by Mohawk Valley Freedom School / Press Release

The Utica, NY based Mohawk Valley Freedom School is hosting a series of online events honoring Black History Month. The first event will be held Wednesday, February 10, 2021 from 7:00pm – 8:30pm called Uncovering the History of African American Abolitionists and the Underground Railroad in Utica. The Freedom School is asking that people register for this event to get the zoom link. People can also find the event listed on the group’s facebook page.

As a reminder, this is an online event. People must register at this link in order to get the zoom call in details. 

On October 21, 1835 delegates from across New York State gathered in Utica with the serious intention of founding a state-wide Anti-Slavery Society. But an anti-abolition riot brewed in the streets. In the name of ending slavery, leaders of Utica, “gentlemen of property and standing,” swore to stop the convention. Deirdre Sinnott explains how Utica’s own riot puts the politics of the young nation, headed inexorably toward a bloody Civil War, into sharp focus. Sinnott will also discuss the process of researching several people who have stood out in the abolitionist movement and the lives they lived. She’ll discuss Samuel Dove, a formerly enslaved man who lived in Utica for decades, Tucker Woodson, born the mixed-race son of an enslaver, who came to Utica from Kentucky and was known for his oratorical gifts, and Joseph C. Pankco, a poet and worker, who was an early resident and active in abolition. Please join Deirdre Sinnott, the Mohawk Valley Freedom School, and the Copper City Collective for this exciting event.

Deirdre Sinnott is an independent scholar, author, filmmaker, and social change activist. Currently, she is a historical consultant and researcher for the Ft. Stanwix Underground Railroad History Project, funded by the National Parks Service. And she is working on a non-fiction book about the American abolition movement and Underground Railroad centered in Utica, New York. She also speaks about the lingering effects of racial injustice on society. Her novel, The Third Mrs. Galway, set in Utica in 1835, will be released on July 6th and is available for pre-order from Akashic Books. For more information go to www.DeirdeSinnot.com.