Weston Library Hosts Poet David Mills For Northern Slavery Program

WESTON, CT — The Weston Public Library will host "Unhired Hands," a storytelling and poetry program by David Mills, on Sunday, February 1, 2026. The event, scheduled for 3 p.m., will explore the history of slavery in the Northern United States during the 18th century. The program will take place at the library, located at 56 Norfield Road in Weston.

David Mills, an award-winning poet, actor, and playwright, will interweave poetry with stories of individuals affected by slavery. The program is free to attend, but advanced registration is recommended through the Weston Public Library's calendar.

"Unhired Hands" is presented in honor of Black History Month and serves as the kickoff for the "America 250: The Revolutionary Spirit Lecture Series." This series is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Weston Public Library, The Weston History & Culture Center, and the League of Women Voters of Weston. Financial support for the event comes from the Weston America 250 Committee.

The program will highlight the experiences of slaves, including Millie Tunnell, who served George Washington, and Onesimus, an African man enslaved by Puritan preacher Cotton Mather. Mills will also share the story of Victoria Earle Matthews, an enslaved woman who later became a celebrated writer and leader.

Carl Ballenas, Maple Grove Cemetery Historian, stated that Mills' poems "travel from the plantations of the South to historic cemeteries of Queens," and unearth "slavery’s erasures with lyrical power." Mills' recent books, "Unhired Hands" and "How the Earth Answers," both focus on slavery in the North.

David Mills holds an MFA from Warren Wilson College and an MA from New York University, both in creative writing, along with a B.A. from Yale University. He has published four previous poetry collections and is currently on a fellowship at the Cullman Center of the New York Public Library.