The Underground Railroad was the movement that enslaved African Americans used to gain freedom in the 19th Century. The Capital Region of New York State was visited by thousands of fugitives seeking freedom in the years prior to the Civil War. [Read more…] about Underground Railroad Education Center Online Reading Series
Underground Railroad Education Center
Albany Underground Railroad Center Receives $2 Million Grant
A $2 million state grant will help launch the expansion of the Underground Railroad Education Center (UREC), which is currently housed in the former 19th-century home of Black abolitionists Harriet and Stephen Myers, a onetime stop on the Underground Railroad located in Albany‘s Arbor Hill neighborhood. [Read more…] about Albany Underground Railroad Center Receives $2 Million Grant
$100K Awarded To Museum Educators
The Pomeroy Fund for NYS History has awarded 20 history-related organizations across New York State $5,000 each during its fifth grant round to bring back or hire museum educators. [Read more…] about $100K Awarded To Museum Educators
Amy & Enid Go To Archeology Camp in Albany
During the pandemic, I watched every episode of the BBC reality archeology program, Time Team, which ran for twenty years. The show condenses three days of archaeological exploration of a site into a one hour episode. Not only did I watch every episode, it is fair to say that I became obsessed with archaeology in general.
About halfway into the pandemic, I discovered that my friend Amy had become similarly obsessed. So when I found out that the Underground Railroad Education Center in Albany, New York was offering an opportunity to volunteer to participate in a five day dig they had planned for August, I called Amy and said, “Wanna do it?” She replied, “Hell yeah!” [Read more…] about Amy & Enid Go To Archeology Camp in Albany
Stephen Myers of Albany: Abolitionist Writer, Advocate & Underground Railroad Activist
Stephen Myers was a Black activist in connection with the Underground Railroad and African American rights in general. He was born and enslaved in Hoosick, Rensselaer County, New York State and raised when it was a slave state working on progressive abolition. He was the principal agent and a key writer for the Northern Star and Freeman’s Advocate, he was also the editor of The Elevator and The Telegraph and Temperance Journal.
As early as 1831 he was assisting fugitives from enslavement making their way to Canada. He was also active in 1827 with a group of little-known significance called the Clarkson Anti-slavery Society. As time went on he was involved in organizing and serving as a delegate to many of the Colored Men’s Conventions of the 1830s to the 1860s, to secure African American rights. He was involved in voting rights campaigns through the NYS Suffrage Association, was involved in organizing a school, and sued Albany Schools over segregation. [Read more…] about Stephen Myers of Albany: Abolitionist Writer, Advocate & Underground Railroad Activist
Abolition, Civil Rights Talk With Underground RR Experts Mary Liz and Paul Stewart
The New York State Archives Partnership Trust will host “Risk-Takers and Change-Makers,” an online conversation looking at the men and women whose efforts empowered the abolitionist cause and laid the foundation for today’s civil rights movement in the United States, set for Tuesday, February 1st. [Read more…] about Abolition, Civil Rights Talk With Underground RR Experts Mary Liz and Paul Stewart
Historic Cherry Hill Grant to Support Multi-Site School Programs
Historic Cherry Hill has announced Multivocal Learning: Albany’s History for Albany’s Students, a school program collaboration with Albany County Historical Association’s Ten Broeck Mansion and the Underground Railroad Education Center at the Myers Residence and funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan (ARP). [Read more…] about Historic Cherry Hill Grant to Support Multi-Site School Programs