Celebrating Underground Railroad Heroes of NYC at Medgar Evers College

We officially opened the NYC Freedom Trail exhibit yesterday evening at the Charles Evans Inniss Memorial Library at Medgar Evers College. New York City was built with profits from Southern plantations, and it is time to celebrate the people who resisted an economic system that enslaved people.

To honor the event, we were joined by the charming descendants of Abolitionist Sydney Howard Gay and author Don Papson. He gave a fascinating and important presentation on under-recognized figures in history pivotal in the Underground Railroad. I am proud that we were able to sponsor an event that spoke about the lives of the people that fought against slavery right here in New York City.

I want to thank The NYC Freedom Trail for creating this important exhibit, and I encourage everyone to visit the exhibit while it is still there and to check out Don Papson's book co-authored with Tom Calarco, “Secret Lives of the Underground Railroad in New York City: Sydney Howard Gay, Louis Napoleon and the Record of Fugitives.”