harriet tubman

HARRIET TUBMAN Home Freedom Tour Memoriam Photo Gallery Contact Us

March 10th is Harriet Tubman Day since 1990. First suggested Global Holiday for all Women & their Families throughout the world. Women deservestheir first HOLIDAY. Why not March 10th? Congratulations! Harriet Tubman Day Freedom Scholarship 2011 recipient, Mr. Nickolas Ryan Spikes,Tuskegee University. Harriet Tubman welcomes over three-million viewers since its grand opening and counting. Contact: Lucreatia Wilson, Star HillAME Church, Delaware Underground Railroad tours. (302) 697. 9903.

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Camden Meeting House

Star Hill A.M.E. Church

Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park

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City of Fernandina BeachHARRIET TUBMAN PROCLAMATION

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HARRIET TUBMAN http://www.harriettubman.com/

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Charles Blockson

Kostmayer - H.R. 3863

Sen. Paul Simon (IL) S. 2809

Delaware Freedom Trail SB 186

Advisory Committee Underground Railroad

NPS Underground Railroad Study

Congressman Louis Stokes H.R. 1635

Sen. Moseley-Braun- S. 887

Underground Railroad Network To Freedom

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

Free For Christmas By Lerone Bennett, Jr.

New Statue For Harriet Tubman

Bridge Named To Honor Tubman

They Called Her Moses

Harriet Tubman Banquet: Cambridge, MD.

Charles Nalle

Heritage Production Co.

Delaware Trail Of Courage

Tubman Honored, Ghana, West Africa

Remembering Yolanda King

Picture courtesyof CayugaMuseum(Click picture toenlarge)

Harriet Tubman"The Conductor"By Carl A. Pierce(click picture toenlarge)

In Memory ofHarriet Tubman(click picture toenlarge)

download proclamation


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The time for the program has been change to Saturday Mar. 21, 2015 at 1:00 PM

For More information contact 302-697-9903


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The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For Immediate Release March 25, 2013

Presidential Proclamation Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad

National Monument

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HARRIET TUBMAN UNDERGROUND RAILROAD NATIONAL MONUMENT - - - - -- -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Harriet Tubman is an American hero. She was born enslaved, liberated herself, and returned to the area of her birth many times to leadfamily, friends, and other enslaved African Americans north to freedom. Harriet Tubman fought tirelessly for the Union cause, for the rightsof enslaved people, for the rights of women, and for the rights of all. She was a leader in the struggle for civil rights who was forevermotivated by her love of family and community and by her deep and abiding faith.

Born Araminta Ross in 1822 in Dorchester County, Maryland, on the plantation where her parents were enslaved, she took the name"Harriet" at the time she married John Tubman, a free black man, around 1844. Harriet Tubman lived and worked enslaved in this areafrom her childhood until she escaped to freedom at age 27 in 1849. She returned to Dorchester County approximately 13 times to freefamily, friends, and other enslaved African Americans, becoming one of the most prominent "conductors" on the Underground Railroad. In1859, she purchased a farm in Auburn, New York, and established a home for her family and others, which anchored the remaining yearsof her life. In the Civil War she supported the Union forces as a scout, spy, and nurse to African-American soldiers on battlefields and laterat Fort Monroe, Virginia. After the war, she established the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged, which institutionalized a pattern of her life-- caring for African Americans in need.

In 1868, the great civil rights leader Frederick Douglass wrote to Harriet Tubman:

I have had the applause of the crowd and the satisfaction that comes of being approved by the multitude, while the most that you havedone has been witnessed by a few trembling, scarred, and foot-sore bondmen and women, whom you have led out of the house ofbondage, and whose heartfelt "God bless you" has been your only reward. The midnight sky and the silent stars have been the witnessesof your devotion to freedom and of your heroism.

The "midnight sky and the silent stars" and the Dorchester County landscape of Harriet Tubman's homeland remain much as they were inher time there. If she were to return to this area today, Harriet Tubman would recognize it.

It was in the flat, open fields, marsh, and thick woodlands of Dorchester County that Tubman became physically and spiritually strong.Many of the places in which she grew up and worked still remain. Stewart's Canal at the western edge of this historic area was constructedover 20 years by enslaved and free African Americans. This 8-mile long waterway, completed in the 1830s, connected Parsons Creek andBlackwater River with Tobacco Stick Bay (known today as Madison Bay) and opened up some of Dorchester's more remote territory fortimber and agricultural products to be shipped to Baltimore markets. Tubman lived near here while working for John T. Stewart. The canal,the waterways it opened to the Chesapeake Bay, and the Blackwater River were the means of conveying goods, lumber, and those seekingfreedom. And the small ports were places for connecting the enslaved with the world outside the Eastern Shore, places on the path northto freedom.

Near the canal is the Jacob Jackson Home Site, 480 acres of flat farmland, woodland, and wetland that was the site of one of the first safehouses along the Underground Railroad. Jackson was a free black man to whom Tubman appealed for assistance in 1854 in attempting toretrieve her brothers and who, because he was literate, would have been an important link in the local communication network. The JacobJackson Home Site has been donated to the United States.

Further reinforcing the historical significance and integrity of these sites is their proximity to other important sites of Tubman's life andwork. She was born in the heart of this area at Peter's Neck at the end of Harrisville Road, on the farm of Anthony Thompson. Nearby isthe farm that belonged to Edward Brodess, enslaver of Tubman's mother and her children. The James Cook Home Site is where Tubmanwas hired out as a child. She remembered the harsh treatment she received here, long afterward recalling that even when ill, she wasexpected to wade into swamps throughout the cold winter to haul muskrat traps. A few miles from the James Cook Home Site is theBucktown Crossroads, where a slave overseer hit the 13-year-old Tubman with a heavy iron as she attempted to protect a young fleeingslave, resulting in an injury that affected Tubman for the rest of her life. A quarter mile to the north are Scotts Chapel and the associatedAfrican-American graveyard. The church was founded in 1812 as a Methodist congregation. Later, in the mid-19th century, AfricanAmericans split off from the congregation and formed Bazel Church. Across from Scotts Chapel is an African-American graveyard withheadstones dating to 1792.

Bazel Church is located nearby on a 1-acre clearing edged by the road and otherwise surrounded by cultivated fields and forest. Accordingto tradition, this is where African Americans worshipped outdoors during Tubman's time.

The National Park Service has found this landscape in Dorchester County to be nationally significant because of its deep association withTubman and the Underground Railroad. It is representative of the landscape of this region in the early and mid-19th century whenenslavers and enslaved worked the farms and forests. This is the landscape where free African Americans and the enslaved led aclandestine movement of people out of slavery towards the North Star of freedom. These sites were places where enslaved and freeAfrican Americans intermingled. Moreover, these sites fostered an environment that enabled free individuals to provide aid and guidance tothose enslaved who were seeking freedom. This landscape, including the towns, roads, and paths within it, and its critical waterways, was


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the means for communication and the path to freedom. The Underground Railroad was everywhere within it.

Much of the landscape in Dorchester County that is Harriet Tubman's homeland, including a portion of Stewart's Canal, is now part ofBlackwater National Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge provides vital habitat for migratory birds, fish, and wildlife that are components of thishistoric landscape. Management of the Refuge by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has played an important role in the protection of muchof the historic landscape that was formative to Harriet Tubman's life and experiences. The Refuge has helped to conserve the landscapesince 1933 and will continue to conserve, manage, and restore this diverse assemblage of wetlands, uplands, and aquatic habitats thatplay such an important role in telling the story of the cultural history of the area. In the midst of this landscape, the State of Maryland isdeveloping the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park on a 17-acre parcel. The State of Maryland and the Federal Governmentwill work closely together in managing these special places within their respective jurisdictions to preserve this critically important era inAmerican history.

Harriet Tubman is revered by many as a freedom seeker and leader of the Underground Railroad. Although Harriet Tubman is knownwidely, no Federal commemorative site has heretofore been established in her honor, despite the magnitude of her contributions and hernational and international stature.

WHEREAS members of the Congress, the Governor of Maryland, the City of Cambridge, and other State, local, and private interests haveexpressed support for the timely establishment of a national monument in Dorchester County commemorating Harriet Tubman and theUnderground Railroad to protect the integrity of the evocative landscape and preserve its historic features;

WHEREAS section 2 of the Act of June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 225, 16 U.S.C. 431) (the "Antiquities Act"), authorizes the President, in hisdiscretion, to declare by public proclamation historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientificinterest that are situated upon the lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States to be national monuments, and toreserve as a part thereof parcels of land, the limits of which in all cases shall be confined to the smallest area compatible with the propercare and management of the objects to be protected;

WHEREAS it is in the public interest to preserve and protect the objects of historic and scientific interest associated with Harriet Tubmanand the Underground Railroad in Dorchester County, Maryland;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by section 2 of theAntiquities Act, hereby proclaim, set apart, and reserve as the Harriet Tubman -- Underground Railroad National Monument (monument),the objects identified above and all lands and interests in lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States within theboundaries described on the accompanying map, which is attached to and forms a part of this proclamation, for the purpose of protectingthose objects. These reserved Federal lands and interests in lands encompass approximately 11,750 acres, which is the smallest areacompatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected.

