Annual Peace Conference Explores the American Experience

In conjunction with its Annual Humanities Program, Northampton Community College (NCC) hosted its annual Peace Conference on October 22 at the Bethlehem campus. This year’s conference invited guest speakers and NCC community members to discuss various aspects of what comprises “the American experience.” 

“Are we [the U.S.] perfect? We’re a work in progress,” said Gerri Bunnion O’Dowd, instructional coordinator/science coordinator at NCC’s Science Resource Center. “But people still want to come here. We [panelists] all want to stay here; none of us are going back.”  

Bunnion O’Dowd was among the speakers for the My American Experience Panel, which also featured Beatriz Messina, associate professor of counseling; Guy Patra, assistant professor of biology; Jonathan Forrester, adjunct instructor of geography; and Tung-To Lam, principal of Bohler and a member of Palmer Township’s zoning hearing board. 

Like Bunnion O’Dowd, who was born in the U.K. and raised in Ireland before immigrating to the U.S., the panelists all agreed that an important part of their American experience is opportunity.  

Patra noted that “the American dream is to be what you want to be,” while Messina said her mother possessed a “go-getter” spirit that led her to immigrate to the U.S. from Costa Rica with a 12-year-old Messina in tow. Messina considers that attitude to be a distinctly American trait and one that has served her well as she pursued a career as a licensed social worker and as she helps students overcome challenges to chase their own dreams.   

Forrester urged the audience not to take their American rights for granted, particularly the right to vote. His family members, he said, were often persecuted in their countries and did not enjoy the freedoms he does in the U.S.  

“I learned in grade school that America is for everyone, which is different than the stories from my parents and grandparents,” said Forrester, whose mother was an immigrant and grandmother a refugee. “I’m really free here; they never were [in their countries].” 

The morning session also featured discussions on the Fourth Crow Narrative, presented by Adam DePaul of the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania, and Moravian Pacificism, presented by Scott Gordon, professor of English at Lehigh University. Gordon’s talk particularly focused on the Moravian settlers in Bethlehem and their views on nonviolence during the American Revolution.  

Lehigh Valley Justice Institute (LVJI) presented an Injustice Mapping Workshop during the afternoon session. LVJI unveiled its Injustice Map at last year’s conference. The interactive map of the Lehigh Valley features data sets from six key areas: demographics, education, healthcare, economics, criminal justice, and the environment.  

Rounding out the day, Sol Levy, professor of history, offered a foreword discussion prior to a free film screening of The Harder They Fall at the Frank Banko Alehouse Cinema at ArtsQuest in Bethlehem. The Harder They Fall is a western that tells the story of outlaw Nat Love, who sets out with his gang to take down enemy Rufus Buck, a ruthless crime boss recently out of prison. Levy framed the fictional narrative to highlight the pivotal contributions made by real-life Black and Indigenous historical figures that have shaped the U.S. and to highlight voices often excluded from mainstream discussion. 

The theme for this year’s Annual Humanities Program is “We the People: Reflecting Back, Building Forward” in honor of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. The program builds upon NCC’s original designation by the National Endowment for the Humanities as a “We the People” institution, a distinction that placed NCC among an elite group committed to strengthening the teaching, study, and understanding of American history and culture. NCC is part of the America250PA Lehigh Valley and Monroe County groups. 

The program will culminate with a keynote lecture by Annette Gordon-Reed, accomplished historian, author, and professor, on April 14, 2026. Gordon-Reed is the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University and has won 16 book prizes, including the Pulitzer Prize in History in 2009 and the National Book Award in 2008. She is the author of The Hemingses of Monticello and On Juneteenth. Her acclaimed work explores American history, law, and race, and has earned her a MacArthur Fellowship in addition to her numerous national honors. Her lecture will be free and open to the public. More information, including ticket reservations, will be found here.