Rochester area to host Harriet Tubman Bicentennial Celebration

The Rochester region is preparing to host two months of events celebrating Harriet Tubman’s life as a political activist; leader in the Underground Railroad; and as a nurse, scout, and spy for the Union Army during the Civil War. RIT is among the sponsors for the Harriet Tubman Bicentennial Celebration that takes place in September and October. The opening ceremony takes place from 1-3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 4, at the Rochester Museum & Science Center.

The Harriet Tubman “Journey to Freedom” sculpture by the Wesley Wofford Sculpture Studio was unveiled in Rochester’s Washington Square Park during a special ceremony on Friday, Sept. 2. The temporary installation depicting Tubman leading a child to freedom is designed to provide an opportunity for Rochester and the surrounding communities to learn about the proud heritage of abolitionists and suffragists in Upstate New York.

Professor Hinda Mandell from RIT’s School of Communication will lead an interactive workshop as part of the celebration from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Oct. 8, at the Rochester Museum & Science Center. Titled “Crafting Resistance: Make and Take Peace Patches,” the event will give participants an opportunity to make their own resistance and peace patches, honoring the bicentennial of Harriet Tubman and the legacy of fellow Abolitionists and their contemporary social-reformers and human-rights activists.

For more information and a list of events, go to the Harriet Tubman Bicentennial Celebration website.