All Federal lands and interests in lands within the boundaries of this monument are hereby appropriated and withdrawn from all forms ofentry, location, selection, sale, leasing, or other disposition under the public land laws, including withdrawal from location, entry, andpatent under the mining laws, and from disposition under all laws relating to mineral and geothermal leasing.

The establishment of this monument is subject to valid existing rights. Lands and interests in lands within the boundaries of the monumentthat are not owned or controlled by the United States shall be reserved as part of the monument upon acquisition of ownership or controlby the United States.

The Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) shall manage the monument through the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and WildlifeService, pursuant to their respective applicable legal authorities, to implement the purposes of this proclamation. The National Park Serviceshall have the general responsibility for administration of the monument, including the Jacob Jackson Home Site, subject to theresponsibility and jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to administer the portions of the national monument that are within theNational Wildlife Refuge System. When any additional lands and interests in lands are hereafter acquired by the United States within themonument boundaries, the Secretary shall determine whether such lands will be administered as part of the National Park System or theNational Wildlife Refuge System. Hunting and fishing within the National Wildlife Refuge System shall continue to be administered by theU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in accordance with the provisions of the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act and otherapplicable laws.

Consistent with applicable laws, the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shall enter into appropriate arrangementsto share resources and services necessary to properly manage the monument. Consistent with applicable laws, the National Park Serviceshall offer to enter into appropriate arrangements with the State of Maryland for the efficient and effective cooperative management of themonument and the Harriet Tubman -- Underground Railroad State Park.

The Secretary shall prepare a management plan for the monument, with full public involvement, within 3 years of the date of thisproclamation. The management plan shall ensure that the monument fulfills the following purposes for the benefit of present and futuregenerations: (1) to preserve the historic and scientific resources identified above, (2) to commemorate the life and work of HarrietTubman, and (3) to interpret the story of the Underground Railroad and its significance to the region and the Nation as a whole. Themanagement plan shall set forth, among other provisions, the desired relationship of the monument to other related resources, programs,and organizations in the region and elsewhere.

Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to revoke any existing withdrawal, reservation, or appropriation; however, the monumentshall be the dominant reservation.

Warning is hereby given to all unauthorized persons not to appropriate, injure, destroy, or remove any feature of the monument and not tolocate or settle upon any of the lands thereof.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and ofthe Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

BARACK OBAMA

www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/03/25/presidential-proclamation-harriet-tubman-underground-railroad-national-m


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INTERNATIONAL BLACK HISTORY NEWS

Canada to Honor International Icon Harriet Tubman, as a National historic Person, at May 27, 2011 Plaque Unveiling in St. Catharines,Ontario

British Methodist Episcopal ChurchSalem Chapel92 Geneva StreetSt. Catharines, OntarioL2R 4N2Tel. (905) 984-6769


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Whereas, the British Methodist Methodist Episcopal Church at 93 Geneva Street wasthe place of worship and the source of strength and encouragement for Harriet Tubman and her people, and continues today to be a placeof worship and a repository of black culture and heritagefor many of their descendants. Mayor Joseph L. McCafferyHarriet Tubman Day, March 10, 1990 (view proclamation)

Harriet Tubman 1993 Plaque Program (view program)Letter From St. Catharines (download)

Commemorating the 100th Memorial Anniversary of

Harriet TubmanAt the Salem Chapel, BME Church NHS, 92 Geneva St.,

St. Catharines, ON L2R 4K9 905-682-0993

The Annual Harriet Tubman Day Dinner

Saturday, March 09, 2013

General Tubman: Celebrating the Mission In combination with International Womens Day Let Freedom Reign! Special musical tribute byWomEnchant, poetry readings, local dignitaries, guest speakers and more at 3:00 p.m. Free admission! Fooddonations for Community Care would be greatly appreciated.

Dinner to follow the celebration. Tickets are $20.00 per adult and $12.00 for children under 10.

The Harriet Tubman 100th Memorial Anniversary Tribute Sunday, March 10, 2013

Celebrating her dedication to Almighty God

Special religious tribute with local clergy guest speakers at 3:00 p.m. In honour of Harriet Tubman who wasdeeply religious, selfless and giving, ALL monetary free will offerings will be donated to Community Care. Allare welcome to attend!

Harriet Tubman's friends and fellow abolitionists claimed that the source of her strength came from her faith in God asdeliverer and protector of the weak. "I always told God," she said, "'I'm going to hold steady on to you, and you've got tosee me through."

Harriet Tubman said she would listen carefully to the voice of God as she led slaves north, and she would only go whereshe felt God was leading her. Fellow abolitionist Thomas Garrett said of her, "I never met any person of any color who hadmore confidence in the voice of God."

A listing of the yearlong centennial events can be found at


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www.harriettubmancanada.com or www.salemchapelbmechurch.ca

Harriet Tubman finally gets her plaque

There is tough. And then there is Harriet Tubman tough.

She looks as stern and hard as a human being can in old photographs. Unsmiling and steely eyed, Tubman's face gives every impression ofa woman who means business. But there are reasons for that.

During one of her treks into Canada leading slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad from the United States, the iconic freedomfighter developed serious problems with her teeth. Serious enough that it should have stopped her in her tracks.

But when you are an outlaw on the run, flaunting the racist laws of state and federal governments, there isn't time to stop.

"Tubman herself was fierce she pulled out her own teeth," said Rochelle Bush, church historian for the Salem chapel at the BritishMethodist Episcopal Church on Geneva St. Friday. "As she was guiding freedom seekers north to Canada, she pulled out her teeth becausethey were driving her crazy. That's why she doesn't smile."

Bush regaled the audience that packed the church Friday morning as part of a ceremony to unveil a Parks Canada historical plaquecommemorating Tubman's role as a critical conductor of the railroad, a loosely connected series of safe-houses African-American slavesused to escape to freedom in Canada.

The church was one of the final points on the railroad and Tubman took up residence in St. Catharines for about a decade, Bush said.

The plaque was actually issued years before, but because of a squabble over how it presented Tubman's birth date it was kept in storageat Fort George in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Bush and others took issue with the plaque giving Tubman's birth date as 1822. In fact, Tubman's exact date of birth is unknown, so Bushinsisted the plaque read "circa. 1822."


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It wasn't until St. Catharines MP Rick Dykstra got involved that a new plaque was produced with the letter "c" added before the year.

"This has been a long time coming," Bush said before the unveiling.

However, when she presented a short history of Tubman's life the original plaque's gaffe came back to haunt her.

"Tubman, born in 1822," she said before stopping herself.

"Circa. 1822," she said, laughing. "Circa!"

The plaque will be displayed at the BME Church.

[email protected]

Plaque will Honor Harriet Tubman Finally!

Dispute over Tubman's birth date settled

By MARLENE BERGSMA/QMI Agency

ST. CATHARINES A dispute over the date of Harriet Tubman's birth means a plaque honoring her as a person of national importancehas been in storage since 2005, because members of the British Methodist Episcopal Church in St. Catharines refused to allow it to beerected. A person born into slavery in the United States would never know the date of her birth, said BME Church historian Rochelle Bushon Sunday, as the Salem Chapel celebrated the 160th anniversary of Tubman's arrival in St. Catharines. "They were like dogs, likepossessions. There were no records." So when, in 2005, Parks Canada made Tubman only the second person in St. Catharines to begiven the national honor (she joined William Hamilton Merritt) and prepared a plaque marking her significance, BME Church memberswere dismayed at the date given for her birth. The large metal plaque indicated she had been born in 1820.

"Proclaiming we know exactly when she was born would be wrong," Bush said. "Marking it would be a dishonor to her and to ourhistory." And it would have been confusing, because a provincial plaque erected outside the church says Tubman was born "circa 1820" correctly indicating a level of uncertainty of which the church members approved. So because of a missing "C," the federal plaque hasbeen languishing in storage at Fort George in Niagara-on-the-Lake ever since. It wasn't until St. Catharines MP Rick Dykstra took up thecase with Parks Canada that the dispute was finally resolved, Bush said.

Speaking at the church service Sunday afternoon, Dykstra said he has long considered Tubman a personal hero because of the "definingmoment" when she decided to risk her own freedom to help others. He said Parks Canada staff didn't want to scrap the sign they hadcommissioned, but he decided to intervene on behalf of the church. "I really wanted that plaque to go up, but the church said you can'tinstall it unless it's correct," he said afterward. "I am very pleased to be able to tell you that this situation has now been resolved andthat a new plaque is being prepared and will be unveiled in May," Dykstra said. Bush said Tubman's national distinction was neverpublicized because of the dispute over her birth. Now that the dispute has been resolved, the plaque can be installed.

