Wesley Wofford Archives - Harriet Tubman Byway

12 09, 2022

‘Beacon of Hope’ statue honors Tubman in her homeland

Jill Jasuta2024-05-21T06:51:28-04:00

Beacon of Hope, the inspiring, 13-foot bronze sculpture of Harriet Tubman, is located just a few miles from where the Underground Railroad conductor was born in Dorchester County on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The dedication celebration in 2022, in conjunction with the bicentennial of Harriet’s birth, marked the culmination of two years of community grassroots fundraising and activities to create and install the permanent sculpture at the Dorchester County Courthouse, a place where enslaved ancestors were auctioned and Tubman’s niece was rescued.

Motivated by the traveling Harriet Tubman sculpture that graced the Courthouse entrance in 2020, Alpha Genesis Community Development Corporation led the drive to have a permanent Harriet Tubman statue created specifically for Dorchester County. Wesley Wofford, the Emmy- and Academy-award winning sculptor who created the traveling Harriet statue created the new one that specifically reflects her connections to Dorchester County. It is especially noteworthy that at a time when other cities are taking down monuments, the Dorchester County community came together one to honor one of their own – Harriet Tubman.

It was Tubman’s experiences in Dorchester County – both horrific slavery and love of God and family – that were the basis for forming her into the woman she became. Her legacy and her commitment to the ideals of true freedom and equality have made her an icon of courage and determination that is still relevant today. The impetus for this sculpture came during a tumultuous time for this country, a time of heightened social unrest coupled with a deadly pandemic. Yet, in Dorchester County, a grassroots movement arose, uniting a diverse community inspired by the community’s shared admiration and respect for Tubman’s legacy. Two hundred years after Tubman’s birth, “Beacon of Hope” was unveiled in 2022, celebrating the common experiences and shared values that form a foundation of respect and admiration to build a more equitable future.

The sculpture is rich with symbolism that reflects Tubman’s legacy. Not far from Cambridge at the Bucktown General Store (Stop #17 on the Tubman Byway), Araminta Ross was struck in the head with a weight, an injury she attributed to opening her to visions. This story is the basis for this sculpture, and a replica of the weight is embedded in the sculpture.

As young Araminta lifted herself from the ground, she had a vision of the strong woman she would become. The sculpture depicts Harriet reaching down to help her younger self up and offering her a key to unlock the shackle on her little arm. With this “generational key,” Araminta unlocked her inner strength to forge her own destiny: the rebirth of Araminta Ross as Harriet Tubman.

The oxen yoke illustrates the historical story of young Minty steering a team of oxen with her father. but it is also a metaphor for the yoke of slavery. Harriet crushes this broken obstacle to the point of snapping it. The piles of shackles and chains depict all of the lives adversely affected by slavery. The open shackles represent those whom she freed, and the closed ones represent those left behind, as well as the work that still is to be done to achieve true American equality.

While Harriet used the North Star to navigate out of bondage, she then became the compass rose to the thousands of enslaved who followed her guiding light to Freedom.

The Dorchester County Courthouse in Cambridge is Stop #3 on the road trip known as the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway.

Cambridge is now home to two major pieces of public art dedicated to Harriet Tubman: “Beacon of Hope” and “Take My Hand,” a mural by local artist Michael Rosato that went viral in 2019 and has attracted visitors from around the world. Learn more about Take My Hand, located on the side of the Harriet Tubman Museum & Educational Center (Stop #6 on the Byway).

Things to know:

If you’d like to see the sculpture in person, it’s located at the Dorchester County Courthouse, Stop #3 along the Harriet Tubman Byway, 206 High St., Cambridge, Maryland.
Listen to the artist Wesley Wofford speak about the sculpture.
There’s still time to donate or to sign up for a custom brick in the plaza where the statue is located. Find out more.
Make a visit to the statue part of a bigger road trip to the places where Tubman and other freedom seekers lived, toiled, worshipped, and escaped. Info and free resources at HarrietTubmanByway.org.

Photos here from the dedication weekend are by Jill Jasuta for Alpha Genesis CDC.

