On April 27, Debra Bruno and Eleanor Mire joined the Irvington Historical Society, Irvington Library and Commemorate for a talk and book signing. The recording of the talk will soon be available on the Irvington Historical Society YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrUN9nMQoiZ9WsNuHuTm_HJ97H91PeieT).

Debra Bruno is a freelance writer and journalist who has written on a wide variety of subjects, reflecting her experiences while traveling and living in China with her family.  Her articles were published in the Washington Post, the Wall St Journal and the Atlantic.

Debra says her world changed when she discovered her Dutch descended ancestors in the Hudson Valley had been enslavers.  Using her skills as a journalist, she delved into her family history with the help of a friend and relative Eleanor Mire, someone she discovered in the research process. Eleanor is a descendant of those enslaved people.

Debra’s book on the subject is titled A Hudson Valley Reckoning: Discovering the Forgotten History of Slave Holding in my Dutch American Family.