St. Catharines Mayor Brian McMullan said it's important to remember the contribution of Tubman and others who fought for freedom,"because we are the beneficiaries of what they fought for." Rev. Jason Haynes, pastor of Zion Baptist Church, said it was also importantto remember Tubman was inspired by her deep religious faith, and her conviction that God was calling her to risk her life for the freedomof others. "There would be no Harriet Tubman without Jesus Christ," said Haynes. "She affirmed it herself, she loved the Lord, and shedid what she did not just because she loved people but because she loved the Lord." Haynes said the entire abolitionist movement wasfounded on Christian principles.

"Most abolitionists, whether they were black or white, were Christians who loved the Lord," said Haynes. "And the greatest abolitionistI've ever known is my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. You are not really free unless you know him." Haynes said people who want torecognized Tubman must acknowledge what motivated her. "We honor Harriet Tubman by honoring our God and Savior Jesus Christ," hesaid. McMullan said he hopes the vacant lot behind the church will one day be the site of a black history museum. "I have a dream,"McMullan said, "and in my dream there is a building in that spot. Perhaps some day, in the not too distant future, we will all be able tocelebrate a national historic museum."

St. Catharines Standard 3/7/2011 article

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3008262

Well and Tribune, Niagara, ON Region 3/7/2011 article with several photos

http://www.wellandtribune.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3008311&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway

Before the Civil War, African American Freedom Seekersfled north to freedom through a combination of people andlandscapes that became known as the "Underground Railroad." As the last slave state, Delaware was a critical leg to freedom.Harriet Tubman and other "conductors" led more than 3,000Freedom Seekers through Delaware. Wilmington, QuakerThomas Garrett, was influential on orchestrating theUnderground Railroad network in Delaware throughorganization of members and safe locations.

more


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Harriet Tubman sculpture unveiled in St. Catharines

Posted By JULIE GRECO/QMI Agency

A bust of Harriet Tubman was unveiled in the garden next to the British Methodist Episcopal Churchon Geneva St., St. Catharines. The bust was made by artist Frank Rekrut who is seen beingphotographed by the bust. JULIE JOCSAK Standard Staff

ST. CATHARINES Harriet Tubman has always had a strong historical presence at the British MethodistEpiscopal Church in St. Catharines, but now that presence is concrete.

A stone bust of the famed Underground Railroad conductor was unveiled at the church Monday, surrounded by anew meditation garden.

The celebration marked a collaboration that transformed a dead lawn at the church at 92 Geneva St. into a stonepath, garden and focal point.

"A lot of people's hearts went into this project," said Rochelle Bush, church historian and Salem Chapel trustee.

The bust was donated by sculptor Frank Rekrut, who spent months creating the likeness.

The garden project, meanwhile, was financed by the St. Catharines Green Committee and St. CatharinesHorticultural Society and designed by Eco Landscape Design of St. Catharines.

Other donors contributed to the work's installation, benches and a pedestal.

In a remarkable coincidence, Rekrut began working on a Tubman bust prior to learning the church wanted astatue.

He only took up sculpting a few years ago.

When a copy of a bust of a cardinal by Gian Lorenzo Bernini worked out well, he turned his attention to a localsubject.

Rekrut said he often drove by the BME church near work and decided to make a Tubman statue.

Meanwhile, ECO had designed a garden next to the church that included a statue in the design, but it wasn'tsomething the church or green committee could afford to commission.

So when Rekrut called to offer his bust for free, everyone was floored.

"I just thought this was a unique opportunity," he said.

Producing a sculpture from a black and white photograph proved challenging.

"We brought home every book in the library we could find," Rekrut said, referring to himself and wife LauraThompson, who is an oil painter.

"We only found one front-on photo and it's tricky."


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Those gathered Monday were enthusiastic about Rekrut's effort.

Tubman escaped slavery from Maryland in 1849 but continued to make trips to the southern states to help othersfind their freedom.

Eleven of the freedom seekers were brought to St. Catharines in 1851 and joined what is now the BME church,where Tubman herself worshiped.

Bush said the beautification project is in preparation for the 160th anniversary next year of Tubman's first visit toSt. Catharines, when a national historic plaque will be unveiled. In 2013, the 100th anniversary of Tubman'sdeath will also be remembered.

Bush searched far and wide for an appropriate quote to accompany the statue on its pedestal one that wasn'talready being used at other Tubman sites in the U.S.

She found very few quotes from Tubman that were recorded.

"We wanted something unique to St. Catharines," she said. "Needle in a hay stack, but it was there."

The obscure and bold quote Bush discovered seemed appropriate for a woman who risked her life to bring morethan 300 slaves north of the border.

The statue reads: "I wouldn't trust Uncle Sam with my people no longer. I brought them all clear off to Canada."

website link


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More

Better Angels Signs of the Times play by Colin Adams Toomey sponsored by Delaware Humanities Forum.

Photo is of the cast in the back with members of the Garrett family. Pictures taken March 3, 2013 in New CastleCourt House Museum in New Castle, Delaware.

Not Brand or Size, But By Footprint

The Honorable Corrine Brown

3rd District of Florida

2010 CBCF Theme: Celebrating the Vision, Continuing the Journey, Advancing theMission. Passage along the Underground Railroad was a terrible and difficult journey.Some stowed away on boats, trains, or wagons. But the majority of the enslaved escaped


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by foot, traveling largely at night across rivers, hiking through mountains, throughswamps, through rocky and thorny ground without benefit of protective footwear. They ranoften without protection against the cuts, abrasions, and bruises from objects on theground; no protection from frostbite or the parasites, no knowledge of or concern forbrands and styles. They worked hard to leave no footprints behind for slave catchers ordogs to find. Instead, they left unmistakable footprints for us to follow to get beyondslavery, to fight against inequities, to challenge stereotypes and profiles, to stand up toand on the neck of Jim Crow, and to use in sizing the shoes for the feet of those whowould continue the journey to freedom.

We are who we are, not because of the size of our feet; nor can our capacity be determined by the design, cost,or brand of shoe we wear. We have pursued our freedom, we stand, and we move forward in shoes passed downfrom generation to generation, broken in for our benefit. We follow the footprints left by fathers, by mothers, andothers who walked and ran ahead and beside us as courageous youth, bold leaders, heads of households,conductors, weary sojournors, and mentors. Through this session, we celebrate their vision for freedom. Wecontinue their journey. We advance the mission.

Panel Participants

Addie L. Richburg, Moderator President, National Alliance of Faith and JusticeSusan L. Taylor, Speaker Founder and CEO, National Cares Mentoring MovementCheryl T. Grills, Ph.D., Speaker President, Association of Blacks Psychologists, Inc. andAssociate Dean, Bellarmine College of Liberal ArtsCarlvern Dunn, Speaker Historian, Kiamsha Youth Empowerment Organization

More information download pdf

Charter school in tough neighborhood gets all its seniors into college

Urban Prep Academy senior Keith Greer, along with his classmates, celebrates the news they will receive a freeprom in Chicago because 100 percent of the graduating class was accepted into 4-year colleges or universities.(Tribune photo by Heather Charles / March 5, 2010)

The entire senior class at Chicago's only public all-male, all-African-American high school has been accepted tofour-year colleges. At last count, the 107 seniors had earned spots at 72 schools across the nation.

Mayor Richard Daley and Chicago Public Schools chief Ron Huberman surprised students at an all-schoolassembly at Urban Prep Academy for Young Men in Englewood this morning to congratulate them. It's the firstgraduating class at Urban Prep since it opened its doors in 2006.

Huber man applauded the seniors for making CPS shine. "All of you in the senior class have shown that whatmatters is perseverance, what matters is focus, what matters is having a dream and following that dream,"Huberman said.

The school enforces a strict uniform of black blazers, khaki pants and red ties -- with one exception. After astudent receives the news he was accepted into college, he swaps his red tie for a red and gold one at anassembly.

The last 13 students received their college ties today, to thunderous applause.

Ask Rayvaughn Hines what college he was accepted to and he'll answer with a question. "Do you want me toname them all?"

For the 18-year-old from Back of the Yards, college was merely a concept--never a goal--growing up. Even withinthe last three years, he questioned if school, let alone college, was for him. Now, the senior is headed to theprestigious Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga. next fall.


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Hines remembers the moment he put on his red and gold tie. "I wanted to take my time because I was just soproud of myself," he said. "I wanted everyone to see me put it on."

The achievement might not merit a mayoral visit at one of the city's elite, selective enrollment high schools. ButUrban Prep, a charter school that enrolls using a lottery in one of the city's more troubled neighborhoods, faceddifficult odds. Only 4 percent of this year's senior class read at grade level as freshmen, according to Tim King,the school's CEO.

"I never had a doubt that we would achieve this goal," King said. "Every single person we hired knew from theday one that this is what we do: We get our kids into college."