‘Beacon of Hope’ statue honors Tubman in her homelandJill Jasuta2024-05-21T06:51:28-04:00

29 08, 2022

Dedication of New Harriet Tubman Sculpture to Highlight Day of Resilience Sept. 10

Jill Jasuta2022-09-05T15:23:10-04:00

The Fourth Annual Day of Resilience on Sept. 10, 2022 will feature a very special and significant highlight – the dedication of the Beacon of Hope, an inspiring, 13-foot bronze sculpture honoring Harriet Tubman in conjunction with the bicentennial of her birth. The event also includes commemorations; roundtable discussions on current events and issues; a Harriet Tubman reenactor; song, dance and poetry performances; Underground Railroad Byway tours; and presentations from renowned historians, as well as Tubman’s descendants. All in Dorchester County on Maryland’s Eastern Shore – where Harriet Tubman was born 200 years ago.

“This historic event is especially noteworthy because Governor Larry Hogan has proclaimed 2022 ‘The Year of Harriet Tubman,’ and our weekend of programming and activities will serve to support and elevate awareness of her legacy and promote greater appreciation of the significant role that she played in Dorchester and U.S. history,” said Adrian Holmes, director of Alpha Genesis Community Development Corporation. “It is especially fitting that the heart of the Day of Resilience this year will be the unveiling of the new, permanent sculpture at the Dorchester County Courthouse honoring one of our own – Harriet Tubman.”

The Day of Resilience commemoration and unveiling ceremony, which is free and open to the public, will begin at noon on Sept. 10 on the Dorchester County Courthouse lawn (206 High St., Cambridge, MD) and will feature Keynote Speaker Samuel C. Still III, a descendant of the famous Civil War Abolitionist William Still, who was proclaimed “The Father of the Underground Railroad” in his obituary in 1902. William Still is credited with helping more than 800 freedom seekers escape slavery. NOTE: Seating will be limited, and attendees are encouraged to bring their own chairs.

The new sculpture will be at the location of Tubman’s first rescue – of her niece Kessiah Bowley. Historian Edduard Prince, who is a descendant of Bowley, also will be speaking during the program. Other featured presenters include Historian Vincent Leggett, founder and president of the Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation, whose research and work have focused on the Underground Railroad and on the significant contributions of Black watermen to the maritime and seafood-related industries of the Chesapeake Bay, and sculptor Wesley Wofford, who will discuss his work on the sculpture, which is rich in symbolism that specifically reflects Tubman’s connection to Dorchester County, Maryland.

The public also is invited to participate in related events that are scheduled throughout the weekend of September 9-11, including:

Underground Railroad Tours available on Friday, 3-6pm. More info.
The Taste of Resilience on Friday, Sept. 9 at the newly restored Phillips Packing House in Cambridge, MD. The event, beginning at 5pm, will kick off the weekend with reflections, a quilt display, food and entertainment. Advance tickets are required.
The Art Awards Ceremony recognizing the students whose winning artwork was inspired by Harriet Tubman. The presentation will be at 10:30am on Saturday at the Dorchester County Courthouse.
A Drum Processional and Waterside Libations, which will begin with Nana Malaya Rucker-Oparabea leading a walk at 10:45am on Saturday from the Dorchester Courthouse, down historic High Street to Long Wharf Marina, where ships bearing enslaved persons once docked.
A Souls at Sea land and on-water libation and remembrance ceremony commemorating the lives lost in the waters along the Middle Passage, beginning at 3:30pm on Saturday at Long Wharf Marina, High and Water Streets in Cambridge.
The Constituency for Africa Ron Brown Townhall Meeting at 3:30pm on Saturday at the Art Bar 2.0. Melvin Foote, CFA founder, will host panelists Ambassador Carlos Dos Santos from The Republic of Mozambique and Ambassador Marie-Hélène Mathey Boo Lowumba, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, who will discuss “Mobilizing the Diaspora: Mission Impossible.” The CFA’s mission is to build public and private support for Africa, and to help shape a progressive U.S. policy towards Africa.
A Public Art Panel Discussion, “Telling the Stories of Our Communities,” at 3:30pm at the Dorchester Center for the Arts (321 High St., Cambridge). Panelists and participants include Wesley Wofford, who created the new Harriet Tubman Sculpture Beacon of Hope; Michael Rosato, who designed the Harriet Tubman Take My Hand mural; Miriam Moran, who designed the Black Lives Matter mural on Cambridge’s Race Street; Bridget Cimino, who designed the new Dorchester Women’s Mural; Sydnei SmithJordan, whose art pieces are a part of the permanent collection with the Harriet Tubman Museum of Cape May, N.J.; and Liesel Fenner, public art director for the Maryland State Arts Council. The panel moderator will be Jon West-Bey, independent curator and museum consultant, who is on the faculty at Johns Hopkins University.
Activities in Downtown Cambridge throughout Saturday afternoon, including a Vendor Market at Cannery Way (400 block of Race Street, Cambridge) with food trucks, handmade goods, music and kids’ activities, such as face painting and clay sculpting. Chesapeake College will be hosting their annual crab sale to support the J. C. Gibson Memorial Scholarship Fund, 1:30-4:40pm (418 Race Street). Free movie screenings at the Escape Room at 520 Race Street will feature local films revealing the unique history of Cambridge and Dorchester County, including “You Don’t Know Nuthin’ ‘Bout Groove City” and “The Voices of Indiantown,” as well as shorts from Dorchester County Tourism.
Jazz at the Mural featuring the Eric Byrd Trio will be begin at 7pm on Saturday at the Harriet Tubman Take My Hand mural near the 400 block of Race Street. Tickets are required.
An Evening at the Beacon of Hope will present the opportunity for an impromptu gathering at the new sculpture where visitors can share a poem, a song or uplifting words from 7:30pm-8:30pm on Saturday.
Gospel Jazz Brunch from 11am-1pm on Sunday at the Art Bar 2.0, 420 Race Street. Tickets are required.
Dinner and a play, Harriet Tubman Fights for Freedom, at 3:30pm on Sunday at the Art Bar 2.0, 420 Race Street. Tickets are required.

