Workshops - Session 1 (10am - 11am)

1.1) Crossing the Line: Slave Rescuers in the South
Presenter: Tom Calarco, author The Underground Railroad and the Adirondack Region
Everyone acquainted with the Underground Railroad is familiar with the exploits of Harriet Tubman and her daring journeys into the South to bring slaves to freedom, but few know that there were many others whose rescue work in the South was just as courageous and provocative. We will consider some of these individuals, among them John Fairfield, Calvin Fairbank, John Parker, Alexander Milton Ross, and Charles T. Torrey.

1.2) Uncovering Local Anti-Slavery Societies (educators)
Presenter: Douglas Kaufman
New York State was very active in the abolitionist movement, a vital component of the Underground Railroad, and home to many prominent abolitionists. Abolitionists newspapers, such as The Friend of Man and The Tocsin of Liberty, are valuable sources for learning about your community’s involvement in the anti-slavery movement. This workshop will show you how to use these tools for instructional purposes.

1.3) New York at Manumission
Presenter: Robert W. Arnold, III, Chief, Govt. Records Services, NYS Archives
New York was a work in progress in the early 19th c., an age of many revolutions. This workshop will discuss the new contexts into which a manumission, complete and final, would occur.

1.4) From the Eastern Shore of Maryland to the Capital Region: The long reach, over time and geography, of Harriet Tubman’s personal Underground Railroad network
Presenter: Kate Clifford Larson, Ph.D.
Harriet Tubman is known to have traveled a well-worn Underground Railroad route from the Eastern Shore of Maryland to the Capital Region in New York. What most people do not know is that she shared familial and community ties with members of the black community in Troy and Albany - connections that pre-date her arrival there in the 1850s. Come hear about these interesting individuals and how their lives intersect with Tubman and her family, some possibly leading back to the 18th c.

1.5) Underground in Peterboro
Presenter: Norm Dann
This workshop will describe the location and activities of the Underground Railroad station operated in Peterboro by Gerrit Smith and his family and his associates.

1.6) Crossing to the Other Side (families)
Presenter: Don Papson, historian and playwright; Vivian Papson, P.R. Representative for the Red Hummingbird Fdn.; Rev. Fred Shaw, United Church, Elizabethtown, NY
A historical reading of the accounts of Black and White abolitionists who assisted refugees from slavery to cross into Canada along our northern frontier.

1.7) The Odyssey of Moses Viney
Presenter: Neil B. Yetwin, teacher, Schenectady High School - Social Studies - sponsored by a grant from the Schenectady Teacher Center
The workshop will be a biographical presentation on the life of Moses Viney (1817-1909), a former Maryland slave who escaped on the Underground Railroad and spent nearly 70 years of his life living in Schenectady, NY. His path to freedom will be covered in detail, as will his life in Schenectady.

1.8) Solomon Northup Re-enactment (families)
Presenter: Clifford Oliver
Solomon Northup, a native New Yorker, was kidnapped into slavery and returned home twelve years later. Clifford Oliver combines years of research with years of experience presenting the life of regional resident Solomon Northup. As well, the process of creating a re-enactment will be discussed.

1.9) Images of African Americans in the Age of Abolition
Presenter: Risa Fausette, Ph.D.
This workshop examines the transformation in the depiction of African Americans during the era of abolition. This workshop will examine how images of African Americans in public media reflected public concerns over the presence of free Black communities.

1.10) A History of Israel Church
Presenter: Dr. Grace Green
As a center for activists for African American rights, education, abolition and the Underground Railroad, to the post-Civil War period, WWI, the Depression, and modern growth—Israel Church holds a place in Capital Region history.

Workshops - Session 2 (11:30am - 12:30pm)

2.1) Risking Utopia: Shakers and the African American Experience
Presenter: Starlyn D’Angelo, Executive Dir., Shaker Historical Society
This presentation will focus on the experiences of African American Shakers and recent research that explores the role of Albany’s Shakers in the Underground Railroad. This presentation will include information about an intriguing legal battle that involved the Shakers and an African American man who claimed that the Shakers wrongfully sheltered two slaves who belonged to him.

2.2) This House Did Not Fall: the Split of the Abolitionist Movement in Albany
Presenter: Mary Jane Zanelli
This workshop will present the split of the abolition movement in Albany, NY. The city’s two abolition newspapers were at odds with each other and reflect the problems of racism, religious intolerance, and political splits within the movement nationwide.

2.3) National Abolition Hall of Fame
Presenter: Dot Willsey; Kia King, Upstate Institute Fellow, Colgate University
At the site of the 1835 inaugural meeting of the NYS Antislavery Society in Peterboro, NY, 14 members of the Cabinet of Freedom met on October 16, 2004 to establish a National Abolition Hall of Fame for the purpose of honoring those who fought for the abolition of slavery and promoted the equal human rights of African Americans. This workshop will share the development and vision of the Hall of Fame.

2.4) Eliza Wilson, My Journey (families)
Presenter: Wanda Webster, Artistic Director, UGR Players
A dramatization of Eliza Wilson, former slave and freedom seeker along with a discussion of how to create living history through re-enactments.