College is omnipresent at the school. Before the students begin their freshman year, they take a field trip toNorthwestern University. Every student is assigned a college counselor the day he steps foot in the school.

The school offers an extended day--170,000 more minutes over four years compared to its counterparts acrossthe city--and more than double the number of English credits usually needed to graduate.

Even the school's voicemail has a student declaring "I am college bound" before it asks callers to dial anextension.

Normally, it takes senior Jerry Hinds two buses and 45 minutes to get home from school. On Dec. 11, the dayUniversity of Illinois at Champaign- Urbana was to post his admission decisions online at 5 p.m., he asked afriend to drive him home.

He went into his bedroom, told his well-wishing mother this was something he had to do alone, closed the doorand logged in. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" he remembers screaming. His mother, who didn't dare stray far, burst in andbegan crying.

That night he made more than 30 phone calls, at times shouting "I got in" on his cell phone and home phone atthe same time. "We're breaking barriers," he said. "And that feels great." www.urbanprep.org

Copyright (c) 2010, Chicago Tribune

SRES 455 ATS 111th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 455

Honoring the life, heroism, and service of Harriet Tubman.IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

March 15, 2010

Mrs. BOXER (for herself, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. SPECTER, Ms. SNOWE, Mr.SCHUMER, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. CARDIN, and Mr. LEVIN)submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

RESOLUTIONHonoring the life, heroism, and service of Harriet Tubman.Whereas Harriet Ross Tubman was born into slavery as Araminta Ross inDorchester County, Maryland, in or around 1820;

Whereas in 1849, Ms. Tubman bravely escaped to freedom, traveling alone for approximately 90 miles toPennsylvania;

Whereas, after escaping slavery, Ms. Tubman participated in the Underground Railroad, a network of routes,people, and houses that helped slaves escape to freedom;

Whereas Ms. Tubman became a `conductor' on the Underground Railroad, courageously leading approximately19 expeditions to help more than 300 slaves to freedom;

Whereas Ms. Tubman served as a spy, nurse, scout, and cook during the Civil War;

Whereas during her service in the Civil War, Ms. Tubman became the first woman in the United States to planand lead a military expedition, which resulted in successfully freeing more than 700 slaves;

Whereas after the Civil War, Ms. Tubman continued to fight for justice and equality, including equal rights forAfrican-Americans and women;

Whereas Ms. Tubman died on March 10, 1913, in Auburn, New York; andWhereas the heroic life of Ms. Tubman continues to serve as an inspiration to the people of the United States:

Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate--

(1) honors the life and courageous heroism of Harriet Tubman;(2) recognizes the great contributions made by Harriet Tubman throughout her lifelong service and commitmentto liberty, justice, and equality for all; and(3) encourages the people of the United States to remember the courageous life of Harriet Tubman, a true hero.


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Passed with Unanimous Consent of the U.S. Senate 3/15/2010

Mikulski Announces Funds for Harriet Tubman Underground RailroadNational Historical Park in Dorchester County-05/03/2010

Obama Honors Washington, DC Emancipation Day

A new addition to the Oval Office: An original copy ofAbraham Lincoln's other emancipation proclamation, theone that freed the slaves of Washington, D.C., on this dayin 1862, nine months before issuing the same order forother parts of the country. "We remain forever grateful asa nation for the struggles and sacrifices of thoseAmericans who made that emancipation possible," Obamasaid in a statement honoring D.C. Emancipation Day.

Obama also used the occasion to advocate statehoodrights for Washington, D.C., noting that city residents "payfederal taxes and serve honorably in our armed services,"but do not have votes in the U.S. House or Senate. "Andso I urge Congress to finally pass legislation that providesD.C. residents with voting representation and to take stepsto improve the Home Rule Charter," Obama said. By Pete Souza, The White House

(Posted by David Jackson):http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2010/04/obama-honors-washington-dcemancipation-day/1

White House

Office of the Press Secretary------------------------------

For Immediate Release April 16, 2010

Statement by the President

On this occasion, we remember the day in 1862 when President Lincoln freed the enslaved people ofWashington, DC nine months before he issued the Emancipation Proclamation. I am proud that an originalcopy of that document now hangs in the Oval Office, and we remain forever grateful as a nation for the strugglesand sacrifices of those Americans who made that emancipation possible.

Americans from all walks of life are gathering in Washington today to remind members of Congress that althoughDC residents pay federal taxes and serve honorably in our armed services, they do not have a vote in Congressor full autonomy over local issues. And so I urge Congress to finally pass legislation that provides DC residentswith voting representation and to take steps to improve the Home Rule Charter.

President Abraham Lincoln signed the District of Columbia Emancipation Act into law on April 16, 1862. The Actended slavery in the nation's capital, freeing some 3,100 enslaved persons, and is the only example in which theFederal Government compensated slaveholders for the enslaved persons they once held.

Mrs. Loretta Carter Hanes, an educator,researcher and the president of DCReading Is Fundamental, Inc., researched,initiated and spearheaded the revival ofthe District of Columbia EmancipationCommemoration. Since 1991, Mrs. Hanesand DC Reading Is Fundamental, alongwith her son Peter and Historians C.R.Gibbs and Vincent deForest, haveorganized annual DC EmancipationCommemoration public educationalprograms. Her untiring efforts arose to theattention of community groups like theUnited Black Fund, historic churches suchas the All Souls Church Unitarian andAsbury United Methodist Church, and localand Federal Government officials, including

the U.S. National Archives, U.S. National Park Service and Members of the U.S. Congress. Mrs. Hanes inspiredthese and other organizations and individuals to mark the DC Emancipation Act with annual educational andcelebratory events across the nation's capital. Such combined advocacy for this watershed event in our nation'shistory led then DC Mayor Anthony Williams to sign into law in 2005 that each April 16th thereafter would beEmancipation Day, a public legal holiday. Enslavement to Emancipation, a new Government of the District of Columbia documentary film, covers thehistory of Washington, DC, from enslavement to emancipation to civil rights to voting rights, in the context ofUnited States history (run time: 60 minutes). The free online documentary includes historic documents, images,


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video and dramatic readings and interviews of various experts that combine to provide a compelling portrait ofthe history of the nation's capital. [The online video is best viewed in Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 or MozillaFirefox 3.6 or better]. To view the free video, visit: http://os.dc.gov/os/cwp/view,a,1207,q,643856.asp

Related Educational Resources

photo by: Bob Seeley

Seaford Museum to open Underground Railroad Exhibit.. Sussex County Post Updated February 9, 2014February 12, 2014

Seaford Museum to open Underground Railroad exhibitSussex County Post Updated February 9, 2014 SEAFORD The Seaford Museum will open an exhibit on the Underground Railroad in the NanticokeHeadwaters area and Harriet Tubmans Daring Escape through Seaford in its Webb Exhibit Roomstarting Saturday, February 22, 2 at 1 p.m.

The temporary exhibit will run at least through the month of May and possibly longer based on visitor demand.The exhibit opening will follow the unveiling of the Gateway to Freedom Delaware Public Archives historic markerthat is scheduled to be dedicated the prior Monday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. at Gateway Park. The historic marker willchronicle the Harriet Tubman Tilly Escape where Harriet and the slave, Tilly, came south from Baltimore toSeaford and stayed at old Coulbourn Hotel location across from Seaford City Hall on High and Market Streets.

When you are walking in the fountain area of Gateway Park, you are literally walking in the footsteps ofHarriet Tubman, an American hero who is admired by everyone, said local historian and museum researcherJim Blackwell. It is one thing for a slave to have headed north to escape slavery, but Harriet Tubman headedsouth - from the North, time and time again to help others find freedom. She was a truly courageous American. Itis an honor for our town to have a historic marker detailing one of the most daring exploits of this AmericanHistory icon. This is truly a great story for our town to be able to tell.

Following this temporary exhibit, the Seaford Museum will also be making a permanent exhibit of the Tilly Storyand Harriet Tubmans Daring Escape through Seaford as well as the Underground Railroad in the NanticokeHeadwaters. This permanent exhibit will open later this summer.

The Seaford Museum, located at 203 High Street, is open to the public Thursday through Sunday from 1 p.m. to4 p.m. Admission is $5 per adult with children 12 and under free when accompanied by an adult.

Admission is free to Seaford Historical Society members.

Tubman sculpture to grace BME church garden


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When Ada Summer finally got a chance tosee the sculpture of the legendaryUnderground Railroad conductor that willsoon be installed outside of her church, itwas everything she could have hoped for.

The British Methodist Episcopal Churchtrustee and treasurer Ada Summer hadheard local artist Frank Rekrut wascreating a bust of Harriet Tubman to bedisplayed in the churchscommemorative garden. As it neared completion, Summer wasinvited to see the work in progress.

She wasnt disappointed. It sentshivers up my spine, she said.

