In Search of the Underground Railroad: Connecting People, Places, and Things

Advance registration recommended: Click here.

 

For more than a decade, archaeologist Dr. Cheryl LaRoche has been researching and physically exploring the landscapes of eighteenth and nineteenth century free Black communities, their churches, cemeteries and institutions, and their relationship to the Underground Railroad. Dr. LaRoche will share her most recent findings and make connections with the history of South Jersey, particularly the AME Church.  Prior to the lecture, community organizations and individuals are invited to create exhibits of their Underground Railroad documents, artifacts, and stories.  Dr. LaRoche’s book, Free Black Communities and the Underground Railroad: The Geography of Resistance, will be available for sale and signing at the end of the program.

 

The lecture will begin at 7 p.m., preceded by community exhibits beginning at 6 p.m.

 

Program supported by the Office of the Chancellor.  Co-Sponsoring departments and programs: History, Africana Studies, Forensic Science, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities (MARCH), and The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia.

 

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First in a Series, “Sanctuaries: Past Into Present”

Throughout American history, people have come to the Philadelphia region seeking opportunity, while others have been fleeing persecution, and still others have been forced here in chains. When have these migrants been granted the right to feel safe, and when have they been denied safety? How do we come to grips with our country’s contradictory history of celebrating the diversity these many migrations produced, while denying rights to many?

This spring, join friends and neighbors for “Sanctuaries: Past Into Present,” a series of free public seminars offered by The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. Learn from local experts about Philadelphia’s immigration and migration history, hear from activists working in the region now, and grapple with how our complicated histories shape today’s social and political landscape. The next program in the series is: “Sanctuary Now, Sanctuary When?” Tuesday, April 23, 6-8 p.m., Arch Street Meeting, 320 Arch Street, Philadelphia.