underground railroad Archives - Page 2 of 2

Another Busy Weekend

Here are my wife and daughter frolicking at a MidSummer’s gathering this past Saturday. On Sunday, it was on to the Hembeck/Moss residence. More on these in the coming days.
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Hey, Fred: NBC is rerunning that Jerry Lewis episode of Law & Order: SVU tonight at 10 pm EDT.
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I love those synchronistic stories: Fred Glavine used to tell his son Tom how his favorite pitcher, the great Boston/Milwaukee Braves left-handed pitcher Warren Spahn, would have handled a situation. Warren Spahn, who had 363 wins, finished his career with the New York Mets.
Now Tom Glavine, the great left-handed pitcher, long with the Atlanta Braves, won his 300th game Sunday night, playing for the New York Mets.
I also learned that Spahn, Glavine and Early Wynn are the only three pitchers to win 300 games without having a 20-win season.
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I don’t know if you bugged them about it, as I did, but Dead or Alive HAS added Doug Marlette to its list, only a couple weeks after the fact.
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I’ll probably be mentioning this at least once a month until February: the 7th Annual Underground Railroad Conference, Friday-Sunday, February 22-24, 2008, primarily at the College of St. Rose in Albany. Save the date.
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A couple suggested readings: ADD interviews James Howard Kunstler about the state of the nation, Kunstler’s writing career and other stuff. It’s long, but interesting, and an audio is available as well. A much shorter piece is the Brad Blog piece about the California Secretary of State Debra Bowen requiring paper ballots to be counted, “not invisible electronic bits and bites from computers run by private corporations using secret machines and secret software.”
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My sister Leslie flew in from San Diego last night; actually she arrived about 12:30 this morning and is still still asleep. I, on the other hand, am (allegedly) awake.
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Finally, a quiz I found on the site of Kelly Brown. FWIW, I think it’s incredibly accurate.

You Should Rule Saturn

Saturn is a mysterious planet that can rarely be seen with the naked eye.

You are perfect to rule Saturn because like its rings, you don’t always follow the rules of nature.
And like Saturn, to really be able to understand you, someone delve beyond your appearance.

You are not an easy person to befriend. However, once you enter a friendship, you’ll be a friend for life.
You think slowly but deeply. You only gain great understanding after a situation has past.

What Planet Should You Rule?

ROG

"Right is of no Sex – Truth is of no Color"

On February 24, 2007, Carol and I I attended a conference on the Underground Railroad: Uncovering the Voices of Women, organized for the sixth year in a row by our friends Paul and Mary Liz Stewart. It was excellent.

One of the sessions was “From the UGR to Women’s Rights: Historic Sites in Central NY” by Judy Wellman, Ph.D. From the program: “Nationally, abolitionism provided one of the most important roots of the early women’s rights movement. In central NY, a survey of sites relating to African Americans and European Americans involved with the UGR suggests powerful connections between the UGR and early women’s rights movement.” One finds a number of suffragists at the forefront of the anti-slavery movement, described well here. The quote in the title is by early feminist Frederick Douglass.

I can’t help but notice the parallels between the 19th and 20th Century women’s movements. The article cited above notes how a major anti-slavery convention in London in 1840 did not seat or hear from women delegates, two of whom were Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. I recall the discussions during the civil rights and antiwar movements of the 1960s, where women (rightly) complained that they were being relegated to the sidelines, expected to do the cleaning and cooking, while the menfolk did the “important” organizing.

The toughest part of the conference had to be in the opening plenary session, in which Delores M. Walters, Ph.D. described “The Narrative Life of Margaret Garner’s Life and Beyond”. Margaret Garner was a slave who, with her family, attempted to escape, but was recaptured. Rather than letting her two-year-old be brought back into slavery, she killed her. Margaret was put on trial, and returned to slavery, but died soon thereafter.

There is now an opera, written by Toni Morrison, author of the book “Beloved”, which has a narrative section that parallels Margaret Garner’s life. It has been performed a number of times already, and it will be performed again in New York City in September 2007.

The conference ended with a responsive reading of a litany, found here.

The conference is already planning for next year, so if you’re in the area, please consider attending.
ROG

MOVIE REVIEWS: The Pursuit of Happyness; The Queen

Albany people: VOTE YES today, noon-9 pm. I’ve stolen, er, apppropriated all the reasons why here.
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Carol and I saw The Pursuit of Happyness on MLK Day. Lydia was in day care, and the local theater was showing matinees. So after going to the Indian buffet, we walked to the theater. It was good, Will Smith was good, the interaction between the main character and his son were good, probably because the son was played by Will’s real son, Jaden. It was “inspirational”. So why was I not bowled over?

At first, I thought it was that the situations that the character was going through were so incredible that, if it weren’t based on a real guy, I’m not sure I would have believed it. That might be part of it.

