September is International Underground Railroad Month, a celebration of the history and legacy of the Underground Railroad. Events highlight stories of the self-emancipators who used a covert network of antislavery activists and safe havens to escape bondage.
Frederick Douglass embarked on his journey to freedom on September 3, 1838. Harriet Tubman began her escape on September 17, 1849.
Archival records show that William Still, Father of the Underground Railroad, held meetings at the Johnson House, an Underground Railroad station in Philadelphia. The Johnson House Historic Site is a National Historic Landmark, the highest designation for a historic property.
This International Underground Railroad Month, the Johnson House will host a party with a purpose, Jammin’ in the Garden 2025: A Celebration of Music and Community, on Saturday, September 20, 2025, from 4:00pm to 7:00pm. The fundraiser will support their preservation work and the Center for Social Advocacy.
International Underground Railroad Month is a designated time to celebrate the history and legacy of the Underground Railroad. Observed annually in September, the month highlights the courage and resilience of the enslaved who used a covert network of antislavery activists and safe havens to escape bondage.
The State of Maryland proclaimed September as International Underground Railroad Month in 2019:
Governor Larry Hogan today proclaimed September as International Underground Railroad Month, which recognizes Maryland as the most powerful destination for authentic Underground Railroad history. It also commemorates all those involved in the Underground Railroad, including Maryland’s courageous Harriet Tubman, the brilliant orator Frederick Douglass, and thousands of freedom seekers
Frederick Douglass embarked on his journey to freedom on September 3, 1838. Harriet Tubman began her escape on September 17, 1849.
In March 2022, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney announced plans to give Wesley Wofford, a white artist who has never won a public commission for a Harriet Tubman statue, a $500,000 “direct commission”; in other words, a no-bid commission. In a city that is 40 percent African American, Black artists were not given an opportunity to compete for a public commission for the Black icon.
Black women did what we do and made some noise. In August 2022, the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (OACCE) announced the City was taking a “new direction” and issued an open Call for Artists. Fifty artists, including Wofford, responded to the call. Wofford didn’t make the cut. The five semifinalists, all of whom are Black, were announced in March 2023.
Mayor Kenney and OACCE will announce the winning artist on October 30, 2023.
September is International Underground Railroad Month. September was chosen because it was the month that Frederick Douglass (September 3, 1838) and Harriet Tubman (September 17, 1849) made their escape from bondage.
It’s an honor to maintain the naming tradition for our John Lewis-class oilers and Harriet Tubman is more than deserving of this recognition. She was born into unimaginable circumstances, but she dedicated her life to facing great danger and adversity, becoming a “conductor of freedom,” helping others escape slavery. In addition, during the Civil War, Tubman was the first African American woman to serve formally in the military. Her legacy deserves our nation’s continued recognition, and our fleet benefits from having her name emblazoned on the hull of one of our great ships.
The USNS Harriet Tubman is the ninth ship of this class of oilers. The class and lead ship is named in honor of civil rights icon John Lewis. This will be the second vessel named after Tubman. The first was a Liberty Ship, SS Harriet Tubman, built during World War II.
The USNS Harriet Tubman will give new meaning to “wade in the water.”
The Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (OACCE) has unveiled the proposed designs for the statue honoring Harriet Tubman. As I told the Philadelphia Inquirer, it was a needlessly bumpy process to get to this point, but I think Philadelphia can be proud of the visions presented by the five semi-finalists: Vinnie Bagwell, Richard Blake, Tanda Francis, Alvin Pettit and Basil Watson. Their designs reflect the lived experience of being Black in America and the continuing struggle for racial justice.
More than 100 people attended the virtual public design presentation but it’s not too late to have your voice heard. The public is invited to view, rank and comment on the proposed designs. OACCE will share the comments and rankings with the artists who will have an opportunity to revise their design prior to final review by the Advisory Committee.
I won’t rank the designs but I want to comment on the design that captured my imagination, Tanda Francis’ “Together in Freedom.” I was struck by the monumental scale of Harriet Tubman’s face and the potential of the polished panels.
