I
believe the saying goes, “if we don’t learn from our past we are doomed to
repeat it.” There could be no truer example of this in our country than of
slavery and the struggle that occurred during the Civil Rights movement. I have
always been interested in the relics of our past that surround our everyday
lives. How they lay there beside us as we run to work, out for coffee, off to
the theater. We rarely take the time to contemplate how, what, and who has made
our lives so comfortable that we have the luxury of complaining about the
mundane everyday things that “ruin” our lives.
More
so than this, there are artifacts that have no marking, no monument, and
instead sit silently as bystanders to history waiting for their chance at
recognition. Though they are too numerous to count, especially in a historical
rich section of the world as lower Manhattan, I am becoming increasingly aware
of how my everyday movements are stepping back in time. Now I finally have a
chance to stop and reflect at what I am passing by and traveling back in time
to connect with those who have gone before me and lived in my city but not in
my world.
Slavery
and the Underground Railroad both have always been topics of interest to me. In
general stories of survival or overcoming the odds I find fascinating. I want
to know what incredible souls had in their makeup that allowed them to escape
their truths and redefine their life paths for themselves. There are lessons to
be learned here.
It
is this topic which brings me to my most recent outing. Last weekend I
completed an item off my 2014/2015 to do list (http://thequeenoff-ckingeverything.blogspot.com/2014/04/for-year-4-20142015-to-do-list.html), a walking tour in New York City
devoted to the history of Slavery and the Underground Railroad here.
It
was a subject that never really occurred to me to think about in terms of in
N.Y.C. I know that sounds ignorant but somehow in my mind the free North didn’t
include passageways for slaves and if they did I guess I assumed there were no
longer traces of that time period. But you know what happens when you assume….
I
had no idea what the specifics would be of this tour and the description was
vague but I was so interested and so glad I was getting to finally go. My
cousin was my date and she was equally excited which made it even better. It
was a beautiful day in our neighborhood for a walk and a talk. And boy is that
what we got.
Anyone who has seen The Real Housewives of Atlanta this season knows that to ask where the Underground Railroad stopped leaves some breathless. That
question leaves me angered beyond belief. We all know by now that this was the
means many slaves used to get from state to state to achieve their freedom by
traveling underground so as not to be discovered and killed. There were many
helpers along the way, safe houses, as well as the dark, dirty underground
tunnels used to connect one secure location to another. Of course nothing was
guaranteed and everyone involved was at risk.
I
recently saw the acclaimed movie “12 Years a Slave” and although the main
character is not apart of the Underground Railroad it shows the difference
between freedom and slavery makes in one man’s life. It is very powerful and
the risks one may take for freedom, especially regaining one’s freedom, all
rise to the surface. Under such palpable, intensely stressful situations daring
to flee certainly seems impossible. It is amazing that anyone had the bravery
and creativity to find a way to go. How each story differs from one another is
what keeps drawing me in story after story.
Prior
to this walking tour the only other experience, in real life, I had with the
Underground Railroad was during a trip to Memphis in 2011 when I visited the
Burkle Estate (http://thequeenoff-ckingeverything.blogspot.com/2011/06/for-rock-n-roll-ribs-and-reflection_02.html). This was a house that was
purchased for the purpose of buying slaves and keeping up the appearance they
were workers. Then at night the house’s real secret was shown as it was a main
transport of the Underground Railroad especially given its proximity to the
Mississippi River. The house has artifacts that still remain from that time
period and tour guides full of history bringing to life the stories from the
past. It is something I highly recommend if you are in the area. The quiet
house on the quiet road looks as unsuspecting now as it probably did then.
On
the morning of this tour we were to meet in front of the National Museum of the
American- Indian (there is also one in Washington, D.C.). Although I have
passed this museum many times I never actually stood directly in front of it
and took it all in. I have to admit that there are many details I would have
missed had our tour guide not mentioned them. I thought it was just an easy
meeting point. It turns out it was the beginning of our story.
This
museum was originally the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House built 1902–1907
by the federal government to house the duty collection operations for the port
of New York York City. This site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976. The man who created the design for this
building, Cass Gilbert, also did the Woolworth building another N.Y.C. infamous
building and National Historic Landmark as of 1966.
The
four statues that border the entrance to the museum are to represent (left to
right): Africa and its slave labor, America on the backs on the Native
Americans, United Kingdom on its throne, and Asia. It was so interesting to
learn about this building I had always starred at. The details on these
magnificent sculptures were coming alive as they were being shown to me.