I’ve figured out, though, that the REAL reason I was underwhelmed was that the commercials, and especially the trailer REVEALED TOO MUCH. I know that when X happened, Y would follow. A pity.
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For some obscure reason, my wife was under the impression that The Queen had had reviewed badly, so when we had had a chance to go, we didn’t. (It got a 98% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes.) So, when the nominations came out a couple weeks ago, and I recognized the paucity of the nominees that I had seen (The Devil Wears Prada, Dreamgirls, An Inconvenient Truth, Little Miss Sunshine, and the aforementioned Pursuit of Happyness), I decided to take the afternoon off and go see The Queen.

Immediately, seeing this movie is a problem, as it’s now “Nominated for six Academy Awards” including original screenplay, best actress (Helen Mirren) and best picture. That said, I was a bit distracted early by the use of clips of Diana, in a way I wasn’t bothered by Joe McCarthy in Good Night and Good Luck. However, after Diana dies (hope I’m not accused of being a spoiler, because that is THE plot point), I became quite engrossed in the movie. Particularly, the relationship between Elizabeth II and the newly-elected Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) was intriguing. This is not a BIG performance by Mirren, but highly nuanced. By the end of the film, the clips from the funeral procession worked for me. Not having seen enough films, I’m not sure I’d have picked The Queen as best picture, but Dame Mirren’s performance is certainly worthy of consideration, and perhaps of the treasure trove she’s already brought home (Golden Globes, SAG, etc.). I DO wonder, though, if QE II and Blair really had a piece of dialogue that foretells of the later trouble Blair would have with the British press.
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Just got this, unfortunately. Mary Liz and Paul are not only friends, but they gave a great presentation at my church on Sunday

New York State Library Public Program

People of Courage, People of Hope, Seekers of Justice, a New York State Library Public Program – Free.

People of Courage, People of Hope, Seekers of Justice celebrates the Capital Regions participation in the Underground Railroad movement of the 19th century. African American residents of the Capital Region were significant participants in the international effort to abolish the federally sanctioned institution of slavery and advocate for the rights of People of Color. A rich, complex collection of historically-documented stories that have informed the accounts of abolitionists and freedom seekers will be presented in this PowerPoint presentation. Presenters: Paul and Mary Liz Stewart, independent researchers and co-founders of the Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region, Inc. Bring your lunch.

Tuesday, February 6th, 12:15-1:15pm

All programs are FREE. TO REGISTER online go here , or e-mail NYSLTRN@mail.nysed.gov or call 518-474-2274. Classes will be held in the Librarians Room in the State Library, which is on the 7th floor of the Cultural Education Center, Madison Avenue, Albany, unless otherwise indicated. The New York State Library/Reference Services, Cultural Education Center, Albany, NY 12230 (518-474-5355); http://www.nysl.nysed.gov

Juneteenth

I was really good at American history. I knew (still know) the U.S. Presidents in order. Of course, I knew about the end of the Civil War at Appomattox.

My (now late) friend Donna George was helping to plan the annual meeting of the Albany United Methodist Society, an entity that has food and clothing programs, a few years back. Donna was very excited that the event was planned for “Juneteenth”. I nodded.
I had NO idea what she was talking about.

The Civil War may have ended in April 1865, but the WORD took a while to reach the whole country. And in Texas, it wasn’t until June 19 until the news came down that the war was over and that the slaves were free.

Why did I not know this until my forties? What else did I miss out on?

Somehow, this reminded me of something I remember reading in library school, probably in the 601 (introductory) course. Daniel Boorstin, the former Librarian of Congress, who died a couple years ago, was a very prolific writer. One of the things he said, and this is HEAVILY paraphrased, is that information disappears in a number of ways. One is by war and conquest, when to the victor belongs not only the spoils, but the chance to write (and rewrite) history.

Another is by changing technology. Think of some great album (LP) you owned that’s NOT on CD, or an old movie that’s NOT on DVD or even video. Remember the information on reel-to-reel tapes, which would be very difficult to access; or all the microfiche for which readers are harder and harder to come by.

So, here’s to the preservationists:
Those archaeologists who are going to find out about those folks recently disinterred during construction in Menands.
Those folks in Save the Pine Bush and similar groups that believe in biodiversity.
Those folks in Hollywood and DC saving our literally deteriorating film history.

A special thanks to my friends Paul and Mary Liz Stewart, who are preserving the history of the Underground Railroad in Albany through a series of tours each summer. Future tours will take place this year on June 26, July 24, August 21, September 18, and October 9, starting at 2:00 from the Albany Area Heritage Visitor’s Center at Quackenbush Square.
They have also purchased a building that was pivotal in the UGRR movement in Albany and are in the midst of restoring it.

Finally, on this 140th anniversary, thanks to the Juneteenth descendants who have kept this piece of history alive..