Faces of the Underground Railroad
Sandy Ground Historical Society, Staten Island, NY
2009
Exhibit Title Wall Founded in the early 19th century by freed black men from New York City, Sandy Ground is the oldest community established by freed slaves in North America. The Sandy Ground Historical Society Museum is a Program Site for the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom and the Sandy Ground community has been included in the State & National Registers of Historic Places.
Project Description
This 1,000-sf temporary exhibition interprets the history of prominent and less well-known figures who sought freedom from enslavement through the Underground Railroad and who went on to become influential writers, historians, politicians and civil rights advocates. Told through quilt squares handmade by the Sandy Ground Quilters group, the project involved the local community in helping to tell this remarkable story of courage and achievement.
Content / Exhibit Developer
Developed interpretive goals and exhibit concepts and conducted content research. Wrote all content outlines, exhibit narratives, and drafted and copyedited final exhibit text. Developed an accompanying exhibit brochure, drafting and editing the text. Supervised exhibit installation.
With Victoria Biddle Design
Display Approach Excerpts from William Still’s The Underground Railroad were printed on the gallery walls in a woven pattern as the framework for presenting the quilt squares and text relating the stories of the featured individuals.
UGRR Glossary Large interpretive panel defining key terms in the Underground Railroad story used in the panel text.
Josiah Henson Quilt Square A Methodist minister, Henson spoke at abolitionist meetings in the United States and Canada. He published his autobiography, The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself in 1849.