MHAHP In Presentation on Promoting Underground Railroad Consortium
Joins Other Coalition Organizations in Workshop at Black & Puerto Rican Caucus
The Underground Railroad Consortium of New York State (URCNYS) presented a workshop for the 45th Annual Legislative Conference of the New York State Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators, Inc. in Albany on Saturday, February 13. The workshop was sponsored by Assemblyman David F. Gantt of Rochester and was facilitated by Nick Thony from Gantt’s legislative office in Albany. The 2016 conference theme was Restoring Faith & Justice: In Pursuit of Empowering Our Communities. The twenty-two partners of the newly incorporated Consortium were represented by a panel: Mary Liz Stewart, the leader and Co-Chair in the establishment of the Consortium, and a Co-Founder of the Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region, Inc., presented a PowerPoint outlining the rationale, mission, and vision of URCNYS, as well as the partner locations across the state. Peter Bunten (Mid-Hudson Antislavery History Project in Poughkeepsie NY), Jacqueline Madison (North Country Underground Railroad Historical Association and The North Star Underground Railroad Museum in Ausable Chasm NY), Paul Stewart (Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence in Albany NY), and Dorothy Willsey (Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark and the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum in Peterboro NY) provided information on the activities and the ongoing work at partner sites. Thony shared David and Ruth Anderson’s description of the AKWAABA: The Heritage Associates, Inc. program in Rochester NY.
The MHAHP is one of the 22 founding members of the Coalition. The mission of the Underground Railroad Consortium is to advance and promote New York State’s historic role in the Underground Railroad movement. For more information on the Consortium, contact Mary Liz Stewart at marylizugr@gmail.com. For information on MHAHP’s role in the Consortium, contact Peter Bunten at pabunten1@aol.com