Tubman sculpture to grace BME church garden. BritishMethodist Episcopal Church trustee and treasurer Ada Summer gets aclose look at the nearlycompleted sculpture of Harriet Tubman, beingcreated for the churchs commemorative garden by artist FrankRekrut.

The clay sculpture is based on a rare photograph of Tubman, taken from the approximate time period she was amember of the St. Catharines church. Summer said she loves how it appears the woman is about to speak.

Its exactly like it is in the picture, she said. It looks so realistic.

Summer added she showed photos of the sculpture to members of the church, who were in awe of whatthey saw.

Just how the sculpture came to be created for the church is something of a story in itself.

Last fall, the St. Catharines green committee, working with donations of time and materials from localbusinesses, created a garden outside the Geneva Street church. Meant to be a place of quiet contemplation, thegarden was also designed to show the proper respect for the church, the first and only federally designatedhistorical site in the city.

While wonderfully preserved on the inside, complete with many of the original wooden pews, the outside of thechurch had until recently left much to be desired. On a busy urban street and blocked by billboards on the northside, the church was often overlooked.

After the installation of the garden by local firm Eco Landscape Design, green committee members PeterThompstone and Donna Van Weenen expressed their vision for a complete garden, one that included benches,wooden fencing at the back of the property, and a sculpture of Tubman.

Since then, donations have kept on coming.

At the same time, Rekrut, who had recently returned with his wife, Laura Thompson, from Florence, Italy, wasworking on a sculpture. Rekrut, who has a Geneva Street workshop where he creates cast stone fireplaces, hadjust started taking up this type of work. Originally planning to create a sculpture of a European cardinal, hewanted to take on a project with more local significance and thought of the church down the road.

It was while in the middle of production that Thompson showed him a newspaper article about the garden andthe dream of a statue.

It just so happened we had a half-done bust of Harriet Tubman, Thompson said. It all worked out.Van Weenan said an anonymous donor, a local woman with ties to the American south, gave a substantialamount to pay for the materials, a base and a black granite pedestal being provided at a discount by KirkpatrickMonuments.

What Frank and the donors have done is amazing, she said. Wonderful, generous people in this city,and when they see a need, they filled it.

Rekrut figures hes spent about 60 hours of his off-time working on the sculpture, explaining it wassomewhat difficult to create a three-dimensional work basing it on a single flat photo.

You just keep working on it until she tells you youre done, and then youre done, he said.

Once the clay model is finished, it will be covered in a rubber molding, which will be carefully peeled off to retainthe shape and filled with cement.

The aim is to have the bust installed by the end of April.

Van Weenan said an agreement has been worked out between the billboard company and the city to take themaway from the church, so they no longer block the view from the north. The billboards will be placed elsewherein the city.

www.niagarathisweek.com


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In honor of Harriet TubmanSt. Catharines served as a haven for those fleeing slavery in U.S.

With hundreds of organizations taking part across NorthAmerica and Great Britain, members and guests of theBritish Methodist Episcopal Church, Salem Chapel, stoodin unison on Sunday, March 7 to begin their service andcelebration of the 20th anniversary of Harriet TubmanDay that was proclaimed on March 10, 1990 by MayorJoseph L. McCaffery.

In McCafferys words, Whereas the City of St.Catharines was the last station in Harriet Tubmansjourney north, and served as a haven for the hundreds ofblacks who remained in this area to become an importantpart of the social fabric of our community; and Whereasthe British Methodist Episcopal Church at 92 GenevaStreet was the place of worship and the source ofstrength and encouragement for Harriet Tubman and herpeople and continues today to be a place of worship anda repository of black culture and heritage for many oftheir descendents.

A unique cultural heritage, and the only National Historicsite in the City of St. Catharines, Salem Chapel waserected in 1855. The small white wooden framedstructure was host to about 100 people who came tohonour Harriet Ross Tubman and the memory of awoman of international importance. Traditional gospelssuch as Swing Low Sweet Chariot and aperformance by the Salem Chapel Youth Trio ofGodHas Smiled On Me were part the festivities on thehumble and historical site.

In honour of Harriet Tubman. Brother HolmesSmith, senior trustee of Salem Chapel, has served theBME Church for 40 years and took part in the servicecommemorating Harriet Tubman Day of March 10 withcongregation members and guests.

Regarded as The Black Moses by her people, Tubman helped more than 300 slaves make their way out ofbondage to a land of freedom. Only five foot two and a mere 130 pounds she was enslaved since the age of fiveand managed to escape when she was 29 years old to Shipmans Corners, later-day St. Catharines.

Abolitionists requested her presence at anti-slavery rallies and Southern slaveholders wanted her captureddead or alive, said Rochelle Bush, historical director of Salem Chapel.

While living in St. Catharines, Tubman became a master of disguise during her courageous trips back to the southto help other fugitive slaves make their way to British soil. Through a pathway of compassionate people, theUnderground Railroad was a vast network stretching from the Mason-Dixon Line in the United States to Canada.

Today, Harriet Tubman is heralded as the iconic figure of the Underground Railroad and we are grateful thatshe settled here in St. Catharines and chose this church as her place of worship, said Bush. To manyAfrican-Americans, the Salem Chapel is hallowed ground.

www.niagarathisweek.com

Smithsonian Receives Rare Harriet Tubman Items

more

Smithsonian 3/10/2010 News Release Harriet Tubman Collection Unveiledby National Museum of African American History and Culture

Harriet Tubman (ca. 1822-1913), was an abolitionist, Underground Railroad conductor, U.S. Civil War nurse, scout, and spy, womenssuffragist, and humanitarian. She was a shero and daughter of both the USA and Canada. The Salem Chapel British Methodist Episcopal(BME) Church, in Saint Catharines, Ontario, was associated with abolitionist activity and it was also Tubmans church. The Governmentof Canada designated the church as a National Historic Site of Canada in 2000. The Government of Canada also designated Tubman as aNational Historic Person of Canada in 2005 (The plaque dedication program has not yet taken place) (See the Parks Canada Black HeritagePortal at http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/culture/mhn-bhm/index.aspx )

Related U.S. Congressional Bill-S.227 Harriet Tubman National Historical Park and Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National HistoricalPark Act. When this bill is signed into law by President Obama, it would create two National Historical Parks, one in Maryland,Tubmans birth state, and the other in Auburn, NY, where Tubman lived in her later years, that includes her home, the home for elderlyBlacks that she founded, a neighboring cemetery where she is interred, and the nearby church where she worshipped (See the NationalPark Service Harriet Tubman Special Resource Study with weblinks to Bill S.227 at http://www.harriettubmanstudy.org/ ).

Harriet Tubman Day


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Harriet Tubman passed away on March 10, 1913. Harriet Tubman Day is commemorated annually on March 10th, in several states,including Maryland, Delaware, New York, and the City of Saint Catharines, Ontario, Canada. March 10, 2013 will mark the 100th

anniversary of Harriet Tubmans passing and the State of Maryland is already looking toward that centennial. Lou Fields the MarylandStatewide Coordinator for Harriet Tubman Day.

Vince, Vivian, Dr. Blockson and I are collaborating to encourage international (Canada-USA) recognition of Harriet Tubmans legacy.Regards,

Peter Hanes

Washington Post 3/10/2010 Page C01 Smithsonian Gets 39 Harriet Tubman Artifactshttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/10/AR2010031003451.html

Blockson Collection celebrates Womens History MonthThursday, March 12, 2009CONTACT: Denise Clay [email protected] 215-204-6522

A hymn book owned by Harriet Tubman, abolitionist and conductor of theUnderground Railroad, was among the artifacts displayed as part of theWomens History Month celebration held at the Charles L. BlocksonAfro-American Collection on March 5. The Blockson Collection displayed theartifacts which included a shawl given to Tubman by Queen Victoria ofEngland, a memorial program from her funeral and other collectables as partof its yearly homage to notable African American women.

This years honorees were: City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell; author and

Photo by Ryan S. Brandenberg/TempleUniversity

A hymn book owned by HarrietTubman

educator Marie T. Bogle; Odunde Festival founder Lois Fernandez; television news pioneer Trudy Haines; Philadelphia Inquirercolumnist Annette John-Hall; founder and president of the American Womens History Museum Audrey Johnson-Thornton;philanthropist Beverly Lomax; and Willa Ward-Royster, last remaining member of the gospel group the Clara Ward Singers. Poet andpublisher for Third World Press Haki Madhubuti performed several poems as part of the festivities, which were broadcast live onWURD 990-AM and hosted by the stations programming director, Thera Martin Connelly.

http://www.temple.edu/newsroom/2008_2009/03/stories/blockson_whm.htm

Keeping Stories AliveExperts and uncles, historians and teens share tales of the Underground Railroad

Read More

WBOC 16 DelMarva's News Leader Salisbury/Dover/MiltonTubman Park Gets Nearly $1.2M From Park ServicePosted: Sep 14, 2009 11:33 AM EDT

BALTIMORE- A $1,191,312 National Park Service grant will help develop outdoor recreation facilities in Harriet Tubman Underground


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Harriet Tubman was born inDorchester County, where shespent nearly 30 years as a slavebefore escaping in 1849.

