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Fergus M. Bordewich, "Digging into a Historic Rivalry," Smithsonian
Magazine (February 2004): 96-107, explores Lancaster, Pennsylvania
residents Thaddeus Stevens, abolitionist, and James Buchanan, President of
the United States; also explores recently archaeological findings that a
cistern behind the Stevens' house in Lancaster was used to hide fugitive
slaves.
Linck C. Johnson, "Liberty is Never Cheap: Emerson, the Fugitive Slave
Law, and the Antislavery Lecture Series at the Broadway Tabernacle," New
England Quarterly 76 (December 2003): 550-592, concerning Emerson's address
on the fugitive slave law delivered in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1851, and
at the Broadway Tabernacle in 1854.
An historical tour of New Jersey see http://www.tourburlington.org/
includes a number of Underground Railroad sites, or at least sites claimed
to have been used on the Underground Railroad. This year, 2004, is the
two-hundred anniversary of New Jersey's gradual emancipation act of 1804.
PENNSYLVANIA: ONE ACT PLAY ABOUT AMANDA BERRY SMITH TO BE PRESENTED IN
LANCASTER COUNTY
[The following items were contributed by Amanda Kemp who teaches performance
and African/American Studies at of Franklin and Marshall College. She can
be reached by e-mail at [email protected]
]
"God's Image Carved in Ebony: The Testimony of Mrs. Amanda Berry Smith"
featuring Michelle Armster and directed by Amanda Kemp will be presented in
three free performances in Lancaster County. This one-act play with music
tells the story of Smith, a woman born enslaved who eventually became a
leading African American preacher, temperance advocate and social reformer.
The daughter of conductors on South Central Pennsylvania's Underground
Railroad, Smith learned early on to challenge the prescribed place of women
and men of African descent. She answered a call to preach in 1870 and
became a sensation with a diverse following on both sides of the Atlantic,
in West Africa, England, and the U.S. This play is suitable for children.
Feb. 29, 2004 Lancaster County Historical Society at 3pm
March 21, 2004--Lancaster Mennonite High School Fine Arts Complex at 3pm.
March 28, 2004--Millersville University Student Center 6pm
God's Image will also travel to the Methodist Building in Washington D.C.
on April 16, 2004 and to women's prisons in Muncy and Cambridge Springs.
For more information call 717-358-4623.
[Also from Amanda Kemp]
"Benjamin Franklin Abolitionist; Eighteenth Century Africans in Motion" is
a performance installation that consists of a museum exhibit and live
performance. The exhibit and performance show two conflicting but truthful
perspectives on Benjamin Franklin: a docent who portrays Franklin as an
anti-slavery champion, and an ensemble which creates scenes from the
perspective of the Africans that Franklin owned. This installation
premiered at Franklin and Marshall on Jan. 29, 2004.
The author, Amanda Kemp is interested in hearing from folks who might like
to bring this installation to their institution or constituency, and offers
the suggestion that it would be suitable for middle schoolers and beyond.
If interested, contact her by phone at 717-358-4623 or by e-mail.
NEW YORK STATE: UNDERGROUND RAILROAD CONFERENCE AT ALBANY, FEBRUARY 28, 2004
[Sent in by Paul Stewart]
"February 28th- The 3rd Annual Underground Railroad
Conference will be held
in Albany on February 28th. Contact Mary Liz Stewart for information
[email protected] There will 40 presenters including Fred Shaw and
Vivian and Don Papson who will perform a new historical reading "Crossing
To The Other Side," based on stories of the self-emancipated to cross
into Canada during the days of the Underground Railroad. This is the
conference to attend to learn about the UGR!"
[Christopher Densmore's note: I attended this conference last year and it is excellent
whether one is a teacher or community member interested in education and
commemoration, or an experienced researcher. It is a great opportunity for
networking in New York State and the surrounding region.]
NEW YORK STATE: AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN IN 19TH CENTURY CLINTON COUNTY,
MARCH 27, 2004
[Also from Paul Stewart]
"March 27th- Mark your calendar for "African American Women in 19th
Century Clinton County" at 1 PM at the Kent Delord House on March 27th,
Robin Caudell will portray Maria Haynes who was manumitted (freed) upon the
death of her "master" Colonel Melancton Smith in 1818. On the same
program, Vivian Papson will be portraying Sarah Parker Remond, a free
Black woman from Boston who visited Clinton County in 1854 on her first
abolitionist tour. Miss Remond was traveling with her brother Charles Lenox
Remond, the most renowned Black abolitionist before Frederick Douglass,
Susan B. Anthony, and Aaron M. Powell."
Christopher Densmore, February 19, 2004
Friends Historical Library
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