Posts Tagged ‘John Brown’

Saturday, November 18, 2023

Lecture on John Brown in Westport, Dec. 6

John Brown by Southworth Hawes 1856

When John Brown Came To Westport: American Abolitionism and American Slavery Before the Civil War
A lecture with American historian, Connor Williams

Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, 5:30 PM

 

“The past is a foreign country,” the novelist L.P. Hartley once wrote. “They do things differently there.”

Perhaps nothing about American history is more foreign to us today than our history as a slave society. Yet that is our national truth, and our original sin. By the 1861 outbreak of the Civil War, the United States was the world’s greatest slave power. For almost 250 years Americans and their ancestors had created, maintained, and spread systems of enslavement throughout much of our nation. Indeed, it will take another 88 years before the lands of the United States will have known freedom for longer than they have known enslavement. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, July 18, 2023

John Brown Lives first ever Silent Auction

Spirit of John Brown

Credit: Janet Millstein

John Brown Lives! (JBL!), a freedom education and human rights project known across the North Country and beyond for its innovative educational programs and the warmth and camaraderie of its annual cultural and commemorative events such as John Brown Day, Blues at Timbuctoo, and Adirondack Family Book Festival is holding its first ever Silent Auction.
Leading up to JBL!’s Long Table Dinner at the John Brown Farm State Historic Site on Saturday, August 5th , the auction will go live on July 19, 2023 and the bidding will continue
through to the early evening of The Long Table Dinner. It will feature art, books, experiences and opportunities that were carefully curated to resonate with JBL!’s racial justice and human rights mission.

» Continue Reading.


Monday, July 17, 2023

Historical marker recognizes 19th-century Adirondack Black farm settlement in Loon Lake

blacksville sign

On Sunday, August 6, a new historical marker will be unveiled at Loon Lake, Franklin County, to honor the settlement of Blacksville and its founder, Virginia-born Brooklyn newsman and Black rights activist, Willis Hodges. The public is invited to attend.

Awarded by the Pomeroy Foundation at the request of educator Curt Stager, this marker honors a forgotten chapter of Adirondack history with ties to the Black suffrage movement and abolitionist John Brown.

In 1848, Hodges and other Brooklyn and Manhattan pioneers moved to remote Loon Lake in south Franklin County. Hodges and several in his party were among 3,000 poor Black New Yorkers who received forty-acre gift lots in Franklin and Essex Counties from the radical New York philanthropist, Gerrit Smith, in 1846 and ’47. Smith hoped to promote a Black migration out of cities, and to ease access to the ballot for voteless Black New Yorkers who could not meet a for-Blacks-only $250 property requirement. Most of Smith’s “grantees” would not migrate. Moving to the wilderness was impractical and unaffordable. But Willis Hodges and others in his party remained for several years in the vicinity of Loon Lake, where Hodges was said to have sheltered and guided self-freed enslaved people making for the north.

» Continue Reading.


Thursday, May 18, 2023

North Country Juneteenth Colors of Freedom Community Award nominations accepted through May 31

North Star Underground Railroad Museum.

This year the North Country Juneteenth Colors of Freedom celebration of the region’s role in the fight against slaver which highlights the Underground Railroad work in the area and avid abolitionist, John Brown, will be held on June 17, 18, 19 and 20. As part of the celebration, an individual, business, organization or politician will be recognized with a North Country Juneteenth Colors of Freedom Community Award. This award will be given to a person(s) who has honored an individual or organization in the Adirondack/North Country region who has made a positive impact on African American members in the community and actively promoted the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

» Continue Reading.


Monday, March 6, 2023

Untangling Timbucto and the Roots of Gerrit Smith’s Land Grants of 1846

timbuctoo

History has done a poor job of defining and interpreting Gerrit Smith’s 1846 land grants and the Timbucto settlers in North Elba. More recently, scholars have been exploring and telling this rich and fascinating black history of the Adirondacks. However, confusion, fiction, and exaggerations have crept into some narratives. As an independent scholar of history, I believe we need to be vigilant to keep history factual, especially given the current attacks on re-writing and re-framing history. Conjecture and opinions should be stated as such, facts should be backed up by reliable sources and verified by evidence.

Many historical accounts about the land grants and Timbucto are chocked full of errors and myths rather than historical facts. Among these are Alfred Donaldson’s chapter on John Brown in A History of the Adirondacks, Volume II (1921), Mary Lee’s article in New York Times (1929), Beatrice Hughes article in New York State Conservationist (1921), Richard Henry Dana’s article in Atlantic (1871), and various narratives quoting Lyman Epps Jr. These are not reliable sources.

» Continue Reading.


Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Timbuctoo Institute would build opportunity in the Adirondacks

john brown and timbuctoo

By Aaron Mair

The Adirondack Park is a national treasure because our ancestors had the foresight in the 1880s and 1890s to protect its forests and waters as a legacy for future generations to inherit and enjoy. Creating the Forest Preserve and the “forever wild” clause of the state constitution were bold, new ideas.

Now, more than 120 years later, we can see how smart our ancestors were. The Adirondack Park was transformed in less than a century from a smoldering mess of wildfires, clear-cut forests and muddy rivers into the world’s largest intact, temperate deciduous forest. Today, it hosts most of the rare forest wildlife, wilderness and old-growth forest remaining in the Northeast.

What caused people as far away as New York City to act?

 

» Continue Reading.


