The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park will host a celebration of spiritual music on September 24. This event is in partnership with the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program, Harriet Tubman National Historical Park, Maryland State Parks, Dorchester County Office of Tourism, The National Council for the Traditional Arts, and Greater Refuge Temple Church of God. The musical event is FREE to the public and will also be livestreamed. (Details to be announced.) This program will provide attendees and viewers with the historical origins of spirituals and their association with free and enslaved Blacks spanning the 17^th through 19^th centuries. Harriet Tubman relied on her faith, religious values, and spirituals as a source of comfort and this program will bring to light that aspect of her life. There will be an assortment of singers, musicians, interpreters, and living history performers, all communicating how spirituals evolved over time into what we know today as blues and gospel music. Registration is not required; however, the venue has limited seating with a maximum occupancy of 300 people. More Information and further updates about this event will be available at nps.gov/hatu.

WHAT: From Spirituals to Blues and Gospel: The History of a Multi-Century Musical Evolution

WHERE: Greater Refuge Temple Church of God, 800 Robbins St, Cambridge, MD 21613

WHEN:  Saturday, September 24, 2022, 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM

WHO: Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park, performers, and members of the general public.

WHY: In honor of Harriet Tubman Bicentennial celebration.

Sculpture with Wesley Wofford

The Fourth Annual Day of Resilience on Sept. 10 will feature a very special and significant highlight – the dedication of the Beacon of Hope, an inspiring, 13-foot bronze sculpture honoring Harriet Tubman in conjunction with the bicentennial of her birth. The event also includes commemorations; round-table discussions on current events and issues; a Harriet Tubman reenactor; song, dance and poetry performances; Underground Railroad Byway tours; and presentations from renowned historians, as well as Tubman’s descendants.

“This historic event is especially noteworthy because Governor Larry Hogan has proclaimed 2022 ‘The Year of Harriet Tubman,’ and our weekend of programming and activities will serve to support and elevate awareness of her legacy and promote greater appreciation of the significant role that she played in Dorchester and U.S. history,” said Adrian Holmes, director of Alpha Genesis Community Development Corporation. “It is especially fitting that the heart of the Day of Resilience this year will be the unveiling of the new, permanent sculpture at the Dorchester County Courthouse honoring one of our own – Harriet Tubman.”

The Day of Resilience commemoration and unveiling ceremony, which is free and open to the public, will begin at noon on Sept. 10 on the Dorchester County Courthouse lawn and will feature Keynote Speaker Samuel C. Still III, a descendant of the famous Civil War Abolitionist William Still, who was proclaimed “The Father of the Underground Railroad” in his obituary in 1902. William Still is credited with helping more than 800 freedom seekers escape slavery.

The new sculpture will be at the location of Tubman’s first rescue – of her niece Kessiah Bowley – and Historian Edduard Prince, who is a descendant of Bowley, also will be speaking during the program. Other featured presenters include Historian Vince Legette, founder and president of the Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation, whose research and work have focused on the Underground Railroad and on the significant contributions of Black watermen to the maritime and seafood-related industries of the Chesapeake Bay, and sculptor Wesley Wofford, who will discuss his work on the sculpture, which is rich in symbolism that specifically reflects Tubman’s connection to Dorchester County.

Sculpture with Wesley Wofford

The public also is invited to participate in related events that are scheduled throughout the weekend of September 9-11, including:

