Underground Railroad conference kicks off today
By Jessica M. Pasko
The Record
TROY — Local historians will join students, teachers, scholars and others this weekend for a look into the Underground Railroad and the area’s role in the abolition movement as the Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region brings its ninth annual conference to Russell Sage College.
The conference, “Gender, Race and Ethnicity in Abolitionism on the Underground Railroad and the Struggle Since,” kicks off today with a pre-conference educators’ workshop, “The Not So Underground Railroad,” presented by Kathy Sheehan of the Rensselaer County Historical Society and Mary Liz Stewart of the Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region.
The conference is a collaboration between the organization, RSC and the historical society.
The Capital District was visited by thousands of fugitive slaves who sought freedom in the years leading up to the Civil War, and Troy was a key stopping point along the Underground Railroad, according to historians. As a major industrial area in the 1850s, Troy had a growing black population and prominent “vigilance committee,” which became part of the local abolitionist movement.
“This is an intriguing and important part of our region’s history,” said Paul Stewart of the Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region. “We’re very interested in the nitty-gritty of the story.”
Stewart said the organization hopes to shed more light on the people who were fleeing slavery and to show all of the large personalities involved, in a way that helps people realize they were much more than just fugitives fleeing in the night.
Dr. Rhonda Y. Williams, an assistant professor of history at Case Western Reserve University, will speak tonight on “Railroads, Streets and Bridges: Black Women and Freedom Journeys.”
Saturday kicks off with a 9 a.m. keynote lecture by Rosemary Sadlier, president of the Ontario Black History Society.
The rest of the day will feature a full roster, including workshops on Race and Gender in the Watervliet Shaker Community, African jewelry making, child labor and a performance by singer Deborah Anne Goss. Other offerings include a screening of “Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property,” a documentary film examining the slave who led a historic rebellion in Virginia in 1831, resulting in 60 deaths.
The performance group Matie Massie will also perform a mix of music and spoken word at 1 p.m. Saturday, followed by remarks by Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam. A selection of three workshops, plus the performance and the keynote lecture is $40 a person, but scholarships are available. A full schedule can be found at www.ugrworkshop.com.
The Rensselaer County Historical Society will hold a free reception Saturday evening for artist Mark Priest’s Charles Nalle paintings, and celebrate the release of local author Scott Christianson’s new book, “Freeing Charles, The Struggle to Free a Slave on the Eve of the Civil War. “ Christianson and Priest will speak at 6 p.m., followed by a book-signing and light refreshments.
The conference will close Sunday with tours of African-American heritage sites in Troy. The event will go on regardless of the weather, and walk-in registrations will be accepted at all events Saturday and Sunday.
http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2010/02/26/news/doc4b8762e84a321233221371.txt