From
here we began our walk and stopped when we hit a familiar scene to me; Fraunces
Tavern. The Tavern was home to the Sons of the Revolution in 1904 and was New
York’s oldest building. When I had visited previously and took the tour inside
(http://thequeenoff-ckingeverything.blogspot.com/2011/04/for-keys-to-my-new-york-city-part-ii_13.html) I was intrigued that George
Washington had spent the night here after saying goodbye to the Continental Army
in 1783. The building’s block was entered as a National Historic Landmark in
1977.
Next
we walked down to Wall Street where the slave markets were held. From that
vantage point we could see the building directly across the street that was the
former offices of the Tappan brothers. The two men were wealthy abolitionists
and devoted their money and time to helping the cause.
We
proceeded to walk to a former home that was notably part of the Underground
Railroad. When we got there, there were many things to see. First of all you
will note the square like impressions in the freshly repaved concrete. These
are the marks from the wall (how Wall Street got its name) that slaves had
built to surround the city. Though that wall has long since been demolished these
marks and holes remain as scares to bear witness.
Here
we also can see Trinity Church. Until skyscrapers were built this was the
highest building in Manhattan. Many famous and revolutionary figures are buried
here including my hero Alexander Hamilton.
Everyone
knows about Harriet Tubman. Her middle name should be Underground Railroad. But
beyond that I learned that she continued to help slaves escape until she was
well into middle age. She often carried both a gun and a live chicken under her
dress. The chicken was to use in case she needed a distraction during an escape
and the gun in case anything went wrong. At one point she was the most wanted
woman and there were posters of her picture, name, and even the fact that she
could not read so that she could be identified and captured. One day during a
close call as a man approached her she pretended she was reading a book, the
man assuming he had the wrong woman backed away and she remained free.
Harriet lived long enough to see slavery come to an end in 1856. She died in 1913 at the age of ninety-one.
It
was at this point when our guide, Sean, told us his favorite stories of escape.
These are my two favorite; the stories of Henry “Box” Brown and William and
Ellen Craft.
Henry
Brown earned his nickname “Box” from the inventive way he found his path to
freedom. He was from Virginia and in a desperate ploy he packaged himself into
a box with only a few holes for air and mailed himself to the Philadelphia
offices of abolitionists. He managed to arrive there, not having made a sound
the entire time, and when his box was opened the first thing he said was “hello
gentlemen”. Frederick Douglass asked him to keep this story to himself when he
went around lecturing about his life so that other slaves could use the same
method of escape.
This
next story Hollywood couldn’t even dream of. The fact that it really happened
and that it ended so wonderfully makes it all the more astounding. It begins in
1848 and two slaves we were going to escape from Georgia. This pair was a
married couple, with the wife being half white and half black as the child of a
slave mother and master of the house. In order for their plan to work people
would have to people that Ellen was a deaf and injured white man and her
husband William was her loyal helper. Ellen’s hair was cut short and she wore
bandages over her face and her arm in a sling. This way it covered most of her
feminine features and she would not be required to sign her name while
traveling. As a “deaf man” her slave would do all the talking for her.
The
Crafts first took a train to Charleston, South Carolina and then eventually to
Philadelphia. Fearing the Fugitive Slave Act they sailed to Britain where they
had five children and lived out the rest of their years. They had never been
found out and in 1860 published their story, “Running a Thousand Miles for
Freedom” (a story that can be found in the book listed in the links below). In
1868 they moved back to America and opened a school for freedmen’s children.
It
is ironic that this tour ended at the African Burial Ground. This is a place I
have visited before (http://thequeenoff-ckingeverything.blogspot.com/2012/04/for-power-of-proper-burial-african.html) and loved. The second time
around made no difference. This time I was showing my favorite parts to others
on the tour and taking it all in again. It still overwhelmed me and these
exhibits, though small, help establish the reality for those buried here. We
had come full circle on our walk through time.
Up
next I plan to visit Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, New York and the First
African Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia. They both were huge stomping
grounds during these times and have very powerful reminders still left in on
their premises despite still being available for services. Tours are available
for both if you make the arrangements. I am eager to continue on this journey
and seek out what remains to be learned from those who time has not forgotten.
What
I ultimately learned from this tour, as it made me further reflect on this
history, my thoughts then turned to humanity. It should be the link between
generations and cultures. But sadly there are so many instances where it is
lacking. It is hard for me to image that all of these things really happened
because I cannot image having lived it or worse being the kind of person who
could inflict such damage- no matter what I was taught to believe.
I
realized then that the thing that separates one individual from another is the
ability to have compassion. But alas compassion is a gift. Compassion cannot be
taught.
For
Information on This Tour:
For
Similar Sites I Have Already Visited:
For
Future Underground Railroad Sites I Plan to Visit:
For
Further Reading:
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