• The Taste of Resilience on Friday at the newly restored Phillips Packing House. The event, beginning at 5 p.m., will kick off the weekend with reflections, a quilt display, food and entertainment.
• The Art Awards Ceremony recognizing the students whose winning artwork was inspired by Harriet Tubman. The presentation will be at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday at the Courthouse.
• A Drum Processional and Waterside Libations, which will begin with Nana Malaya Rucker-Oparabea leading a walk at 10:45 a.m. on Saturday from the Dorchester Courthouse, down historic High Street to Long Wharf Marina, where ships bearing enslaved persons once docked.
• A Souls at Sea land and on-water libation and remembrance ceremony commemorating the lives lost in the waters along the Middle Passage, beginning at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at Long Wharf Marina.
• The Constituency for Africa Ron Brown Townhall Meeting at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Art Bar 2.0. Melvin Foote, CFA founder, will host panelists Ambassador Carlos Dos Santos from The Republic of Mozambique and Ambassador Marie-Hélène Mathey Boo Lowumba, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, who will discuss “Mobilizing the Diaspora: Mission Impossible.” The CFA’s mission is to build public and private support for Africa, and to help shape a progressive U.S. policy towards Africa.
• A Public Art Panel Discussion, “Telling the Stories of Our Communities,” at 3:30 p.m. at the Dorchester Center for the Arts. Panelists and participants include Wesley Wofford, who created the new Harriet Tubman Sculpture Beacon of Hope; Michael Rosato, who designed the Harriet Tubman Take My Hand mural; Miriam Moran, who designed the Black Lives Matter mural on Cambridge’s Race Street; Bridget Cimino, who designed the new Dorchester Women’s Mural; Sydnei SmithJordan, whose art pieces are a part of the permanent collection with the Harriet Tubman Museum of Cape May, N.J.; and Liesel Fenner, public art director for the Maryland State Arts Council. The panel moderator will be Jon West-Bey, independent curator and museum consultant, who is on the faculty at Johns Hopkins University.
• Activities in Downtown Cambridge throughout Saturday afternoon, including a Vendor Market at Cannery Way with food trucks, handmade goods, music and kids’ activities, such as face painting and clay sculpting. Chesapeake College will be hosting their annual crab sale to support the C. Gibson Memorial Scholarship Fund. Free movie screenings at the Escape Room on Race Street will local films revealing the unique history of Cambridge and Dorchester County, including You Don’t Know Nuthin’ ‘Bout Groove City and The Voices of Indiantown, as well as shorts from Dorchester County Tourism.
• Jazz at the Mural featuring the Eric Byrd Trio will be begin at 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Harriet Tubman Take My Hand Tickets are required.
• An Evening at the Beacon of Hope will present the opportunity for an impromptu gathering at the new sculpture where visitors can share a poem, a song or uplifting words from 7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. on Saturday.
• Jazz Brunch from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Sundayat the Art Bar 2.0. Tickets are required.
• Dinner and a play, Harriet Tubman Fights for Freedom, at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday at the Art Bar 2.0. Tickets are required.

For more information about the schedule for the Day of Resilience and the weekend events and for tickets, visit the Alpha Genesis website at alphagenesiscdc.org/day-of-resilience-2022.

The Day of Resilience was first held in 2019 in Cambridge to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. That event received gubernatorial, senatorial and congressional citations and received the Outstanding Heritage Project Award from the Heart of Chesapeake Country Heritage Area. The event has grown every year since then, and in 2020, the observance was highlighted by the unveiling of a traveling sculpture of Harriet Tubman.

Motivated by the community response to the traveling sculpture, Alpha Genesis led the grassroots drive that raised $250,000 to have the permanent Harriet Tubman statue created specifically for Dorchester County.The unveiling celebration marks the culmination of two years of community grassroots fundraising and activities to create and install the permanent sculpture.

The Fourth Annual Day of Resilience on Sept. 10 will feature a very special and significant highlight – the unveiling of the Beacon of Hope, an inspiring, 13-foot bronze sculpture honoring Harriet Tubman in conjunction with the bicentennial of her birth. Alpha Genesis Community Development Corp., which is organizing the event, is reaching out to the community with opportunities to be a part of this historic occasion.

Rendering Tubman Sculpture

“The heart of the Day of Resilience this year will be the unveiling of the new, permanent sculpture,” said Adrian Holmes, director of Alpha Genesis. “Governor Larry Hogan has proclaimed 2022 ‘The Year of Harriet Tubman,’ and we are planning a weekend of programming and activities that will serve to support and elevate awareness of her legacy and promote greater appreciation of the significant role that she played in Dorchester and U.S. history.

