“The Grand Army of the Republic: How Warrior Identity and Survivor Obligation Drove Union Veterans to Fight Jim Crow” will be the topic of the Belfast Historical Society’s meeting, Monday, May 19, at 7 p.m., in the Abbott Room at the Belfast Free Library.

Stephen A. Goldman, M.D., psychiatrist and Civil War historian, will discuss how and why Union veterans assumed critical roles as moral and political forces, particularly through the nation’s most prominent biracial postwar organization, the Grand Army of the Republic. While avowedly apolitical, the GAR was a stalwart bloc in support of landmark Republican initiatives on behalf of African Americans after Reconstruction’s end, and beyond. As Jim Crow took hold on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line, Dr. Goldman will detail the GAR’s fight against bigotry and racism in two major areas: quality public education and social equality.

Stephen A. Goldman, M.D. is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, war historian, public health expert, and the only physician to serve on the Abraham Lincoln Institute Board of Directors. His having treated and worked with those who have been in combat, in-depth study of America’s veterans that spans 160 years, and their ramifications, are all exemplified in the groundbreaking book, One More War to Fight: Union Veterans’ Battle for Equality through Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Lost Cause.

The Belfast Historical Society presents talks of local historical interest on the 4th Monday of the month from April through October. All presentations are in the Abbott Room at the Belfast Free Library and are open to the public. Seating is limited to 75.

FMI visit BelfastMuseum.org or call 207 338-9229.

These programs will be recorded and can be viewed on Belfast Community Television and on the museum website.