See more information about the schedule for the Day of Resilience and the weekend events and for tickets.

The Day of Resilience was first held in 2019 in Cambridge to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. That event received gubernatorial, senatorial and congressional citations and received the Outstanding Heritage Project Award from the Heart of Chesapeake Country Heritage Area. The event has grown every year since then, and in 2020, the observance was highlighted by the unveiling of a traveling sculpture of Harriet Tubman.

Motivated by the community response to the traveling sculpture, Alpha Genesis led the grassroots drive that raised $250,000 to have the permanent Harriet Tubman statue created specifically for Dorchester County. The unveiling celebration marks the culmination of two years of community grassroots fundraising and activities to create and install the permanent sculpture.

Dedication of New Harriet Tubman Sculpture to Highlight Day of Resilience Sept. 10Jill Jasuta2022-09-05T15:23:10-04:00

8 12, 2021

Join the campaign for new Harriet Tubman sculpture along the byway

Jill Jasuta2021-12-10T18:14:06-05:00

A dramatic new sculpture of Harriet Tubman – “The Beacon of Hope” – is planned for a site along the Tubman Byway. Inspired by Harriet Tubman and her daring journeys to freedom on the Underground Railroad, Alpha Genesis Community Development Corporation (AGCDC) has been raising money for the Harriet’s Journey Home project.

The campaign seeks to raise $250,000 to commission, purchase and permanently install a 12-foot bronze statue of Harriet Tubman (created by Wesley Wofford Sculpture Studio) at the Dorchester County Courthouse in Cambridge, MD – Stop #3 along the byway, and a former site of slave auctions. It’s also the site of the first escape engineered by Tubman, which ended up freeing her niece Kessiah and her children.

Find out more about the campaign and donate here.

Join the campaign for new Harriet Tubman sculpture along the bywayJill Jasuta2021-12-10T18:14:06-05:00

2 10, 2020

Harriet Tubman statue on display through Oct. 11 in Cambridge, MD

Jill Jasuta2020-10-02T19:01:40-04:00

The Harriet Tubman statue created by the Wesley Wofford Sculpture Studio remains on display at the courthouse in Cambridge, Maryland, through Oct. 11. The 9-foot, 2,400-pound bronze sculpture, “Harriet Tubman: Journey to Freedom,” is temporarily installed at the Dorchester County Courthouse at 206 High Street. There is talk of raising funds to bring a permanent sculpture to the area; watch for the latest on the Tubman Byway Facebook page.

The sculpture, “Harriet Tubman: Journey to Freedom,” depicts Tubman confidently leading a slave girl on the Underground Railroad to freedom. Wofford, the creator of the statue, said, “There is a lot of embedded symbolism within the narrative of the piece. The contours of the base represent the Maryland/Delaware Peninsula, where Harriet was enslaved, eventually escaped, and continued to return for her freedom raids. The dramatic step up/cut is the Pennsylvania state line, and they are stepping out of the slave states to an elevated freedom. The dress is enveloping the young girl, billowing protectively like a flag, and is meant to represent all the legal protections afforded every United States citizen-a symbol of the future equality to come. Each hand on the sculpture signifies an attribute: Determination, Protection, Fear, and Trust. The slave girl is leaning out to get a better look at where Harriet is taking her with a look of trepidation on her face. She is gripping Harriet’s right arm tightly but her delicate finger grasp is cautiously hopeful. The girl is off balance and tentatively taking a step forward-her left foot precariously hanging off a cliff, illustrating the danger and peril of the journey. The shackles are broken and the atrocities of slavery are left forever behind.”

