, our October meeting with Ron White, originally planned as a big in-person luncheon shindig complete with special surprises, is not going to happen. Ron has rightfully reconsidered his travel to the east coast because of the pandemic. Instead, Ron will give us a virtual presentation on October 19th.
While we expected the COVID pandemic to have weakened as people received the free and easy to obtain vaccines, the reality is that too many people remain unvaccinated. Because of that, COVID cases have again increased.
This fact has led the Lincoln Group Board to reevaluate our plans. As of now, the Lincoln Group will continue with virtual, Zoom-based lecture meetings for the rest of this year [See details below]. We are scheduled for our annual joint, in-person, meeting with the Civil War Roundtable of the District of Columbia (CWRTDC) in February 2022. That is now expected to be our first in-person meeting. If pandemic conditions allow, we will continue with in-person meetings after that time.
The situation remains fluid, so we appreciate your patience. Please keep checking back to our Lincolnian.org website for updates.
The switch to Zoom-based virtual meetings does have its advantages. There are two huge benefits of going virtual:
We could reach our members now spread across the United States
We could attract stellar speakers previously unavailable to us because of the costs of distance or scheduling limitations
But we also miss our live social interactions. As we move forward, we plan to continue with a schedule of both virtual and in-person meetings. Both take time and finances to undertake, and donations and volunteers are always welcome. Your support is critical to the continuing, and expanding, role of the Lincoln Group of DC (including plans for a Lincoln Memorial Centennial event in May 2022). [There's a "Donate" button on the top right of this page. Any amount is appreciated. Feel free to make it a continuing donation.]
So as of now, here is our expected schedule of events. Put them on your calendar!
September 21: James Oakes on The Crooked Path to Abolition [Zoom - RSVP here]
September 25: Our Annual Tour and Picnic Returns! See this post for details!
October 19: Ron White on Lincoln in Private [Zoom - RSVP here]
November 14-19: We'll see you at the Lincoln Forum in Gettysburg!
December 7: Was Lincoln Audacious, or Cautious? A special Zoom event where the Lincoln Group will debate Lincoln's modus operandi.
January 2022: To be determined [Zoom]
February 2022: Joint meeting with the CWRTDC featuring Allen Guelzo and Michael Burlingame! [Expected to be In-Person]
March 2022: Abraham Lincoln Institute Symposium at Ford's Theatre [In-Person]
April 2022: To be determined [In-Person, Maggiano's]
May 2022: Lincoln Memorial Centennial commemoration with the National Park Service on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial
September 2022: Book Launch Party!
We hope to add some additional special events, so keep checking back here!
David Kent is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America (Fall River Press: New York, 2017) and is the president of the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia (ed).