CHESTERTOWN — Kent Cultural Alliance and Washington College’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience are hosting an announcement for the Isaac Mason Escape Site on Nov. 13 at the KCA’s headquarters at 101 Spring Ave. in downtown Chestertown.
The event is set for 4:30 p.m. inside the Kent Cultural Alliance exhibit space on the first floor.
Afterward, an unveiling will be held on the front porch steps.
Th event is free and open to the public, but space is limited.
The Starr Center, Kent Cultural Alliance and Chesapeake Heartland: An African American Humanities Project staff invite the public to join federal, regional, state and local public officials, descendants, creatives, college leadership, alumni and students for what is being described as “a dynamic convening that centers this shared milestone.”
Acclaimed Kent County-born musician and music educator Marlon Saunders will open the event by performing a selection from “Isaac: A Musical Journey.”
In May, 31 listings across 13 states were named to the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom by the U.S. National Park Service.
Among them, the Isaac Mason Escape Site was the only Maryland Eastern Shore addition.
Currently, the building serves as Kent Cultural Alliance’s headquarters.
KCA’s staff, community of artists and volunteers have collaborated with Washington College students and researchers for nearly two decades “to illuminate an inspiring legacy of self-liberation and its sobering connection to others whose nearby experiences distinguish the region as a renowned cultural landscape,” a news release states.
The collaboration is a hallmark of the work of the Starr Center, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this academic year.
The college’s Miller Library recently acquired a first edition of Mason’s autobiography, “The Life of Isaac Mason as a Slave,” which details his 1846 escape, how he found freedom across the Pennsylvania border and his rise to become a distinguished civic leader.
Mason’s narrative offers a powerful firsthand account of the realities of enslavement, the struggle for freedom and experiences of African Americans in the 19th century.
“All of us at the Kent Cultural Alliance are grateful for the diligent research by staff and students at Washington College that led to this recognition. Celebrating places of self-liberation is a critical step in amplifying the truth of our past. Isaac Mason will forever be honored in this building. We are grateful for the partnership that brought this moment to fruition,” Kent Cultural Alliance Director John Schratwieser said in the news release.
In an effort to carry the momentum of Maryland Emancipation Day (Nov. 1), the Black Student Union and Cleopatra’s Sisters at Washington College are co-sponsoring the event.
The U.S. National Park Service preserves and protects powerful places, i.e., the physical memory of American history.
Legislation titled the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1998 created the Network to Freedom program.
The program works in collaboration with local, state and federal entities, as well as individuals and organizations to create a “network” of sites, facilities and programs with a verifiable connection to the Underground Railroad.
Through its mission, according to a news release, the Network to Freedom program advances the idea that all human beings embrace the right to self-determination and freedom from oppression.
There are currently more than 800 Network to Freedom sites, facilities and programs in 41 states.
New listings are added twice per calendar year.
“The echoes of our collective attention and care will be heard for generations,” Jaelon T. Moaney said.
He is the Starr Center deputy director and vice chair of the Maryland Commission on African American History & Culture.
“African American experiences on the Delmarva Peninsula, past and present, have inspired and informed progress for centuries,” Moaney said in the news release.
He added. “This etching by Isaac Mason reclaims the Mansfield home, now the Vincent and Leslie Prince Raimond Cultural Center, and embodies the latest stride of his faithful walk. I’m most excited by how the youngest members of our rural communities are reminded that circumstances neither define worth nor trajectory.”