“We are preparing a multi-day program that includes commemorations, reflections, round-table discussions on current events and issues, entertainment, presentations from renowned guest speakers and historians, Underground Railroad Byway tours, a time capsule to mark the occasion, as well as special guests, including Tubman’s descendants.”

The Day of Resilience was first held in 2019 in Cambridge to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. That event received gubernatorial, senatorial and congressional citations and received the Outstanding Heritage Project Award from the Heart of Chesapeake Country Heritage Area. The event has grown every year since then, and in 2020, the observance was highlighted by the unveiling of a traveling sculpture of Harriet Tubman.

Motivated by the community response to the traveling sculpture, Alpha Genesis led the grassroots drive to have the permanent Harriet Tubman statue created specifically for Dorchester County. It will be installed at the Dorchester County Courthouse, a place where enslaved ancestors were auctioned and Tubman’s niece was rescued.

Rendering Tubman Sculpture

The timing for this year’s event – 200 years after Harriet’s birth – presents an extraordinary opportunity for sharing Tubman’s legacy, as well as community involvement. There are several opportunities for individuals, business and organizations to be part of this historic endeavor; however, the deadlines to participate are quickly approaching. Supporters can:

• Purchase one of the engraved bricks for the plaza surrounding the statue. Large bricks range in price are $500, $1,000 or $1,500, depending on their proximity to the sculpture, and smaller bricks are also $100 or $200. Large bricks have room for engraving a business or organization’s logo. Bricks must be purchased by July 1. For more information and to purchase visit bricksrus.com/donorsite/harrietsjourneyhome
• Be a Day of Resilience Event Sponsor. Silver or Gold sponsors will receive a “Beacon” for their business to display their support, as well as have their business logo featured on signage and in the Day of Resilience program. For more information: alphagenesiscdc.org/
• Place an ad in the souvenir, commemorative program book for the Day of Resilience. Program ads are $40 (1/8 page, 3.75” x 2.5”), $75 (quarter page, 3.7”5 x 5”), $150 (half page, 7.5” x 5”), $300 (full page, 7.5”x 10”). Ads must be received by July 10. For more information: alphagenesiscdc.org/
• Be a Friend of the Day of Resilience. For $20, supporters will have their names listed on the “Friends” page in the commemorative program book. July 10 is the deadline for donations, which may be sent using Cash App to $AlphaGenesisCDC.
• Sponsor the Bike the Underground Railroad, which is raising funds for statue landscaping/maintenance, as well as outreach and education. Sponsor logos will appear on event signage and t-shirts. Logos vary in size depending on the level of support: $100 (or value of in-kind support, such as contributions of food for the event), $250, $500 or $750. For more information: biketheugrr.com/

For more information about Alpha Genesis or the Day of Resilience, visit: alphagenesiscdc.org/

To make a general donation to the sculpture project or Alpha Genesis, visit: alphagenesiscdc-bloom.kindful.com/

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center will be the scene for a launch of the just-released History Press book, A Guide to Harriet Tubman’s Eastern Shore – The Old Home Is Not There, on October 23 from 2:00 to 3:00 PM.

Authors Phillip Hesser & Charlie Ewers will speak about “Harriet Tubman – In search of Home” and pay tribute to the people who have contributed to the book by sharing their own thoughts about the Eastern Shore of Maryland and the memory of Harriet Tubman.

“The people who have lent their words to our book represent a broad cross-section of people on the Shore and elsewhere who have lived on or known Tubman’s ’native land.’ They speak to many of her experiences coming of age in Dorchester County,” notes co-author Phillip Hesser. “They demonstrate how Harriet Tubman became a hero on the Shore for her prevailing over slavery in a harsh Eastern Shore environment and for her leading family and other freedom-seekers ‘over the line.’” Co-author Charlie Ewers adds, “The landscape of Harriet Tubman’s Dorchester County has been transformed because of economic change and sea-level rise. But the native land of Harriet Tubman can be seen in the accounts of the people who have shared their stories with us, who we recognize at this book launch.”

