May 10, 2013 — New music will be performed tonight and tomorrow in Saranac Lake and North Elba as part of the John Brown Day events. Voices of Timbuctoo is a new work based on the Adirondack settlement of Black farmers in the mid-1800's designed to secure voting rights. Abolitionist Gerrit Smith gave away 120,000 acres of his land, beginning in 1846, hoping the Adirondack wilderness would offer refuge to black families.

Voices of Timbuctoo, is an oratorio written by western New York composer Glenn McClure. It's part of what he calls a Musical Freedom Trail. Some of his other works written to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation have been performed in Alabama, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and later this month in Rochester.

McClure says his research for the oratorio included reading through diaries, letters and documents featuring the words of Gerrit Smith, John Brown, and the individuals who worked on the land that Smith had provided. McClure told Todd Moe that these texts illustrate hope and promise.  Go to full article

Lake Placid, NY, Nov 29, 2012 — Frederick Douglass' great-great-great grandson will be the one of the speakers at this weekend's "Freedom Then, Freedom Now: The Long History of Emancipation" event in Lake Placid and Saranac Lake. The Friday/Saturday program for students, teachers and the public celebrates the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. Presented by John Brown Lives! and North Country Community College, the event will feature a film, lectures, a new portrait of abolitionist John Brown and music.

Todd Moe spoke with Ken Morris, founder and president of the Frederick Douglas Family Foundation, a service learning organization that works to create a modern abolitionist movement in schools across the country. Morris is also the great-great grandson of Booker T. Washington.  Go to full article

Potsdam, NY, Oct 31, 2012 — Fighting for the abolition of modern day slavery is the subject of a new film that will be show at SUNY-Potsdam Thursday afternoon. Filmmaker Kat Rohrer will show and discuss her latest documentary, Fatal Promises. The film contains interviews with U.S. State Department, Congress, law enforcement officials and experts involved in the so-called war against human trafficking and modern day slavery, such as activist Gloria Steinem and actor Emma Thompson.

Kat Rohrer spoke with Todd Moe about her film, which she hopes will give a voice to modern day slaves.  Go to full article

Lake Placid, NY, May 02, 2012 — Frederick Douglass' great-great-great grandson will be the keynote speaker at the annual John Brown Day celebration this Saturday at the historic John Brown Farm in Lake Placid. Ken Morris will talk about the friendship and legacy of Douglass and fellow abolitionist John Brown. The two first met in Massachusetts in 1848, a decade after Douglass escaped from slavery on a Maryland plantation.

Ken Morris is founder and president of the Frederick Douglas Family Foundation, a service learning organization that works to create a modern abolitionist movement in schools across the country. Morris is also the great-great grandson of Booker T. Washington. Before dedicating his career to social issues, Morris managed a successful marketing and entertainment firm. But he told Todd Moe that he spent his teen years, "decisively disengaged from his family lineage."  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Apr 24, 2012 — Todd Moe talks with Syracuse University historian Milton Sernett, an expert on African American history. He'll give two talks in Canton on Thursday on Harriet Tubman, and the Underground Railroad in northern New York. Todd talks with him about how Tubman became the dominant symbol of the Underground Railroad and is still an inspiration today for many Americans.  Go to full article

Lake Placid, NY, Dec 03, 2010 — This morning in Lake Placid, teachers and historians and activists begin a two-day conference to talk about slavery.

New Yorkers played a big role in the slave trade in the 18th and 19th centuries, financing and profiting from an industry that ruined the lives of more than 12 million Africans.

Slave-owning wasn't banned in this state until 1827. Modern-day activists say human trafficking and exploitation is once again on the rise.

Martha Swan is with a group called John Brown Lives.

She told Brian Mann that this conference, which is open to the public, will explore the history and present-day reality of slavery.  Go to full article

Jul 23, 2010 — Author, educator and artist Nell Irvin Painter spoke at the Elizabethtown County Courthouse on Sunday. She read selections from her new book, "The History of White People," and fielded questions from the audience. The talk was part of a series sponsored by modern day anti-slavery organizations John Brown Lives! and John Brown Coming Home. Sarah Harris attended and has our story.  Go to full article

Mar 02, 2010 — Protesters will gather in Albany tomorrow to try to save dozens of New York state parks and historic sites. Governor David Paterson wants to close the parks this spring as part of an effort to cut an $8.2-billion budget deficit. At least nine parks in the North Country are targeted. Historians and civil rights activists are especially furious over the plan to shut down John Browns Farm in Lake Placid. As Brian Mann reports, the burial site of the famous Civil War-era abolitionist has been a pilgrimage site and a symbol of freedom for more than 150 years.  Go to full article

Mar 01, 2010 — A group of activists held a small rally at John Browns Farm near Lake Placid yesterday. They urged Governor David Paterson to keep the state park open despite the state's massive budget deficit.

The famous abolitionist was buried on the farm just outside the village after being executed in Virginia for attempting to spark a slave rebellion.

The rally came on the closing day on the 2010 Olympics. Lake Placid Mayor Craig Randall said preserving Brown's final resting place would save an important piece of the town's history. He said it's important to protect not only Lake Placid's Olympic heritage, but it's cultural heritage as well.

State officials want to close nine parks in the North Country as part of an effort aimed to close an $8.2 billion deficit. Brian Mann will have more on this story tomorrow morning during The Eight O'Clock Hour.  Go to full article

Lake Placid, NY, Dec 02, 2009 — NCPR is media sponsor for John Brown Coming Home: A 150th Commemoration of abolitionist John Brown's life and legacy. Events take place this weekend at a variety of locations in and around Lake Placid, including the John Brown Farm. Cornell scholar Margaret Washington is one of the foremost authorities on the black experience in America. She'll give the keynote speech at a symposium in Lake Placid on Saturday. Her latest book, Sojourner Truth's America, is the story of the unlikely ascendancy of a black woman and former slave who became a rousing preacher and speaker. Washington spoke with Todd Moe about Sojourner Truth and black Americans as leaders in the abolitionist movement in the 19th century.  Go to full article