Overview

Mary Frances has been a college teacher for 20 years and has given lectures and presentations as well as led discussions for live and online students. She’s done public speaking about her environmental and historical research along with talks to her city council and community organizations about issues that matter to her in her community of Springfield, Illinois. Being a Road Scholar allows her to share her passion for African American history, research, and public speaking with audiences outside her community.

Presentation 1

Untold African American Stories

Mary will give a brief story about each one of the ten large images of African Americans in her presentation and encourage audience engagement about how they feel and think about the images.

Program Topics

  • African American
  • Storytelling
  • History
  • Illinois

Program Logistics

This one-hour program includes a 30 minutes PowerPoint presentation and 30 minutes of discussion. Visuals are presented using the speaker’s laptop and HDMI cord. A television or projector is necessary.



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About the Road Scholar

Mary Frances

Mary Frances
KODAK Digital Still Camera

Mary Frances is originally from western Pennsylvania and has lived in Springfield, Illinois for 34 years. For the last twenty years, Frances has been a college teacher, researcher, artist, and author as well as community activist. Her current focus is on untold African American stories, which has recently culminated in her first book—African Americans in Springfield.

Learn More and Follow Mary

Back to the 2023 – 2024 Road Scholar Roster

Book this Road Scholar

Follow the steps below to book a presentation.

Step 1
Contact Mary to schedule a date and time via email at owl2810@protonmail.com.

Step 2
Once you and Mary have agreed upon a date and time, complete the Road Scholars Host Organization application.

Back to the 2023 – 2024 Road Scholar Roster