A reception and book-signing will follow brief remarks by Hesser and Ewers. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the Visitor Center Gift Shop for $24.99. All author proceeds from the sale of the book go to the Friends of Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center.

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park and Visitor Center is operated by the Maryland Park Service in partnership with the National Park Service to honor Harriet Tubman. The 10,000 square foot visitor center includes exhibits as well as a theater that tell the stories of Harriet Tubman’s life and work. It also includes a classroom, museum store, and library. The state park’s 17 acres include a legacy garden, nature trails and an outdoor pavilion with sweeping views of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.

Founded in 2004, The History Press publishes local and regional history and culture from coast to coast. History Press books act as valued touchstones for community identity. Publishing varied and dynamic titles complete with rich archival materials to illuminate each text, their books are useful resources for research and preservation.

Dorchester County middle and high school students and their families will be biking the Underground Railroad Byway on May 22 as part of the Harriet’s Journey Home project to raise money for a new sculpture to be placed at the Dorchester County Courthouse.

The Biking the UGRR Byway Youth Ride, organized by Alpha Genesis Community Development Corporation (AGCDC), is open to all 5th-12th grade students and their families. The ride will start at the Cambridge South Dorchester High School parking lot and conclude at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center & State Park in Church Creek. Participants will ride their bikes approximately nine miles to the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center in Church Creek, with activities at rest stops along the route.

“This non-competitive event is intended to engage local youth and foster in them an appreciation for Dorchester County history and heritage,” said Adrian Holmes, founder and president of AGCDC. “We see this program as a positive way to channel energy of young people in the community while giving them a purpose, such as raising money to support the Harriet Tubman sculpture planned for the Dorchester Courthouse lawn.”

Along the 8.84-mile route, participants will make three stops, where they will have the opportunity tour the Stanley Institute, hear about local farming at Emily’s Produce and learn local underground railroad history in Church Creek.

The ride will conclude at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center, where participants will be able to take an escorted tour inside the Visitor Center and participate in activity stations. The stations will include an archaeologist presentation and artifacts from the recent discovery of Harriet Tubman’s childhood home, Art Up Your Bike activities, Habitat for Humanity (vision board), WHCP Community Radio, Parks and Recreation (vision board and Moving Dorchester Forward.

The Harriet’s Journey Home project has received widespread support from a broad cross-section of the Dorchester County community and continues to build connections for the local community – and for the thousands of visitors who come to Maryland to experience the most powerful Underground Railroad storytelling destination in the world. This arm of the project – Biking the UGRR Byway – has been coordinated by a diverse committee that includes representatives from the Cambridge Police Department, Maryland State Highway Authority, Dorchester County Government, Dorchester Tourism, City of Cambridge Government, Heirloom Athletics, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park and Visitor Center, Dorchester County Public Schools and Cambridge Association of Neighborhoods.

Inspired by the traveling sculpture that graced the Dorchester County Courthouse entrance in Fall 2020, a grassroots movement arose to commission a permanent sculpture to honor Harriet Tubman in the community that was her home. The group seeks to raise $250,000 to commission, purchase and permanently install a bronze statue of Harriet Tubman at the Dorchester County Courthouse. Their fundraising effort was launched in December and is continuing with events like the youth bike ride.

Pre-registration for the bike ride is required, and the event will be limited to the first 30 participants to sign up. The registration fee is $20 a rider. Due to the generosity of our community, scholarships are available for 30 students! The rain date is May 23. More information about the Bike the Byway Youth Ride and how to register is available online: https://www.bikesignup.com/biketheugrr

For more information about Alpha Genesis Community Development Corporation or how to support the fundraising efforts for the sculpture, visit https://alphagenesiscdc.org/