Spring/Summer 2013
David Ruggles Center
for Early Florence History and Underground Railroad Studies
Welcome!
The weather the last few weeks reminds us of the truth of the old saying, “If
you don’t like the weather in New England, just wait a few hours.” For many
of us, the return of the sun means that it is time for trips to the lake, picnic
dinners, and gardening. For the David Ruggles Center. it means that we are
preparing for our Memorial Day open house and this season’s walking tours.
We are pleased to announce that we have been awarded a matching grant
from the Association for the Study of African Life and History (www.asalh.
org) to make the Ruggles Center more accessible. In order to be available to
everyone and to be open regularly, we need a ramp to allow people who cannot navigate our porch stairs to enter the Center. We need to raise $14,000
by September 1 to get the grant and get the ramp installed. Please consider
making a tax-deductible donation to help us meet that goal.
Every year, we partner with our sister organization, the Sojourner Truth
Memorial Statue Committee, and conduct a walking tour before their annual
event. This year, the date is May 26, with our walking tour departing from
the Sojourner Truth Memorial Statue on Pine Street at 12:30 p.m. Following
the event, we will host an open house at the Ruggles Center. We hope to see
you there!
We also organized two events to mark the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. We are pleased to report that both
events were successful. Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz and Senator
Stan Rosenberg were in attendance and both spoke at our Septenber event to
mark the signing of the Provisional Emancipation Proclamation.
The follow-up event on January 1 - a bell ringing to mark the moment
President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation - was observed by
over twenty-five organizations throughout Massachusetts and in Minnesota
and North Carolina. Additionally, Gov. Deval Patrick passed a resolution to
mark this day. The University of Massachusetts, Amherst College, and House
of Hope Church in St. Paul, Minnesota played “Lift Every Voice and Sing” on
their carillons. Truly, it was a day when freedom rang from every hill!
This spring, we have been working with the Sojourner Truth Memorial
Statue Committee to teach students at the New Leadership Charter School in
Springfield. As part of a MassHumanities Grant, Steve Strimer - walking tour
leader extraordinaire - has led seven groups of students through Florence to
introduce them to Sojourner Truth and this village’s remarkable history.
There are many exciting things afoot at the David Ruggles Center and we
encourage you all to join us. If you have not already renewed your membership, this would be a great time to do so. Have a great summer!
Valley Responses to the Signing of the
Emancipation Proclamation
by Robert H. Romer
At approximately 2:00 pm on New Year’s Day, January 1, 1863,
President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. That was
an important moment in American history. Signing the proclamation
made the permanent abolition of slavery an explicit Union war aim and
all but guaranteed that if the North won the Civil War (a very big “if ”
at that moment), slavery would come to an end in the United States. At
the end of the war, slavery was forever outlawed with the ratification of
the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in December, 1865.
Before the Civil War, it was legal in much of the United States for one
American to own another American. After the Civil War that was no
longer true, even though – as Martin Luther King forcefully reminded
us in his “I have a dream” speech in 1963 – it was another century
before America truly began to fulfill the promise of emancipation.
The signing of the Emancipation Proclamation was celebrated in many
cities in the North. The Springfield Republican reported that “there was a
spirited meeting in Worcester, where the announcement that the proclamation
had passed over the telegraph was received with great applause. ... And at
Boston there was a jubilee concert at Music Hall in the afternoon, where
Ralph Waldo Emerson read a poetical prologue. In the evening there was a
general jubilee at Tremont Temple, at which Fred Douglas [sic] was among
the speakers. William Wells Brown (known as “Box Brown” from the mode of
his escape from slavery) also made a very good speech. ... Near the close of
the meeting Judge Russell went upon the stage with a copy of the president’s
proclamation, which was received with every variety of applause and jubilant
demonstration. Hats, muffs, cushions, overcoats and umbrellas even were
thrown heavenward, and dancing and stamping became general all over the
hall. Cries of “God bless Abraham Lincoln,” “Glory to God,”, “Bully for Old
Abe,” were some of the words which could be overheard in the din of voices.”
That was in Worcester and Boston. What about out here in the Connecticut
Valley? I looked through issues of the Springfield Republican, the Gazette
& Courier (Northampton) and the Hampshire-Franklin Express (Amherst)
from January, 1863, hoping – of course – to learn that our ancestors here
also celebrated the moment and that church bells rang throughout the
valley. If so, those celebrations were not reported in the local press. For
the most part, our newspapers simply printed the text of the Emancipation
Proclamation. The Hampshire-Franklin Express did lead the story with an
emphatic heading – “A GREAT EVENT! Negro Emancipation Proclaimed”.
The Gazette & Courier editorialized – “The opening of the New Year marks
an era in the history of the world. ... It is undoubtedly the greatest event
of the war and the most important movement that has taken place since
the declaration of independence. ... The administration of Mr. Lincoln
can take no backward step. It has declared freedom to the slave and that
declaration must be maintained. We are fighting for freedom and hereafter
wherever the slave looks upon the stars and stripes, his shackles fall off.”
“We are fighting
for freedom
and hereafter
wherever the
slave looks
upon these stars
and stripes,
his shackles
fall off.”
-Northampton
Gazette and
Courier
-.
Unfortunately the Gazette & Courier went on – “We do not anticipate much aid from the
negroes themselves. They are too indolent to fight for themselves while they see others fighting
for them. They will be content to accept the freedom which others give them, but will not be
very likely to make any determined effort to gain it for themselves.” It was barely six months
later, on July 18, 1863, that the Massachusetts 54th Infantry led the attack on Fort Wagner – the
battle that did so much to convince white Americans, northerners and southerners alike, that
black men were willing to fight and die for freedom. Sergeant William Carney of New Bedford
– though twice wounded – became the first black soldier to be awarded the Congressional
Medal of Honor for his bravery in holding the American flag throughout the carnage. In
that attack, some 74 black soldiers were killed or mortally wounded – approximately 12% of
the attacking force – including one soldier from the valley, Sanford Jackson of Amherst.
Let us proudly celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation
Proclamation, and let us also look to the future and work toward fulfilling the
promise of that moment. At 2:00 pm on New Year’s Day, 2013, let the bells
ring out across the valley to mark that historic event in America’s history.
(submitted December 4, 2012)
Bob Romer reading Gov. Patrick’s Proclamation at the Amherst Town Hall, January 1, 2013.
Ringing the Cosmian Hall bell in Florence. January 1, 2013.
Summer Walking Tours
May 26 (begins at 12:30)
July 20
Weather permitting. All
tours begin at 10:00 a.m.
and depart from the Sojourner Truth Memorial
Statue (at the corner of Park
and Pine Streets, Florence).
* We are also happy to
schedule group walking tours.
David Ruggles Center
225 Nonotuck Street
P.O. Box 60405
Florence, MA 01062
www.davidrugglescenter.org