Join the Sharon Historical Society, in collaboration with The Block by Nova Destinations, as we host “Beware the Black Hand! Early Organized Crime in Ohio and Pennsylvania: True Crime & Cocktails,” a unique, lecture with an alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage included. Author Sean Posey explores the history of the dreaded Black Hand criminal society, which terrorized Italian immigrants during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the Mahoning and Shenango Valleys.

Organized crime is a hot topic for many in the Mahoning and Shenango Valleys. There are stories about the hold that the mafia had on the area during the 1900s, but the idea of organized crime started long before that. Many immigrants to the United States in the 1800s were threatened by a very dark, and terrifying secret group known as “the Black Hand” that extorted people for money. People would often receive a threatening letter with a black hand imprinted on it, some were kidnapped, others would lose their home or business to arson, and many were murdered at the hands of this group.

We will explore the beginnings of organized crime, and trace the evolution of the dreaded Black Hand secret society and its reign of terror in Ohio and Pennsylvania during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

This lecture is provided by author Sean T. Posey, freelance writer and historian. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Photojournalism from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and a Master’s degree in History from Youngstown State University. His work has been featured in a variety of publications, including Citylab, Salon and Bill Moyers and Company, as well as in the books “Car Bombs to Cookie Tables: The Youngstown Anthology” and the “Pittsburgh Anthology.” The History Press released Sean’s first two books: “Lost Youngstown” and “Historic Theaters of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley.” His most recent book, “Hidden History of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley,” hit shelves in 2022.

This event requires tickets to be purchased in advance on our website HERE which are $20 per person and include an alcoholic or two non-alcoholic beverages.

The event will be at The Block by Nova Destinations second-floor, 23 Chestnut Avenue, Sharon, PA 16146 on Thursday, May 2, 2024, at 6:00 pm.