Railroad State Park in Dorchester County on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

Sens. Benjamin Cardin and Barbara Mikulski and Rep. Frank Kratovil announced the grant from the parkservice's Land and Water Conservation Fund on Monday."Born on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in Dorchester County, Harriet Tubman left an indelible mark onhistory as the 'conductor' of the Underground Railroad, a suffragist, and humanitarian, yet, the placesassociated with her life and work are not well known," Kratovil said. "Establishing Dorchester County'sfirst state park as a way of honoring her contributions to American history is not only a respectful way tohonor a woman whose commitment to the rights of others was unmatched, but it serves as a meaningfulmethod of preserving our environment, protecting wildlife, and passing a historical legacy onto ourchildren and future generations."

Maryland expects to begin site development at the 17-acre site in December 2010 with completionexpected approximately a year later.

Tubman was born in Dorchester County, where she spent nearly 30 years as a slave before escaping in 1849. She later led hundreds ofslaves to freedom as part of the anti-slavery resistance network known as the Underground Railroad.

Earlier this week, Cardin, Mikulski and Kratovil announced an 823-acre addition to the adjacent Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.

Senators Cardin & Mikulski Introduce Bill In 111th Congress To Honor Harriet Tubman's Life (Download Pdf)

Charles L. Blockson, Curator

Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection

Testimony at the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1997 Hearings

BILL, H.R. 1635 To establish within the United States National Park Service theNational Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program

Longworth House Office Building, Room 1324, Washington, DC July 22, 1997 10 am

It is indeed an honor for me to participate in this historical event, in an effort to preserve the former sites of the UndergroundRailroad, a subject that I have been committed to since I was a child. When I was ten years old, my grandfather told me that mygreat grandfather and other members of my family escaped slavery on the Freedom Train, that was commonly known as theUnderground Railroad. Although my great grandfather returned to the United States after the Civil War, other relatives remained invarious parts of Canada to include Nova Scotia.

For more than thirty years, I have researched, collected and written about this important American epic. My greatest contributionwas the cover story I wrote for National Geographic magazine in July 1984. It proved to be a popular article, receiving hundreds ofletters worldwide, stimulating interest in the preservation of these historical sites. The article also gave me an opportunity to travelthroughout the nation, covering 20 states, including the provinces of Canada.

To my astonishment, I discovered with great sadness that many of the sites have been demolished due to urban removal, particularlythe ones in the African American community. I also discovered that many of the sites today are under private ownership. In June of1988, I was invited to speak by the Quindaro Town Preservation Society in Kansas City, Kansas, to help save the Quindaro ruins frombeing destroyed to build a landfill at the Old Quindaro town site. Quindaro was once an abolitionist settlement and a station forblacks fleeing slavery via the Underground Railroad.

In 1990, my connection with the Underground Railroad Study began with former U.S. Representative Peter H. Kostmayer (D., Pa.)who, after reading my book the Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania and my article in National Geographic, asked me if it waspossible for these former sites to be preserved, and if so, he would introduce a bill to the Secretary of Interior to designate a route asthe Underground Railroad Historic Trail, install suitable signs and markers and provide maps, brochures and other informationaldevices to assist the public. After the proposal was approved, I, along with several others were asked to testify before a similarCommittee in Congress. Consequently, Rep. Kostmayer asked me to select a group of people that represented various parts of thenation to from an Advisory Committee. His staff then contacted the prospective member of the Advisory Committee. This was howthe Advisory Committee was formed, and I was selected by them as Chair. Four months before the Advisory Committee wasorganized, a press conference was held, at which I participated with Rep. Kostmayer, at Philadelphias Mother Bethel A.M.E.Church. Mother Bethel, the oldest A.M.E. Church in the country, was one of the most important stations that hid hundreds of slaves. This press conference generated a growing interest throughout the nation to preserve the former Underground Railroad sites.

The Advisory Committee met in various parts of the United States visiting the Underground Railroad sites. I organized several tours,some of which I led. Last year, I took a group of school teachers from the Washington, DC area on a tour sponsored by NationalGeographic. We traveled from Harriet Tubmans birthplace in Bucktown, MD, to Underground Railroad sites in Delaware, NewJersey, Pennsylvania and upstate New York, to include Harriet Tubmans and Frederick Douglass grave-site and then intoCanada. I was also a consultant for two television documentaries about the Underground Railroad.

Because of the ongoing international interest in the Underground Railroad and its idealized history, in which fact and memoryintertwine to epitomize a period of rich heritage, it is imperative that Bill, H.R. 1635 is implemented and receive the proper funding tobetter preserve and exhibit our national heritage. It is also imperative that an interpretive handbook is written by scholars andconsultants to teach the history and preserve the memories of those brave souls who represented the morality of AntebellumAmerica; remembering the heroic essence and hardships of great spirits such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Levi Coffin,John Brown, Lucreatia Mott, William Still, Native Americans such as, Chief Pontiac, and a host of others. We realize that no oneinstitution, book or in-depth study can tell the full story of this pivotal period in the history of America, however, we can achieve itsfullest expression through the lives of such luminaries and the mechanisms they used for freedom in this important chapter inhistory. Increasing the need for wider recognition, we must challenge the deployment of the national media in presenting the


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cultural value of our heritage constructively, to inform rather than entertain.

In closing, I would like to commend the work of the staff of the National Park Service for keeping this project alive; a special thanksto the Underground Railroad Study Advisory Committee for your efforts and hard work over the past five years that have turned anecessity into a possible reality. Without your help and the help of the hundreds of people throughout the nation, who supported thisgreat project, we would not have been able to attain its goal. And, thanks to those of you who have come today, many from greatdistances, to support the project.

In the words of the old slave spiritual, that was sung in connection with the Underground Railroad, Please Dont Let ThisHarvest Pass. Let this BILL become a reality so that our children of all races, creeds and colors can enter into the 21st century inbrotherhood and sisterhood.

www.nps.gov/undergroundrr/contents.htm

THE MOSES OF HER PEOPLE

SARAH BRADFORD

Letter from Frederick Douglass. ROCHESTER, August 29, 1868

DEAR HARRIET: I am glad to know that the story of your eventful life has been written by a kind lady, and that thesame is soon to be published. You ask for what you do not need when you call upon me for a word ofcommendation. I need such words from you far more than you can need them from me, especially where yoursuperior labors and devotion to the cause of the lately enslaved of our land are known as I know them. Thedifference between us is very marked. Most that I have done and suffered in the service of our cause has been inpublic, and I have received much encouragement at every step of the way. You, on the other hand, have labored ina private way. I have wrought in the dayyou in the night. I have had the applause of the crowd and thesatisfaction that comes of being approved by the multitude, while the most that you have done has been witnessedby a few trembling, scarred, and foot-sore bondmen and women, whom you have led out of the house of bondage,and whose heartfelt God bless you has been your only reward. The midnight sky and the silent stars havebeen the witnesses of your devotion to freedom and of your heroism. Excepting John Brownof sacredmemoryI know of no one who has willingly encountered more perils and hardships to serve our enslaved peoplethan you have. Much that you have done would seem improbable to, those who do not know you as I know you. Itis to me a great pleasure and a great privilege to bear testimony to your character and your works, and to say to

those to whom you may come, that I regard you in every way truthful and trustworthy.

Your friend,

FREDERICK DOUGLASS.

Letter from Wendell Phillips.

June 16, 1868.

DEAR MADAME: The last time I ever saw John Brown was under my roof, as he brought Harriet Tubman to me saying: Mr. Phillips, Ibring you one of the best and bravest persons on this continentGeneral Tubman, as we call her.

He then went on to recount her labors and sacrifices in behalf of her race. After that, Harriet spent some time in Boston, earning theconfidence and admiration of all those who were working for freedom. With their aid she went to the South more than once, returning alwayswith a squad of self-emancipated men, women, and children, for whom her marvelous skill had opened the way of escape. After the warbroke out, she was sent with endorsements from Governor Andrew and his friends to South Carolina, where in the service of the Nation sherendered most important and efficient aid to our army.

In my opinion there are few captains, perhaps few colonels, who have done more for the loyal cause since the war began, and few menwho did before that time more for the colored race, than our fearless and most sagacious friend, Harriet.

Faithfully yours, WENDELL PHILLIPS.

Extracts from a Letter written by Mr. Sanborn, Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of State Charities.

MY DEAR MADAME: Mr. Phillips has sent me your note, asking for reminiscences of Harriet Tubman, and testimonials to her extraordinarystory, which all her New England friends will, I am sure, be glad to furnish.

