underground railroad

The John W. Jones Museum in Elmira now has a statue of Jones, a formerly enslaved person who played a part in the Underground Railroad. WSKG’s Natalie Abruzzo spoke with Talima Aaron, the president of the board of trustees for the museum about Jones, the museum and his commissioned statue.

Binghamton University’s Harriet Tubman Center for Freedom and Equity officially opened the trail Tuesday.The center also unveiled the design for a new statue of Tubman to be placed next to the first marker on the trail alongside the Chenango River.

“It’s a unique archaeological case in that we’re searching for evidence of something that was really working hard to not be seen.”

“I want it to be part of the DNA of the town. I want it, I want you to feel it like I feel it.”

The missing statue is that of "Tom," a runaway slave in torn clothing, his hand outstretched toward another statue, that of Catherine Harris. Harris and her father were the first "colored" people in Jamestown.

Many of us know and love traditional spirituals like Swing Low, Sweet Chariot or Wade in the Water. But a lesser known aspect is that many of these songs…