Harriet did not arrive in Philadelphia fully formed. The panels of “Together in Freedom” could breathe life into the places and people who together helped transform Harriet from a thankful self-emancipated woman to the “Moses of Her People.”
Harriet’s Philadelphia story could be told by incorporating historic documents such as William Still’s journal which includes an entry about Harriet’s family, showing places where she lived and worked, and highlighting financiers and agents of the Underground Railroad, including Robert Purvis, Sarah Buchanan and Henrietta Duterte.
The Public Input Survey is open until September 1, 2023September 5, 2023 at 11:59pm EST. Click here to view the designs and take the survey.
In 2022, Congress passed the ‘‘Harriet Tubman Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act’’ which required the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue commemorative coins in recognition of the 200th anniversary of Harriet Tubman’s birth. Earlier this month, the United States Mint joined representatives from the Harriet Tubman Home and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center to unveil the designs for the 2024 Harriet Tubman Bicentennial Commemorative Coins.
The designs will be featured on a $5 gold coin, a $1 silver coin and a half-dollar coin. All sales will include a surcharge of $35, $10 and $5, respectively. The surcharges will be paid equally to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and the Harriet Tubman Home “for the purpose of accomplishing and advancing their missions.”
Woodrow Keown Jr., president & COO of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, said:
Harriet Tubman is one of the most revered figures in American history and now she is being rightly enshrined among our nation’s pantheon of heroes. She will soon be indelibly etched into our collective heritage as a triumphant, resilient champion of freedom that reflects the true diversity of those who have contributed so significantly to our nation’s democracy.
In the birthplace of our nation’s democracy, the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy will hold a Public Design Presentation Meeting for Philadelphia’s permanent Harriet Tubman statue. The public is invited to join the virtual meeting during which the five semi-finalist artists will “present their design images, renderings, and/or models and hear them describe their vision for the Harriet Tubman statue.”
Harriet Tubman will be the first statue of a Black female historical figure in the City’s vast public art collection. RSVP here for the Zoom meeting on Thursday, August 3 from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.
A year ago, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney planned to award a $500,000 no-bid commission for a permanent Harriet Tubman statue to a white artist, Wesley Wofford, who has never won a public commission for a Tubman statue. After sustained agitation, the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (OACCE) reversed course and issued an Open Call. Wofford was among the 50 artists who responded to the Open Call. The five semi-finalists were announced on March 31, 2023. Wofford didn’t make the cut. He’s now batting 0 for 24 public commissions for Harriet Tubman statues.
All of the semi-finalists—Vinnie Bagwell, Richard Blake, Tanda Francis, Alvin Pettit and Basil Watson—are Black. The public is invited to attend a virtual public input meeting with the artists.
The Zoom webinar will provide an opportunity for the artists “to hear directly from the public before they create initial design proposals for the Harriet Tubman statue. The winning proposal will become a statue that will be located on the northeast apron of City Hall and the first statue of a Black female historical figure in the City’s public art collection. OACCE encourages all Philadelphians to be a part of this historic public art commission for the City by attending this public meeting and making your voice heard.”
The public input meeting will be held on Monday, April 24, 2023 at 5:30pm ET. RSVP for the Zoom webinar here.
From Auburn, New York to Ypsilanti, Michigan, the commissioning of a Harriet Tubman statue has been a source of civic pride. In Philadelphia, the city where Harriet first experienced freedom, the public art acquisition process is tainted by white privilege, lies, and fuzzy math. The Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (OACCE) manipulated survey data to minimize public support for a permanent Harriet Tubman statue. OACCE claimed that only 25% of respondents want a statue of the American icon.
When OACCE was called out by a reporter with the Philadelphia Inquirer, the “full report and report summary were revised on November 22, 2022, clarifying the result for question one.”
Mama Maisha recounted that OACCE Director Kelly Lee told her that the City planned to award a no-bid commission to Wesley Wofford “because he’s in the system already. We can expedite it faster because he’s already in our system.” Her response: “Of course he is. White men are always in the system.” In a majority-minority city, two African American women are gatekeepers for white privilege.