Monday, March 7, 2022

Save the Date: John Brown Day

john brown day

Join us on May 14th at the John Brown Farm State Historic Site in Lake Placid, NY to celebrate and honor the 2022 Spirit of John Brown Awardees: Tiffany Rea-Fisher, Karen Davidson Seward, Tom Morello. This year will mark the 100th anniversary of of the first “John Brown Day,” when Black leaders from Philadelphia made their first pilgrimage to lay a wreath on Brown’s grave. It will be a weekend of celebration. Stay tuned for more information.

 


Thursday, July 15, 2021

John Brown Farm and New York’s Voter Suppression History

voter suppressionThis year we are celebrating New York State’s acquisition of John Brown Farm 125 years ago.  And it is good that we are.

But let us also recall a 200th Anniversary linked to the John Brown Farm – a connection that has particular importance this year as we witness a voter suppression spree around our country.  Two hundred years ago, that was us–our New York ancestors–enacting explicit rules to keep blacks from voting.

John Brown and his family came here to the Adirondacks as part of an effort to counteract New York State-sponsored suppression of voting rights for black men.

We are now seeing a wave of voter suppression efforts in states controlled by Republican legislators fearful of losing their majority power.  Well, guess what?  That’s exactly what was going on here in good old New York back in the early 1800’s.  We New Yorkers apparently were leaders in voter suppression.  We even put it into the state constitution!  That’s more than the states are doing today.

» Continue Reading.


Monday, October 26, 2020

From the archive: John Brown

A new series on Showtime starring Ethan Hawke as abolitionist John Brown prompted me to dig into the Almanack archive for articles about Brown. (And don’t miss scholar/writer Amy Godine’s virtual Grange Hall talk tomorrow night about the historic statue of Brown at his Lake Placid farm.)

Here are a few gems:


Monday, October 26, 2020

Grange talk about John Brown memorial

From the Whallonsburg Grange Virtual Lyceum Series:

Statues and memorials on public land are being debated across the country. Amy Godine, historian and author, will plumb the lost history and meanings of an Adirondack icon, the statue of John Brown at his farm in North Elba. Whether you love it, hate it, or are not sure of its place today, this 85-year-old landmark memorial to the renowned abolitionist invites fresh consideration.

The Virtual Lyceum series is made possible through the generous support of the Glenn and Carol Pearsall Adirondack Foundation.

This talk is taking place from 7-8:30 p.m., presented via Zoom.

You must register IN ADVANCE so we can email you the Zoom link. You can register for the entire series or for an individual lecture. We will record the lectures and make them available later if you can’t watch them live.

Click here to register for the Virtual Lyceums.


Tuesday, July 16, 2019

Amy Godine on John Brown Pilgrimages, Lake Placid Club

Adirondack Life contributor and independent scholar Amy Godine is set to track the history of pilgrimages to abolitionist John Brown’s North Elba grave and home, with an emphasis on the yearly visits of the John Brown Memorial Association from Philadelphia and the exclusionary Lake Placid Club.

From 1922 into the 1970s, black activists gathered at Brown’s shrine to honor his May birthday with speeches, sermons, and song. People in Lake Placid participated too, spurning the segregationist culture of the Jim Crow era. Of special interest to Godine is the complicated relationship of the black city pilgrims with the notoriously exclusionary Lake Placid Club. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, June 6, 2019

John Brown Farm Nature Programs Planned

john brown livesJohn Brown Farm has announced a number of nature programs set to run in June.

Conservation biologist and photographer Larry Master will lead a guided bird walk on Saturday, June 8, from 7 to 9 am, and a guided butterfly walk on Saturday, July 13, from 9:30 to 11:30 am. Rain dates are June 15 and July 14, respectively. » Continue Reading.


Monday, May 13, 2019

Historical Pilgrimages to the John Brown’s Farm

Barber in November 1912Memorial Day weekend is approaching, and along with the “unofficial start of summer,” the Adirondacks will experience its annual influx of vacationers. But in years past, visitors arrived in May for another purpose: a pilgrimage to the John Brown farm in North Elba, New York. At the farm, a wreath would be laid upon the abolitionist’s grave, and the song “John Brown’s Body” was sung. » Continue Reading.


Sunday, April 21, 2019

John Brown Day 2019 Planned For May 4th

john brown dayJohn Brown Lives! has announced “John Brown Day: A Day of Reflection. A Day of Action.” is set for May 4th, 2019 from 2 to 4 pm, at the John Brown Farm State Historic Site.

John Brown Day is a commemoration honoring women and men whose work invokes the passion and conviction of the 19th-century abolitionist who dedicated his life to the cause of liberation. » Continue Reading.


Saturday, January 26, 2019

That So-Called Adirondack Hall of Fame

I’ve made it a point of personal honor not to engage in arguments over lists, a lesson learned in high school when the radio stations would play their obligatory end-of-year “100 Greatest Rock and Roll Songs of All Time” segments.

And you’d sit around with a bunch of people in your friend’s basement having a meltdown that Stairway to Heaven placed ahead of Satisfaction.

The capper was when stations, looking to reintroduce some buzz into a growingly tired feature, would pick something like Rubberband Man by the Spinners as the No. 1 Rock and Roll Song of All Time, spurring a renewed burst of moral outrage that even weed couldn’t suppress. The Internet has made things far worse, as morons in search of clicks have ranked stuff like the Top 10 Grasshoppers and the 10 Best Places For Retirees to Buy Housing Shingles. » Continue Reading.



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