Bill Text: NY J01428 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Memorializing Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim September 2023, as Underground Railroad Month in the State of New York

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-01-09 - ADOPTED [J01428 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-J01428-Introduced.html

---

Senate Resolution No. 1428

BY: Senator KENNEDY

        MEMORIALIZING  Governor  Kathy  Hochul to proclaim
        September 2023, as Underground Railroad Month in the
        State of New York

  WHEREAS, It is the custom of  this  Legislative  Body  to  recognize
official  months that are set aside to celebrate the history and heroism
that guided America to freedom; and

  WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern  and  in  full  accord  with  its
long-standing  traditions,  this  Legislative  Body  is  justly proud to
memorialize  Governor  Kathy  Hochul  to  proclaim  September  2023,  as
Underground Railroad Month in the State of New York; and

  WHEREAS,  This  vital  month of recognition was established in 2019,
when  the  State  of  Maryland  proclaimed  September  as  International
Underground  Railroad  Month;  September  was  chosen  to represent this
designation as it is the  month  two  of  the  most  well-known  freedom
seekers  and  Underground  Railroad  operatives,  Frederick Douglass and
Harriet Tubman, escaped from slavery; and

  WHEREAS, New York State is proud of its landmarks  and  institutions
which are important symbols of the Black community's heritage, quest for
freedom,  and  profound  legacy in our State and Nation; these milestone
sites include many stops along the Underground Railroad,  a  network  of
clandestine  routes,  churches,  community  resources,  and  safe houses
established in the United  States  during  the  early  19th  century  by
abolitionists and other individuals offering shelter and aid to enslaved
Black  persons  in order to facilitate their escape into free states and
Canada; and

  WHEREAS, The Underground  Railroad  movement  was  a  transformative
period  in  New  York State and the United States, as communities across
the country saw the rise of pro-and anti-slavery activities  and,  while
the movement originated in the Deep South, the North was the destination
for  many enslaved persons in flight, who sought freedom in safe regions
above the Mason-Dixon Line; and

  WHEREAS, The breadth and scope of New York's role in the Underground
Railroad was vast and varied, as our State was a gateway  to  liberation
for  freedom-seekers  along the eastern seaboard who found accessibility
to Canada and major water routes,  protection  among  New  York  State's
large and vocal freed Black population, support from powerful and active
anti-slavery organizations, and a strong network of Underground Railroad
leaders; and

  WHEREAS, Following the abolition of slavery in New York in 1827, the
movement  gained  momentum,  and  our  State  became  home to well-known
abolitionists including John Brown, Gerrit  Smith,  Frederick  Douglass,
and  Harriet  Tubman, the Underground Railroad's most famous "conductor"
who guided 300 slaves to freedom while making 19 daring rescue trips  to
the  South  and  whose  home  in  the  City of Auburn is now part of the
Harriet Tubman National Historical Park, as well as other heroic persons

with the conviction and courage to join in these  missions  to  freedom;
and

  WHEREAS,  Through  the  National  Underground  Railroad  Network  to
Freedom Act of 1998, the National Park Service established the  National
Underground  Railroad  Network  to  Freedom Program to tell the story of
resistance against slavery in the United States by means of  escape  and
flight,  and  to illustrate the significance of the Underground Railroad
in  the  abolition  of  slavery  through  nationwide  preservation   and
education  efforts  and  by integrating local historical sites, museums,
interpretive resources, and other facilities and places with  verifiable
links to the Underground Railroad; and

  WHEREAS,  New  York  State's  significant  presence and place in the
"Network to Freedom" is  represented  by  events,  tours,  and  research
centers,  as  well as 22 historic sites, seven churches, and four marked
sites which highlight the Underground Railroad experience; and

  WHEREAS, In August of  2012,  New  York  State  unveiled  its  "Path
Through  History"  to  showcase  various themes in New York State's rich
heritage and history, including Civil Rights,  through  a  program  that
promotes  historically  and culturally significant sites, locations, and
events across the Empire State, featuring several hundred  of  the  most
important landmarks and milestones in the State, many of them related to
the  Underground  Railroad, the abolitionist movement, and our country's
emerging civil rights movement; and

  WHEREAS, New York State has always shown an inspiring commitment  to
civil,  social,  economic,  political  and  human rights, from its early
actions to end statewide slavery, to its historic role as a link in  the
Underground Railroad helping to bring formerly enslaved Black persons to
freedom;  today  our  State remains dedicated to advancing the course of
progress for all  people  and  joins  other  states  in  this  important
observance  that  welcomes  residents  and  visitors,  inviting  them to
explore a "Path Through History" to learn more about our State's pivotal
role in the Underground Railroad; now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its  deliberations  to
memorialize  Governor  Kathy  Hochul  to  proclaim  September  2023,  as
Underground Railroad Month in the State of New York; and be it further

  RESOLVED, That a copy of this  Resolution,  suitably  engrossed,  be
transmitted  to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York.