The Harriet Tubman National Historical Park is partnering with the New York State Equal Rights Heritage Center and the City of Auburn to honor the life and work of the famed abolitionist with a day of special ceremonies and exhibits on March 10.
That's when Harriet Tubman Day is celebrated throughout the United States. That's also the day in 1913 when the Underground Railroad leader died in Auburn, where she'd settled.
The program includes a keynote address from Tanisha M. Jackson, assistant professor in the Department of African American studies at Syracuse University. Jackson is also the executive director of the university-affiliated Community Folk Art Center.
According to the Equal Rights Heritage Center, Jackson’s lecture will “place Tubman’s legacy in conversation with contemporary Black women artists who build creative spaces rooted in wellness, mutual care, and social transformation.”
Most of the day’s activities will be held at the Thompson A.M.E. Zion Church, 47 Park Street in Auburn, where Tubman’s funeral service took place. The programs begin at 10 a.m.
This year’s theme is “Towards a More Perfect Union." Officials said this phrase speaks to the “nation’s courage as displayed by the life and work of Tubman.”