These unaccountable bureaucrats want to sign the contract for the Harriet Tubman statue – or random African American figure – while their boss, Mayor Jim Kenney, is still in office. To do so, they have set an arbitrary timeline that would require artists competing for the commission to work like slaves through Christmas, Kwanzaa, Watch Night, New Year’s Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend. By contrast, Lee and Anglin spoon-fed Wofford inside information for months as he prepared his proposal.
Mama Maisha notes the disparate treatment of Black and other underrepresented artists:
Now they got a speedy timeline. They want everything in by January, over the holidays. People busy, people committed to their families. They got stuff to do at the end of the year. So now you got a rushed timeline. You didn’t have a rushed timeline for Wesley Wofford. But now that you’re dealing with people of color and women, you got a rushed timeline.
The Celebrating the Legacy of Nana Harriet Tubman Committee said in a statement:
Enough! OACCE’s misinterpretation of the data and the lack of transparency in their decisions and actions minimize the importance of community engagement in public art acquisition. We demand a moratorium on the current statue commission Open Call until new, competent, transparent, and accountable oversight is created.
Mama Maisha told Attorney Michael Coard:
We want a moratorium on this Open Call, and we want Kelly Lee and Marguerite Anglin removed from any oversight. We’re going to the Mayor. We’re going to City Council. And if necessary, we will put boots on the ground in front of the Mayor’s Office. We’re ready to hit the streets.
If you have had enough of the coonery at OACCE, contact Mama Maisha Sullivan-Ongoza at (215) 385-0214 or Dr. Michelle Strongfields at (267) 231-0092; email: nanaharrietlegacydefense@gmail.com.
From Frederick Douglass to the CIA, Harriet Tubman’s singular contribution to American history is recognized. In Philadelphia, the city where Tubman first experienced freedom, the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (OACCE) is scrounging around for random African American historical figures to celebrate. Without explanation, OACCE is seeking public input “for a permanent statue that celebrates Harriet Tubman’s story or another African American’s contributions to our nation’s history.”
The survey asks five questions, all of which beg the question: Why is OACCE searching for a “Magical Negro?” In an earlier survey, the public said they want a permanent statue of Harriet Tubman.
OACCE is heading down the same opaque and incoherent path that led to the reversal of their plan to award a no-bid commission to a white artist. Without a change in direction, OACCE Director Kelly Lee and Public Art Director Marguerite Anglin are cruising for another bruising.
The Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy’s announcement that there will be an open Call for Artists for Philadelphia’s permanent Harriet Tubman statue struck the wrong chord. Public Art Director Marguerite Anglin said:
Yes, the open Call for Artists for this public art project will welcome proposals for a permanent statue that celebrates Harriet Tubman’s story or another African American’s contribution to our nation’s history. This will be a true open Call for Artists, where the City will be looking for a wide variety of original and unique ideas from many artists.
First, Harriet is sui generis. She cannot be replaced by a random African American historical figure. Second, the Managing Director’s public art policy directive establishes criteria for artwork placed on public property. The artwork must commemorate individuals who “made significant contributions to Philadelphia, have had significant impact on Philadelphia and beyond, and represent broadly shared community values.” In my op-ed published in the Philadelphia Inquirer, I wrote:
Representation matters, but when it comes to artwork on city property, who is represented matters. Anglin said that the city “will be looking for a wide variety of original and unique ideas from many artists.” But the city’s public art policy does not allow for that.
The short list of African American historical figures who meet the city’s public art policy includes Malcolm X. Like Harriet, Malcolm was prepared to use a firearm and any means necessary in his pursuit of freedom and racial justice.
Malcolm X, aka El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, was a world-renowned human rights activist, racial justice advocate and cultural icon whose charismatic leadership laid the foundation for the growth of Sunni Islam among African Americans. Today, an estimated 200,000 Muslims live in Philadelphia, the majority of whom are Black.
Malcolm has been memorialized in books, movies, music, visual art, and a U.S. Postal Service Black Heritage Stamp.
In addition to Malcolm X Park and murals, Malcolm’s time in Philadelphia is commemorated with a state historical marker that notes his leadership of Nation of Islam Temple No. 12 in the 1950s. Will the City’s Request for Proposals include Malcolm X, “Our Black Shining Prince?” If not, why not?
All That Philly Jazz 