Upstate’s forgotten abolitionists: The former slave who wrote his autobiography
Updated Feb 23, 2021;
Posted Feb 22, 2021
- Abolitionist Austin Steward escaped slavery in New York as a young man then wrote a successful autobiography of his experiences. Public domainPublic domain
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Upstate New York was a hotbed in the 19th century for the abolitionist movement and the Underground Railroad. Names like Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass and Gerrit Smith are familiar. But there were also valiant figures from the region, white and Black, who fought for the end of slavery whose names have faded into history.
During this Black History Month, after searching through old newspapers and websites, we take a look back at some of Upstate New York’s forgotten abolitionists.
Black History Month: Maine s Black history should not be forgotten pressherald.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from pressherald.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) loves the great African American leader Frederick Douglass. He has a portrait of the former slave in his office at the U.S. Capitol. Does that make you feel any better?
Just now many Americans are weary of, indeed fed up with, Republicans’ venality, hypocrisy and lies. But if we were hoping for at least a weekend off after the second impeachment trial ground to its inevitable end, it was not to be.
Instead, as a spoiler, up stepped McCarthy, the House Republican leader, just in time for Valentine’s Day in a gesture of goodwill for Black History Month, to deliver a tribute to the master orator and writer, Douglass. In a one-minute video, as well as a longer narrative statement, McCarthy and his staff served up a tasteless batch of historical pablum. Lame, inaccurate history can seem merely insipid, but it can also be dangerous.
NAACP Spingarn Medal (1914-) royalgazette.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from royalgazette.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.