January 12, 13 & 14, 2005
“The history of Abolition and Underground Railroad
activities is
not found using traditional methods of European-style
historic research,
but the history is there. You just have to know where
to look."
- Karen James, PHMC
GENERAL INFO
A
prevalent myth claims that the Underground Railroad
never passed through Northeastern Pennsylvania, but
recent research is beginning to show that myth to be
dead wrong. Now you can help debunk the myth and
contribute to telling an accurate history of our region.
The
Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC) will
present an Underground Railroad Research Training
Session in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Offered in
partnership with the Center for Anti-Slavery Studies,
the session will be of great benefit to both scholars
and lay people alike, introducing them to the region's
Underground Railroad history and giving them practical
tools for their further research into the subject. All
are invited to attend free of charge, but advance
registration is politely requested.
An
Underground Railroad Research training session will be
held in Northeastern PA.
The evening session will be facilitated by Karen James,
Manager of PHMC’s Underground Railroad Initiative, and
are designed to:
· Give
participants and solid sense of what the Underground
Railroad was and was not
· Illustrate
the vital importance of NEPA in the national struggle
against slavery
· Provide
an introduction to UGRR-specific research techniques and
materials
in your community
Due to the large
geographic area of Northeastern PA, Karen will offer the
session on three consecutive nights - once in each of
three different regions. See below for the date
and location of the session in your region.
DATES & LOCATIONS
Due to the
large geographic area being covered, three sessions will
be offered - one for each region. The same session
is being provided to each region.
REGION 1 - Endless Mountains
(Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna & Wyoming Counties)
Date: Friday, January 14, 2004
Time: 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Click here for full press release
REGION 2 - The Valley Region
(Carbon, Lackawanna & Luzerne Counties)
Date: Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Time: 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Click here for full press release
REGION
3 - The Pocono Mountains
(Monroe, Pike & Wayne Counties)
Date: Thursday, January 13, 2005
Time: 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Click here for full press release
MORE
INFO...
The Underground Railroad has been receiving
increased attention across the nation, but most
particularly in our own backyards. An ambitious
project to research and interpret Northeastern
Pennsylvania’s role in the Underground Railroad
is currently underway, funded in its initial
phases by the National Endowment for the
Humanities and the PA Humanities Council. The
project, spearheaded by The Center for
Anti-Slavery Studies (CASS) and
Keystone College, is a multi-year project that
will research the Underground Railroad and
Abolition activities of about a 10 county area
of Northeastern PA. The public will be invited
to participate and offer input into the
project’s research & planning phase. At the end
of the research phase, collected information
will be formatted into a traveling exhibit,
companion web-based and DVD resources &
curriculum materials, and a “how-to” guide for
conducting Underground Railroad research.
The upcoming UGRR research training
session will be facilitated by Karen James,
Manager of the UGRR Initiative for the PA
Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC). Karen is
a noted speaker in the Commonwealth who has
presented at numerous conferences, Universities,
and grass-roots events on the topic of the
Underground Railroad. In addition, she travels
the Commonwealth assisting counties and
organizations in uncovering and understanding
their Underground Railroad history. “Pennsylvania is at the heart of the
anti-slavery movement in the US,
and a part of that movement we call the
Underground Railroad,” Karen explained. “Our
goal is to learn more about the role of
Pennsylvanians in UGRR history. We do this by
using all sorts of documents to help us find the
names of the people involved or the actions of
many people from different communities in PA.”
A recent visit that Karen made to Bradford
County was very productive, indeed, in finding
“clear evidence of a strong African American
community, a good working relationship between
white abolitionists and black citizens, and
wonderful documentation about those
relationships.”
The goals for the Underground Railroad
Research Training Sessions are as follows:
first, to give participants a solid sense of
what the UGRR was and was not. Second, the session will illustrate the vital
importance of Northeastern Pennsylvania
on the Underground Railroad. Our role on the
national stage is a history that is under-told
and much misunderstood. Lastly, Karen will
provide an introduction to UGRR-specific
research techniques and materials in your
community. “The history of Abolition and
Underground Railroad activities can not be found
using traditional methods of European-style
historic research,” she emphasized, “but the
history is there. You just have to know where
to look.”
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