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- Underground Railroad (x)
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Title
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"Riding" the Underground Railroad
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Description
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Announcing a panel discussion on societal and artistic perspectives on the Underground Railroad.
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Date Created
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2018
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PID
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grinnell:23205
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Title
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George W. Cook to Unknown, Undated
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Description
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Part of some other letter, clearly dates from somewhere between April 1857 and December 2, 1859. George writes that John Brown, eleven slaves, and a group of men came through town. The fact that there is an Underground Railroad stop is mentioned. Mentions various churches and settlers.
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PID
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grinnell:12412
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Title
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Letter to J.B. Grinnell from "a Seminary Friend"
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Description
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Dated February 5, 1877, this letter to J.B. Grinnell from his "Seminary Friend" also originally included a bill of sale for a slave which was taken from the archives of Charleston South Carolina. His friend praises J.B. for his many actions in combatting slavery.
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Date Created
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1877
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PID
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grinnell:4246
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Title
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The Father of Grinnell
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Description
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Grinnell’s history in relation to slavery often points to the man pictured in this block. J.B. Grinnell was a known advocate of abolition, and founded the very town of Grinnell on anti-slavery principles. He worked with the Underground Railroad to help slaves escape to Canada and served in Iowa’s Congress, even though his views on abolition made him quite unpopular amongst many Midwesterners. In the process of researching the life of J.B. Grinnell, the creator of this block was directed to a letter written by L.F. Parker describing an “incipient mob” driving five fugitive slaves out of the town of Grinnell. This letter encourages us to unpack the many layers of white abolitionist intention, and make distinctions between theory and action. While J.B. Grinnell had clearly intended for his town to be a space to live the tenets of the abolitionist movement, in practice this was not always the case. By showcasing this story, the artist urges viewers to contemplate the many phases and evolutions of freedom and abolition, knowing that good intention has yet to be enough.
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Date Created
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2017
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PID
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grinnell:25487
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Title
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The Journey
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Description
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This block was created around the theme of the journey. We all go through different journeys in our lives, some longer and more challenging than others, but every journey is important and demands courage and strength. This block honors those who were challenged by a specific journey unique to American history and relevant, even more specifically, to the state of Iowa; the story of the Underground Railroad. This block is comprised of a map of the Underground Railroad in the South, framed by a smattering of screws, pill capsules, buttons, stars, and other found objects. It also includes a photograph of the Lewelling House, a popular anti-slavery meeting house and renown safe stop on the Underground Railroad in an area of the Midwest particularly unfriendly to slaves and freed blacks during the years before the Civil War. Although the area of the South portrayed in the map is, of course, miles from the Lewelling House, the experience of black people in America is part of our entire country’s history, not just the areas most ravaged by institutional slavery and injustice. Although we often associate slavery with the American South, we must not forget that slavery was a national issue which demanded the attention of every city, small town, and individual, much like issues of racism still demand every person’s attention, no matter their race, today. The strewn nails and capsules surrounding the images in this block allude to journeys of different kinds, both physical and emotional. As our eyes follow the paths drawn by these loose objects we may be reminded of journeys we have taken in our own lives.
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Date Created
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2017
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PID
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grinnell:25495
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Title
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Story of an Old Settler
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Description
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Newspaper clipping of article written by Jennie Bailey (1858-1937) about her father, James Bailey (1815-1888), and mother, Cornelia Doolittle Bailey (1824-1893) and their life in early Grinnell. James Bailey was an Abolitionist and his home was a station on the Underground Railroad. Other people mentioned include Alfred Bailey, Lorenzo Bailey, Joanna Bailey Baggs, and Dennis and Clark Thompson. Topics discussed include the first saw mill in Grinnell, the Bailey House hotel, the Sugar Creek war, and prairie flora.
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Date Created
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1930
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PID
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grinnell:5828