I never had reason to doubt the truth of what Harriet said in regard to her own career, for I found her singularly truthful. Her imaginationis warm and rich, and there is a whole region of the marvelous in her nature, which has manifested itself at times remarkably. Her dreamsand visions, misgivings and forewarnings, ought not to be omitted in any life of her, particularly those relating to John Brown.

She was in his confidence in 1858-59, and he had a great regard for her, which he often expressed to me. She aided him in his plans, andexpected to do so still further, when his career was closed by that wonderful campaign in Virginia. The first time she came to my house, inConcord, after that tragedy, she was shown into a room in the evening, where Bracketts bust of John Brown was standing. The sight ofit, which was new to her, threw her into a sort of ecstasy of sorrow and admiration, and she went on in her rhapsodical way to pronounce hisapotheosis.

She has often been in Concord, where she resided at the houses of Emerson, Alcott, the Whitneys, the Brooks family, Mrs. Horace Mann,and other well-known persons. They all admired and respected her, and nobody doubted the reality of her adventures. She was too real aperson to be suspected. In 1862, I think it was, she went from Boston to Port Royal, under the advice and encouragement of Mr. Garrison,Governor Andrew, Dr. Howe, and other leading people. Her career in South Carolina is well known to some of our officers, and I think toColonel Higginson, now of Newport, R.I., and Colonel James Montgomery, of Kansas, to both of whom she was useful as a spy and guide, if Imistake not. I regard her as, on the whole, the most extraordinary person of her race I have ever met. She is a negro of pure, or most pureblood, can neither read not write, and has the characteristics of her race and condition. But she has done what can scarcely be credited onthe best authority, and she has accomplished her purposes with a coolness, foresight, patience and wisdom, which in a white man wouldhave raised him to the highest pitch of reputation.

I am, dear Madame, very truly your servant.


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F.B. SANBORN

Letter from Col. James Montgomery.

ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C., July 6, 1863.HEADQUARTERS COLORED BRIGADE.

BRIG.-GEN. GILMORE, Commanding Department of the South

GENERAL: I wish to commend to your attention, Mrs. Harriet Tubman, a most remarkable woman, and invaluable as a scout. I have beenacquainted with her character and actions for several years.

I am, General, your most obt servant, JAMES MONTGOMERY, Col. Com. Brigade.

Letter from Mrs. Gen. A. BairdPETERBORO, Nov. 24, 1864.

The bearer of this, Harriet Tubman, a most excellent woman, who has rendered faithful

And good services to our Union army, not only in the hospitals, but in various capacities, having been employed under Government at HiltonHead, and in Florida; and I commend her to the protection of all officers in whose department she may happen to be.

She has been known and esteemed for years by the family of my uncle, Hon. Gerrit Smith, as a person of great rectitude and capabilities.

MRS. GEN. A. BAIRD.Letter from Hon. Gerrit Smith.PETERBORO, N.Y., Nov. 4, 1867.

I have known Mrs. Harriet Tubman for many years. Seldom, if ever, have I met with a person more philanthropic, more self-denying, andof more bravery. Nor must I omit to say that she combines with her sublime spirit, remarkable discernment and judgment.

During the late war, Mrs. Tubman was eminently faithful and useful to the cause of our country. She is poor and has poor parents. Such aservant of the country should be well paid by the country. I hope that the Government will look into her case.

GERRIT SMITH.

Testimonial from Gerrit Smith.PETERBORO, Nov. 22, 1864.

The bearer, Harriet Tubman, needs not any recommendation. Nearly all the nation over, she has been heard of for her wisdom, integrity,patriotism, and bravery. The cause of freedom owes her much. The country owes her much.

I have known Harriet for many years, and I hold her in my high esteem.

GERRIT SMITH.

Certificate from Henry K. Durrant, Acting Asst. Surgeon, U.S.A.

I certify that I have been acquainted with Harriet Tubman for nearly two years; and my position as Medical Officer in charge ofcontrabands in this town and in hospital, has given me frequent and ample opportunities to observe her general deportment;particularly her kindness and attention to the sick and suffering of her own race. I take much pleasure in testifying to the esteem in whichshe is generally held.

HENRY K. DURRANT,Acting Assistant Surgeon, U.S.A.In charge Contraband Hospital.Dated at Beaufort, S.C., the 3d day of May, 1864.I concur fully in the above. R. SAXTON, Brig.- Gen. Vol.

A Letter from Gen. Saxton to a lady of Auburn.

ATLANTA, Ga., March 21, 1868.

MY DEAR MADAME: I have just received your letter informing me that Hon. Wm. H. Seward, Secretary of State, would present a petition toCongress for a pension to Harriet Tubman, for services rendered in the Union Army during the late war. I can bear witness to the value of herservices in South Carolina and Florida. She was employed in the hospitals and as a spy. She made many a raid inside the enemys lines,displaying remarkable courage, zeal, and fidelity. She was employed by General Hunter, and I think by Generals Stevens and Sherman, and isas deserving of a pension from the Government for her services as any other of its faithful servants.

I am very truly yours,RUFUS SAXON, Bvt. Brig.-Gen., U.S.A.

Rev. Samuel I. May, in his recollections of the anti-slavery conflict, after mentioning the case of an old slave mother, whom he vainlyendeavored to assist her son in buying from her master, says:

I did not until four years after know that remarkable woman Harriet, or I might have engaged her services, in the assurance that shewould have bought off the old woman without paying for her inalienable righther liberty.

Mr. May in another place says of Harriet, that she deserves to be placed first on the list of American heroines, and then proceeds to give ashort account of her labors, varying very little from that given in this book.

To be continued

The Rescue of Charles Nalle Troy Whig, April 28, 1859.


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HARRIET TUBMAN

This republication of Sarah H. Bradfords memorable biography of Harriet Tubman is an exact, unaltered and unabridged, reprint of theexpanded second edition of 1886. The first edition appeared in 1869. Both were privately printed by Mrs. Bradford for the purpose of raisingfunds to aid the Moses of her people.

Bringing 'stationmaster' Thomas Garrett to lifeBy ROBIN BROWN, The News JournalPosted Tuesday, August 21, 2007 A new sound -- a blacksmith's hammer -- will ring joyful noise as August Quarterly, thenation's oldest African-American festival, wraps a month of activities this weekend.

Retired Delaware National Guard Sgt. Maj. Willis Phelps, one of Delaware's top historicalinterpreters, will bring his blacksmith gear and plenty of stories Sunday afternoon, for thefinal day's gospel fest at Tubman-Garrett Park in Wilmington. Although best known for hisportrayal of America's first African-American soldiers -- earning him the nickname "Delaware'sBuffalo Soldier" -- Phelps will portray a Civil War-era blacksmith.

Phelps bases his blacksmith on several Delawareans in the time of slavery -- most notably aWilmington Quaker considered under-appreciated by history.

He was Thomas Garrett, the lesser-known namesake of the city park. Like better-knownHarriet Tubman, he was a "stationmaster," or leader in the secret Underground Railroad,smuggling slaves to the North.

Garrett is credited with helping more than 2,700 slaves to freedom, according to theDelaware Public Archives.

"No other point along the entire Underground Network handled as much human traffic as didthe Garrett house," says the Harriet Tubman Historical Society. "For many fugitive slaves enroute to Philadelphia and other points north, the City of Wilmington became known as 'A LastStop Before Freedom.' "

Like many free black people of the day, a woman who worked for the Garrett family wasabducted and sold into slavery. Garrett kept going, despite being convicted of aiding runawayslaves.

He also was an early, grassroots supporter of the first Wilmington civil rights movement, fromwhich came free worship and August Quarterly.

When Bishop Peter Spencer in 1813 established the nation's first independent black church --defying laws against people of color assembling without white supervision -- Garrett helpedpay for land where the church was built.

Now known as the Mother African Union First Colored Methodist Protestant Church, or MotherAU Church, this independent black church ensured people of color the freedoms of religion,speech and assembly for the first time. It started August Quarterly in 1814 to celebrate.

When Garrett died in 1871, black Wilmingtonians reverently carried him from his house to theQuaker meeting house cemetery at Fourth and West, where he is buried.

Garrett's home and way-station to freedom stayed around more than a century later, but wasrazed in the Bicentennial year, 1976, for a new parking lot.

Garrett is honored in a state historic marker erected about two blocks from his home, and hiscity duly honored him and Tubman by naming the riverside park that will fill this weekend tocelebrate not only religious freedom but also the suffering and sacrifices of past generationswho made it possible.

As Phelps on Sunday strikes hammer to hot metal, to make tools or sharpen them as Garrettdid, he will demonstrate one of the few 1800s crafts open to black people. And he will tellstories to all who are willing to listen about those who reached freedom here and those whoopened their hearts and homes to help them.

People like Thomas Garrett.