2.5) Historic Site Research - How Do We Know It’s Real?
Presenter: Tony Opalka, Paul Stewart, Mary Liz Stewart
Documenting historic sites can be confusing and time consuming, not to mention frustrating. Learn about steps in the process of documenting a historic site through the experiences of three researchers who have traveled that road.

2.6) Through Our Eyes (families)
Presenter: Branda Miller of RPI Media Arts Dept., 4th graders from The Arc Charter School, 4th graders from Mountain Road School , and Residents of the YWCA
How do the stories of times past connect with us today? Is there a connection? This collaboratively prepared workshop will offer reflections to these questions through the eyes of the presenters. They will share their insights on the impact of Underground Railroad history on their lives today.

2.7) On the Road to Freedom: Anti-slavery Sites in Troy, NY
Presenter: Scott Christianson, researcher and author
Antebellum Troy, NY occupies an important place in the battle against slavery and the fight for equal rights. This workshop will identify and discuss several key sites in Troy’s abolition history from 1840-1860.

2.8) Today’s Freedom Seekers: the Ongoing Struggle for Racial Justice
Presenter: Barbara Smith
Racial profiling, violent hate crimes, disproportionate rates of poverty and incarceration, educational inequality, unequal access to health care, and ongoing segregation are just some of the manifestations of the legacy of slavery and white supremacy in U.S. society today. The Underground Railroad exemplifies an activist intervention to challenge traditional racial and power relationships in the 19th c. This workshop will provide an opportunity to discuss current issues of racial justice and the various kinds of work that organizers are doing locally, nationally, and internationally to challenge racism.

2.9) Steal Away to Freedom: the UGR for Elementary Students (educators and families)
Presenter: Debi Craig, educator
Appropriate for children as young as grade 2, the presenter will incorporate songs, stories, local history, and artifacts, including a set of real shackles, that help history come alive. Included will be a puppet performance, “Follow the Drinkin’ Gourd”.

Workshops - Session 3 (3pm-4pm)

3.1) Drawing Strength from Our History by Sharing Our Stories
Presenter: Vibetta Sanders, Clinical Social Worker, School Administrator, Multi Cultural Consultant
A powerpoint journey of slave dwellings in different parts of the African Diaspora using narratives of captured Africans, slave narratives and personal narratives of American Africans who returned to Africa. Participants will be able to draw strength from the triumphs of the ancestors. My goal is to inspire others to find their stories from history and recognize the strength that lies beneath the struggles.

3.2) Marching Off to Freedom Land (families and educators)
Presenter: Vanessa Johnson, griot/storyteller
Through storytelling the story will be told of the transportation used by fugitive slaves to make their way north to the UGR and the various forms of UGR transportation in NYS that connected Albany, Syracuse, Oswego, and Buffalo. Written primary documents are transformed into spoken stories to use as teaching tools in the classroom or around the kitchen table. Join us using African drums, hand instruments, and songs to bring these tales to life.

3.3) Harriet Tubman and Beyond: Uncovering the Freedom Trail in Auburn and Cayuga Counties in New York
Presenter: Judith Wellman, Tanya Warren, Judy Bryant; Kate Clifford Larson, chair
Everyone knows that Harriet Tubman settled in Auburn, NY. Yet few people realize how many African Americans and European American abolitionists already lived in Auburn and Cayuga Counties or how many of Tubman’s family members also settled in Auburn. This panel will give preliminary results of a survey of historic sites related to the UGR, abolitionism, and African American life in Auburn and Cayuga Counties. Funded by Preserve NY, this survey has identified many sites owned and occupied by freedom seekers, as well as many sites related to people and events on the UGR. Focus will be placed on methods and sources used, as well as sharing examples of documented people, events and sites.

3.4) Africa to America: Rhythms of Struggle (families)
Presenter : Deborah Williams-Mohammed
Music has always been central to culture and the drumbeat of the cultural revolution. This workshop will transport participants through a historical journey leading to modern times. Participants will learn a song to take with them into their personal journey and to share with the larger group.

3.5) Ibo Dance and Drum (families)
Presenter: Kuumba Dance and Drum Experience
Kuumba’s presentation of original and traditional movement. Participants will receive an understanding of each step as it relates to slavery and freedom.

3.6) Underground Highway: the UGRR in the Hudson Valley
Presenter: Fergus Bordewich, author of Bound for Canaan: the Underground Railroad and the War for the Soul of America
The Hudson River Valley was one of the most important arteries of the UGRR, a highway that carried thousands of fugitives north from NYC to the Albany area. Until recently, very little was known about how the UGRR operated in the Hudson Valley. This workshop will discuss how fugitives traveled, who helped them, and how the UGRR in the Hudson Valley changed over time.

3.7) Flight to Freedom: An Underground Railroad Story (families)
Presenter: Nancy Marie Payne, storyteller
Bringing people and events of the emancipation movement to life, a storyteller presents the story of the UGR as seen through the eyes of a Quaker farm wife from Easton, NY.

3.8) Debt Owed -Taking Account
Presenter: A.J. Williams-Myers, Ph.D., Prof. Of Black Studies, SUNY New Paltz, author of numerous books, including African Dreams; Marcia Sutherland, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Africana Studies & Psychology, SUNYA
This workshop will present a discussion of the legacy of slavery in the US and the call for reparations.

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