Passages to Freedom: The Underground Railroad in American History and Legend
name: label: Collection Collector
content: Maltsby, Portia
label: Collection Creator
content: Smithsonian Institution. Program in African American Culture
setName: label: See more items in
content: Program in African American Culture Collection
label: See more items in
content: Program in African American Culture Collection / Series 1: Program Files
unitdate: label: Date
content: 2003 February 27-March 1
container: label: Container
content: Box 26, Folder 6
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Conference held Thursday, February 27, through Saturday, March 1, 2003, National Museum of American History, Behring Center, Smithsonian Institution.  Program celebrated the twenty-second annual national observance of African American History Month.  Program created as a conference, community tribute, and cultural fair, in collaboration with the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program of the United States National Park Service. It included performances, films, presentations hands-on activities, lectures, and panel discussions. 

Participants included:

Allison Blakely, Ph.D., professor of European and Comparative History, Boston University

David W. Blight, Ph.D., scholarly advisor to the Passages to Freedom conference; professor of history, Yale University

Charles L. Blockson, curator and historian

Spencer R. Crew, Ph.D., executive director and chief executive officer, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

Mary A. Edmond, chairperson of the Michigan Freedom Trail Commission; founder and president, Michigan Black History Network

Jerry Gore, historian, scholar and one of the founders of the National Underground Railroad Museum, Incorporated

Allen Grundy, founder, International Freedom Institute of the Southwest (IFIS); cofounder of Talking Back Living History Theatre (TBLH)

James Oliver Horton, Ph.D., scholarly advisor to the Passages to Freedom conference; Benjamin Banneker Professor of African Studies and History, George Washington University

Lois E. Horton, Ph.D., professor of history, George Mason University

Wilma King, Ph.D., Strickland Professor of American History and Culture, University of Missouri

Jane Landers, Ph.D., associate dean of the College of Arts and Science; associate professor of history and director, Center of Latin American and Iberian Studies, Vanderbilt University

Emma J. Lapsansky, Ph.D., curator, Quaker Collection and professor of history, Haverford College

Diane Miller, planning committee member, Passages to Freedom conference; and national coordinator, National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program, 
National Park Service (NPS)

Orloff Miller, Ph.D., planning committee member, Passages to Freedom conference; director, Freedom Station Program; and interim director, Research Programs, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Cincinnati, Ohio

Kevin Mulroy, Ph.D., director of research collections and chair, Research Services, University of Southern California libraries

Cathy D. Nelson, founder and president emeritus, Friends of Freedom Society; and state coordinator, Ohio Underground Association

Freddie L. Parker, Ph.D., chair, Department of History, North Carolina Central University, Durham, North Carolina

Bryan Prince, Buxton National Historic Site and Museum, Ontario, Canada

Vivian Abdur-Rahim, founder and director, Harriet Tubman Historical Society; and founding member, Underground Railroad Coalition, Delaware

Bernice Johnson Reagon, Ph.D., scholar, composer, singer, and activist, Cosby Chair Professor of Fine Arts, Spelman College, Atlanta, Georgia

Jane Rhodes, Ph.D., associate professor, ethnic studies, University of California, San Diego

Hilary Russell, independent scholar and researcher

Milton C. Sernett, Ph.D., professor of African American Studies and history and adjunct professor of religion, Syracuse University

Barbara A. Tagger, historian and regional coordinator, National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program 

Ron Tyler, Ph.D., is director of the Texas State Historical Society and professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin

John Michael Vlach, Ph.D., professor of American studies and anthropology and director of the Folklife Program, George Washington University

Judith Wellman, Ph.D., professor emerita, History Department, State University of New York, Oswego

Deborah Gray White, Ph.D., professor and chair, history department, Rutgers University  

Carol Wilson, Ph.D., associate professor of history, Washington College, Chestertown, Maryland


Church Historians

Ambassador Horace G. Dawson Jr., Ph.D., historian, Metropolitan AME Church, Washington, DC

Janet Lee Ricks, member and vice chair, history committee, Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, Georgetown, Washington, DC

Lonise Fisher Robinson, church historian, Asbury United Methodist, Washington, DC
 
Performers and Artists included:

Nasar Abadey Trio

Drums - Nasar Abadey, drummer and composer, founder and leader of SUPERNOVA

Piano - Allyn Johnson, Washington, DC native, attended the University of the District of Columbia 

Bass - James King, bassist, composer, and arranger

Michael E. Baytop, founder and president, Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation, Washington, DC

Gwendolyn Briley – Strand

The Chancel Choir of Sargent Memorial Presbyterian Church
 
The Daughters of Dorcas and Sons

The Duke Ellington School of the Arts Show Choir 

Samuel L. E. Bonds, director and voice teacher, Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Washington, DC

Irma Gardner-Hammond, professional storyteller who tells stories from the African oral tradition known as the Griot tradition

Bus Howard, actor and artist in residence, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC 

In Process…, African American women's a cappella ensemble

Jo Ann James, avid collector of recipes, a student of African American history, and a craftsperson

Kimberly Kelly, member of planning committee for the Passages of Freedom conference 

Magpie - Terry Leonino and Greg Artzner, musicians

Alice McGill, well known for her portrayal of Sojourner Truth

Gretchen McKinney, term member, Speech Choir and Drama Team, Asbury United Methodist Church

Dietra Montague, independent artist who has lived and studied the arts and crafts of North and West Africa, Central and South America, Mexico, and Europe

Fred Morsell, actor

Ayo Ngozi, collage, multimedia, and book artist based in Mt. Rainier, Maryland

Reverb, a cappella group of African American gospel, quartet, and doo-wop singing

Mary Kay Ricks, freelance writer, researcher, and history tour guide who specializes in the Underground Railroad, Washington, DC 

Kath Robinson, Washington, DC resident interested in the study of Ethnobotany and the study of misaims

Charlie Sayles, blues harmonica player


Program number AC408.120.