Write to Robin Brown at The News Journal, Box 15505, Wilmington, DE 19850; fax 324-5509;call 324-2856; or e-mail [email protected]

More

Willis Phelps shows Civil War-erablacksmithing to Matthew Holstein, 8, ofBear, last summer at Fort Delaware. Phelpswill portray his new blacksmith persona --drawing on the life of abolitionist ThomasGarrett and others -- from 2 to 5 p.m.Sunday at August Quarterly at Tubman-Garrett Park, Wilmington. News Journalfile/BOB HERBERT

Thomas Garrett

Harriet Tubman Day set: Public invited to celebration Saturday

CAMBRIDGE - The Harriet Tubman Organization invites the community to attend the Harriet Tubman Day Annual Celebration on Saturday, atthe Elks Lodge, 618 Pine St., from 6 to 10 p.m. The annual banquet and program is sponsored by the Harriet Tubman Organization withDonald Pinder, president, and Evelyn Townsend, vice president.

For historical accuracy, the first Harriet Tubman Day Celebration began in the late 1960s and was arranged by Addie Clash Travers. The day


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Harriet Tubman

At the annual HarrietTubman Day Banquetat Elks Lodge No. 223Saturday, The Movesof Praise dancecompany treatedguests to aninspirational

was with a weekend of historical and cultural activities in the city of Cambridge, ending in church services at thehistorical Bazzel AME Church at Bucktown.

The Harriet Tubman Historical Society, voice/advocate for the preservation and recognition of Harriet Tubmanand the Underground Railroad reached Dorchester County during the early 1980s in search of Harriet Tubman'strail and to reconnect the Maryland & Delaware Underground Railroad. Vivian Abdur-Rahim visited theDorchester County Public Library and spoke with librarian Gloria Henry.

Ms. Henry led her directly to Addie Clash Travers, Linda Wheatley and members of the Harriet TubmanAssociation (now the Harriet Tubman Organization). Together, both organizations established a friendship andnetwork that continues today with Evelyn Townsend and officials of the Harriet Tubman Organization.

The Harriet Tubman Historical Society and the Harriet Tubman Association of Dorchester County, joined tosponsor the first National Harriet Tubman Day Celebration. Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., D-Del., the late Sen. BillRoth and Rep. Thomas Carper, D-Del., sponsored Harriet Tubman Day legislation in the United States Congress .

Harriet Tubman Day was proclaimed by President Bush, Congress, more than 20 governors, elected officials,cities, and St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.

On March 9, 1990, the Harriet Tubman Historical Society sponsored the Harriet Tubman Day cultural program in Wilmington; March 10, 1990,the first Harriet Tubman Freedom Tour, departed from Wilmington, stopping at Underground Railroad sites in Delaware, crossing theChoptank River, en route to the celebration banquet in Cambridge.

Since the Harriet Tubman Day celebration in the late 1960s and the first National Harriet Tubman Day, March 10, 1990, several major eventsof interest have been reported:

l $50,000 was awarded to Evelyn Townsend to support the Harriet Tubman Organization "to pay the mortgage on the group's Race StreetHeadquarters and to conduct major repairs," Mrs. Townsend said as she received the check from Del, Rudy Cane;

l Harriet Tubman Millennium Pilgrimage sponsored by Addie Richburg & the International Network to Freedom, Washington, D.C. May 2000;

l Dedication of the Harriet Tubman Memorial Garden, May 22, 2000, Cambridge;

l Harriet Tubman Highway, a stretch of U.S. 50 was dedicated to Tubman;

l The Harriet Tubman Special Resource Study legislation sponsored by New York Sen. Charles Schumer and Maryland Sen. Paul Sarbanes;

l The Web site is www.HarrietTubmanStudy.org

Gov. George Pataki in 2003 proclaimed March 10 a holiday in the state of New York, initiated by the Black Women Leadership Caucus.

During the 2000 session of the Maryland General Assembly, the African American Tourism Council of Maryland and the Harriet TubmanOrganization of Cambridge were successful in getting Senate Joint Resolution 12 passed to designate March 10 every year as Harriet TubmanDay in Maryland. Louis Fields played an important role in establishing the day.

The Harriet Tubman Historical Society wrote letters to the Congressional Black Caucus May 1999, requesting their support for the HarrietTubman National Holiday. Theme: The Millennium Project for Peace and Reconciliation.

The community is invited to join the Harriet Tubman Organization Saturday and meet descendants and friends at the Harriet Tubman AnnualCelebration.

For tickets contact The Harriet Tubman Organization, 424 Race St. or Donald Pinder at (410) 228-0401. Tickets for adults are $20 andinclude the Harriet Tubman dinner and cultural program; half-price for children under 12.

Daily BannerContact Information:Address1000 Goodwill RoadP.O. Box 580Cambridge, MD 21613

WEBSITE: Newszap.com Newsroom:(410) [email protected]

Tubman banquet an inspiration

By Renee Gilliard, Daily Banner

CAMBRIDGE Saturdays annual Harriet Tubman Day Banquet gave many guests the opportunity toreflect on the significant contribution made by one of the conductors of the Underground Railroad.

The annual event at the Elks Lodge No. 223 celebrates the life of Harriet Tubman on the anniversary of herdeath in 1913.

Emcee Royce Sampson led those in attendance on a journey through Ms. Tubmans contributions to theAfrican American community and society as a whole through a variety of speeches and musical performances.

We are so grateful that there were people like Harriet Tubmanand it makes no difference what color ourskin may be, we are all children of God, Mr. Sampson shared as he set the spiritual tone for the evening.

The evening began with a selection from the Warriors of Worship choral group and the Waugh Chapel Gospelchoir, who got the crowd of nearly 100 clapping in unison to a variety of Christian music.

The Moves of Praise dance company then presented a series of dances, with a range of performers from


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performance.toddlers to teenagers. Their interpretive movements were inspired by faith and slavery and brought many inattendance to tears.

Evelyn Townsend, a retired teacher, welcomed guests to the event and reinforced a tone of faith saying,

[Harriet Tubman] had faith in God and took her life in her own hands, not letting anything come between her and her faith in God.

Guests had the opportunity to dine while listening to the words of the Rev. Lena Dennis, keynote speaker. The reverend is a Dorchesternative and pastor of Eastern United Methodist Church in Baltimore.

Her passion for Christianity took her to West Africa where she conducted Bible studies with young adults and taught students aboutmarriage, sex education, and HIV and AIDS.

Vivica Grissom, a theologian from Philadelphia was also in attendance. The event brought her to Cambridge as a descendant of HarrietTubman.

SENATESTATE OF MISSOURI

Whereas, the members of the Missouri Senate always welcome the opportunity to acknowledge milestone events in the histories ofShow-Me State communities and neighborhoods that are dedicated to improving the future by remembering the past; and

Whereas, on March 10, 2007, Harriet Tubman Day will be observed in Kansas City, Missouri, as a part of the Womens HistoryMonth celebration at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Museum; and

Whereas, Harriet Ross Tubman is closely associated with the struggle for civil rights and with the Underground Railroad that helpedmany African Americans win their personal freedom by assisting them on their arduous journey out of slave states during the Civil War;and

Whereas, the inaugural Harriet Tubman Day in Kansas City is taking place in large measure because of the steadfast vision andactivities of Shirley Johnson; and

Whereas, in addition to serving as a memorial to Harriet Tubman, Harriet Tubman Day will entail awards, certificates, ribbons, andthe giving of a special Freedom Award to an outstanding and worthy citizen; and

Whereas, Harriet Tubman Day also will involve more than one hundred schools, some of whose students will perform selectionsdepicting historical tributes honoring women in history; and

Whereas, Harriet Tubman day began in Cambridge, Maryland, in the late 1960s due to the leadership efforts of Addie Clash Travers,who organized Fathers Day weekend historical and cultural activities that concluded in services at the historic Bazzel AME Church innearby Bucktown, Maryland; and

Whereas, Harriet Tubman Day became a national celebration in 1990 when the Harriet Tubman Historical Society joined with theHarriet Tubman Association of Dorchester County, Maryland, the United States Congress, more than twenty state governors, and manycity officials to dedicate March 10th in her honor:

Now Therefore, Be It Resolved that we, the members of the Missouri Senate, Ninety-fourth General Assembly, join to applaud thework, goals, and accomplishments associated with the life of Harriet Tubman and to convey to all of those involved this legislativebodys most hearfelt best wishes for a highly successful Harriet Tubman Day in Kansas City; and

Be It Further Resolved that the Secretary of the Senate be instructed to prepare a properly inscribed copy of this resolution forpresentation at the Harriet Tubman Day program in Kansas City, Missouri.

Offered by Senator Coleman

Maida J. Coleman

State of Missouri: City of Jefferson:

I, Michael R. Gibbons, President Pro Tem of the Senate, do hereby certify the above and foregoing to be a full, true and completedcopy of Senate Resolution No. 518 offered into and adopted on March 6, 2007, as fully as the same appears of record.

In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the Senate of the State of Missouri this 6th day of March,A.D. 2007.

Michael R. GibbonsPres