New York and Maryland Senators Introduce Bill to Honor Life of Harriet Tubman
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PRESS RELEASE
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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | |
| Date: | February 2, 2011 |
| Contact: | Alexander Brash, Northeast Senior Director, National Parks Conservation Association P: 212.617.2989 or abrash@npca.org Alison Zemanski, Media Relations Manager, National Parks Conservation Association P: 202454.3332; C: 202.384.8762 or azemanski@npca.org |
New York and Maryland Senators Introduce Bill to Honor Life of Harriet Tubman
Statement by NPCA Northeast Senior Director Alexander Brash
Background: Yesterday, New York Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand joined with Maryland Senators Benjamin Cardin and Barbara Mikulski to introduce legislation honoring the life of Harriet Ross Tubman. The new legislation will establish two national historic park sites – one in New York and one in Maryland.
Harriet Ross Tubman is perhaps the most recognizable figure associated with the anti-slavery resistance network known as the Underground Railroad. To commemorate her legacy, senate bill S.247, would establish the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park Act in Caroline, Dorchester, and Talbot Counties, Maryland, and the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in Auburn, New York.
Harriet Tubman National Historical Park would include important historical sites located in Auburn, New York, including Tubman’s home, the elderly home she established for African Americans, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, and the Fort Hill Cemetery where she is buried. The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park Act in Maryland would include nearly 5,700 acres of historic land and sites, including the Poplar Neck Plantation that Tubman escaped from in 1849, a memorial garden, and walking paths. The site would also be interconnected with Blackwater Wildlife Refuge.
“Our national parks must continue to evolve and grow in order to reflect all of America’s stories, and the tangible remnants of Harriet Tubman’s heroic work to shuttle slaves to freedom should be forever protected as a national treasure. We applaud this effort, and particularly thank the senators for their work in bringing this bill forward,” said Alexander Brash, northeast senior director for the National Parks Conservation Association.
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