Sept. 9, 2008

The Michigan Historical Center today announced the Michigan Freedom Trail Commission will on Sept. 26-27 co-host "The Underground Railroad in Michigan: A Decade of Discoveries" - a conference commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Michigan Freedom Trail Commission and the National Network to Freedom.

The conference, taking place at Grand Valley State University's downtown Grand Rapids campus, will bring together writers and scholars to highlight the histories of Michigan's abolitionists and freedom seekers in the decades before the Civil War. Conference registration is $50 through Sept. 12 ($75 after Sept. 12) and $25 for students. For more information call (616) 331-8109 or register online at www.gvsu.edu/ugrrdecade.

Betty DeRamus, Detroit journalist and author of Love Stories from the Underground Railroad and a forthcoming collection of Underground Railroad histories, By Any Means Necessary, will be a featured speaker. Roy Finkenbine, professor of history at the University of Detroit, will discuss the case of the Detroit fugitive, Giles Rose.

Karolyn Smardz Frost, an Ontario archaeologist, historian and author of I've Got a Home in Glory Land, will share her experience chronicling the lives of the Blackburns, a couple who escaped from Kentucky in 1831 and came to Detroit. The attempt to recapture them ignited the first riot in the city of Detroit.

"Michigan played a critical role for many people on the journey from slavery to freedom," said Michigan Historical Center Director Sandra Clark. "In the 10 years since the Freedom Trail Commission was formed, much excellent work has taken place to ensure these stories will be preserved and shared with new generations, keeping the history alive."

Conference attendees will be able to participate in one of the state events celebrating the bicentennial of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln, a presentation by Dr. Allen Guelzo, the Henry R. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era and director of Civil War Era Studies at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pa. Dr. Guelzo has written several books on Lincoln. His most recent work is Lincoln and Douglas: The Debates That Defined America.

Other featured speakers include children's author and Newbery prize winner Christopher Paul Curtis, whose latest book, Elijah of Buxton, is a work of historic fiction focused on the community of former slaves from America that settled in Buxton, Ontario. Anna-Lisa Cox, author of A Stronger Kinship: One Town's Extraordinary Story of Hope and Faith, will speak about her current research on free blacks who moved from the South to the Midwestern frontier before the Civil War.

The National Network to Freedom and the Michigan Freedom Trail Commission were created by national and Michigan legislation to enable citizens to recover, document, preserve and commemorate the histories of the Underground Railroad networks that enabled blacks to resist and escape from slavery. In the 10 years since the passage of the national and state legislation, citizens throughout the nation have increased their understanding and appreciation of those who risked their lives to seize freedom and those who assisted the freedom seekers along the secret routes of the Underground Railroad.

The Michigan Freedom Trail Commission is housed within the Michigan Historical Center, an agency of the Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL). To learn more about the commission and its work, visit www.michigan.gov/freedomtrail. Dedicated to enriching quality of life and strengthening the economy by providing access to information, preserving and promoting Michigan's heritage and fostering cultural creativity, HAL also includes the Library of Michigan, the Mackinac Island State Park Commission and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.

Read more press releases from the Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL).