Public discussed the local history
project
"The Place I Call Home: Northeastern Pennsylvania's Underground Railroad History"
Mon.,
July 25, 2005
The Valley Region
Wed.,
July 27, 2005
The Poconos
Fri.,
July 29, 2005
Endless Mts. Region
GENERAL INFO
The
Center for Anti-Slavery Studies and Keystone College
invited the public to a series of Town Meetings to
discuss the local history project, The Place I Call
Home: Northeastern Pennsylvania’s Underground Railroad
History. The multi-county project will spend the
next few years researching and interpreting the
under-told role that Northeastern Pennsylvania played in
the national Anti-Slavery movement.
This
was the second of three
Town Meetings which invite public discussion and participation
in the research process. Admission was free to the Town
Meetings.
Due to the large
geographic area of Northeastern PA, the project team offered the
same session on three different nights - once in each of
three regions. See below for the date
and location of the session that was held in your region.
DATES & LOCATIONS
Due to the
large geographic area being covered, three sessions were offered - one for each region. The same session
was provided to each region.
THE VALLEY REGION
(Carbon, Lackawanna & Luzerne Counties)
Date: Monday, July 25, 2005
Time: 7:00 –
8:30 pm
Hosted by the: Luzerne County Historical Society
POCONO MOUNTAIN REGION
(Monroe, Pike & Wayne Counties)
Date: Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Time: 7:00 –
8:30 pm
Hosted by the: Wayne County Historical Society
ENDLESS MOUNTAINS REGION
(Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna & Wyoming Counties)
Date: Friday, July 29, 2005
Time: 7:00 –
8:30 pm
MORE
INFO...
The Place I Call Home,
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 a ten county area of
Northeastern Pennsylvania. Its initial
Consultation Phase was funded by the National
Endowment for the Humanities and the
Pennsylvania Humanities Council. The second
phase, the Research & Planning Phase, which runs
from early 2005 to late 2006, has been funded to
date by the National Endowment for the
Humanities, Pennsylvania Humanities Council, the
Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission, the
Lackawanna Heritage Valley & Endless Mountains
Heritage Region, Scranton Area Foundation and the Luzerne Foundation.
This phase will assess existing research,
conduct additional research, and invite public
input, including oral histories and family
records, to provide an accurate account of this
region’s Underground Railroad “story.” At the
end of the Research and Planning Phase,
collected information will be formatted into a
traveling exhibit, companion web-based and
DVD resources and curriculum materials, and a “how-to” guide for
conducting Underground Railroad research. “Even with a few years to research this amazing
region, we will not have an exhaustive
understanding of what took place here,” says
project coordinator, Kim Glemboski.
“What we will have is an accurate representation
of the role this region played on the national
stage, punctuated by specific accounts and
stories. Our greatest hope is that after the
project’s conclusion, each of the communities in NEPA will continue to build upon this
foundation, exploring more of their Underground
Railroad stories and putting those stories in
context with what was happening across the
region.” Early research for The Place I Call Home seems to be showing evidence of strong
African-American communities across Northeastern
Pennsylvania and good working relationships
between white abolitionists and black citizens.
Refugees from slavery were assisted by free
blacks, active Abolitionists, and ordinary
residents across the area. Karen James, Manager
of the UGRR Initiative for the Pennsylvania
Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC), and an
expert on the topic of the Underground Railroad
notes that, “Pennsylvania was at the heart of
the anti-slavery movement in the U.S., and a
part of that movement we call the Underground
Railroad. 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 Pennsylvania.” Town Meetings will give the public an
overview of the ambitious local history
project and a way to become involved in
preserving their local history. Project Team members will detail
how community members can contribute to and/or
become involved in the research process. “The
history of Abolition and Underground Railroad
activities can not be found using traditional
methods of European-style historic research,”
Karen James noted, “but the history is there.
You just have to know where to look.”
For more information about the upcoming Town
Meetings or The Place I Call Home,
contact The Center for Anti-Slavery Studies toll
free.
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