Thomas DeWolf, author and the descendant of a slave-trading family, will be the honored lecturer at Park University's 2009 Spencer Cave Black History Month Lecture Series. DeWolf will lecture on Monday, Feb. 23, in the McCoy Meetin' House starting at 7 p.m. with a book signing to follow.

In addition, Park's history and social studies programs will host a screening of the documentary film, "Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North," produced and directed by DeWolf's distant cousin Katrina Browne. DeWolf is featured in the film and it inspired him to write the companion book Inheriting the Trade: A Northern Family Confronts its Legacy as the Largest Slave-Trading Dynasty in U.S. History. The film will be shown on Sunday, Feb. 8, also at 7 p.m. in the McCoy Meetin' House. Both events are free and open to the public.

According to Timothy Westcott, Ph.D., associate professor of history and chair of the Department of Social Science, the book and film are promoted in the spirit of reconciliation and historic healing. "Due to the recent, and continued, issue of race and reconciliation in the recent presidential campaign, DeWolf's visit will be an appropriate opportunity for Park University and the Greater Kansas City area community to continue this important dialogue," Westcott said.

In 2001, DeWolf traveled with Browne and eight additional distant cousins to the ancestral family home in Rhode Island, the slave dungeons of West Africa and former sugar and coffee plantations in Cuba to film their journey of retracing the steps of their ancestors through the notorious triangle trade. "Traces of the Trade" premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

The work of DeWolf has been described as one that "illuminates a path toward a more hopeful future, and provides a persuasive argument that the legacy of slavery isn’t merely a Southern issue, but an enduring American one."

DeWolf is a descendant of the brother of Mark Antony DeWolf, the first participant in the "most successful slave-trading family in United States history." The DeWolf family resided in Bristol, R.I. and transported at least 10,000 Africans to the Americas.

Inheriting the Trade is a "powerful and disarmingly honest memoir of the journey in which 10 family members re-trace the steps of their ancestors and uncover the hidden history of New England and other northern states. With searing candor, DeWolf tackles both the internal and external challenges of his journey -- writing frankly about feelings of shame, white male privilege, the complicity of churches, America’s historic amnesia regarding slavery -- and our  nation’s desperate need for healing."

DeWolf was born and raised in Pomona, Calif. He graduated from Northwest Christian College and the University of Oregon. He has served on the Oregon Arts Commission and chaired the Tower Theatre Foundation which successfully raised more than $4 million to renovate a historic downtown theatre in Bend, Ore. The renovated theatre is now known as the "center stage" for local and international performances.

DeWolf has discussed his work on numerous radio talk shows, in newspaper articles and on national television programs on C-SPAN and CBS.

For more information about DeWolf and his works, including his documentary and book, visit www.inheritingthetrade.com or www.tracesofthetrade.org. For more information about the Spencer Cave Black History Month Lecture Series, visit www.park.edu/blackhistory or contact Westcott at tim.westcott@park.edu or (816) 584-6364.