The Underground Railroad Today Festival

How do communities lift each other up? By building paths to freedom. 🕊️✨

On September 12th, come celebrate the vibrant cultures of the Finger Lakes at the NYS Equal Rights Heritage Center! We are looking back at 250 years of community support and local resilience through the vital history of the Underground Railroad.

Here is what you can look forward to:

• 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Free samples of ethnic foods, including Lavish Lounge (Jamaican) and With Love and Soul Catering (soul food), as well as information stations with local historical societies and nonprofits.
• 9 to 10 a.m.: Discussion circle inside the center with community leaders about social justice issues prevalent today.
• 10 to 11 a.m.: "The Story of a Photo: The Young Harriet Tubman," with Larry Bell of the Howland Stone Store Museum talking about the recently discovered photo of a young Tubman and the questions it raises, including where and when it was taken and how it ended up in the album of Sherwood reformer Emily Howland.
• 10:30 a.m. to noon: Performance by Ithaca singer SingTrece.
• Noon to 12:45 p.m.: Keynote speakers Sachem Sam George of the Bear Clan of the Cayuga Nation (Gayogo̱hó: nǫ⁷), Ranger Brittany Lane of the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park and the Rev. Dr. Barb Blom.

See you in History's Hometown! 

​The festival is presented by the city of Auburn, the Historic & Cultural Sites Commission, the Downtown Auburn Partnership, the Frontenac Historical Society & Museum, the National Park Service and Tour Cayuga.