Harriet Tubman statue on display through Oct. 11 in Cambridge, MDJill Jasuta2020-10-02T19:01:40-04:00

28 08, 2020

Tubman’s legacy to be celebrated at Day of Resilience Sept. 12

Jill Jasuta2020-09-07T11:27:38-04:00

The Day of Resilience 2020 will celebrate Harriet Tubman’s legacy and more beginning at 12pm on Saturday, September 12, in Cambridge, Maryland, where the road trip known as the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway begins. Space is limited for most of the events, but the courthouse program will be streamed live for home viewing on the Day of Resilience Facebook page.

Tubman statue

The highlight of the event is the unveiling of a 9-foot, 2,400-pound bronze sculpture, “Harriet Tubman: Journey to Freedom,” by internationally recognized artist Wesley Wofford. The statue depicts Tubman confidently leading a slave girl on the Underground Railroad to freedom. This sculpture, to be unveiled during a program at the Dorchester County courthouse green (206 High Street, Cambridge, MD) from 12 to 1:30pm as part of the Day of Resilience, will be a temporary outdoor exhibit at the courthouse and will remain on exhibit until October 9.

Wofford, the creator of the statue, said, “There is a lot of embedded symbolism within the narrative of the piece. The contours of the base represent the Maryland/Delaware Peninsula, where Harriet was enslaved, eventually escaped, and continued to return for her freedom raids. The dramatic step up/cut is the Pennsylvania state line, and they are stepping out of the slave states to an elevated freedom. The dress is enveloping the young girl, billowing protectively like a flag, and is meant to represent all the legal protections afforded every United States citizen-a symbol of the future equality to come. Each hand on the sculpture signifies an attribute: Determination, Protection, Fear, and Trust. The slave girl is leaning out to get a better look at where Harriet is taking her with a look of trepidation on her face. She is gripping Harriet’s right arm tightly but her delicate finger grasp is cautiously hopeful. The girl is off balance and tentatively taking a step forward-her left foot precariously hanging off a cliff, illustrating the danger and peril of the journey. The shackles are broken and the atrocities of slavery are left forever behind.” The finale of the unveiling ceremony includes a performance by the award-winning Universal African Dance and Drum Ensemble from Camden, NJ.

Town Hall on Africa

After the programming at the courthouse, the Constituency for Africa (CFA) Town Hall on Africa runs from 3 to 5pm. The event will close with a fundraising jazz concert from 6 to 8pm at the Harriet Tubman Mural in Cannery Way (near 432 Race St., Cambridge), featuring Washington, DC jazz artist Linda Harris. Concert is open only to those with advance, paid tickets. See ticket info.

Related art exhibits

Between programming, visitors are invited to view two exhibitions at the Dorchester Center for the Arts: “Portraits of Black Lives Lost: Showing Their Faces, Telling Their Stories” features paintings of those whose lives were ended by racial violence, and is presented by Artists for Justice. A second, “I Am My Sister Dolls” features the culturally iconic handmade doll line of event organizer Adrian Green Holmes. The exhibits will be open from 12 to 6pm at 321 High Street in Cambridge. Guests may also visit the vendor area at Cannery Way from 1 to 8pm.

Day of Resilience 2020 is being organized by Alpha Genesis, CDC with support from the Constituency for Africa (CFA), Dorchester County, and the City of Cambridge.

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES

Harriet Tubman Museum:
The Constituency for Africa (CFA) begins the 2020 Ronald Brown African Affairs Series at the Harriet Tubman Museum in Cambridge, MD. The virtual Harriet Tubman Town Hall on Africa will be broadcast from the Harriet Tubman Museum from 3 to 5pm. Dr. Julianne Malveaux will be the keynote speaker. Dr. Julius Garvey, the Honorable Robert Dussey, Foreign Minister of Togo, and Izmira Aitch, Legislative Assistant to Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), are among the panel speakers.

The Town Hall program includes a live creation of a Salt Art portrait by local artist Miriam Moran. This will be a global event on Zoom with participants from across the country and Africa. The building will not be open to the public, however a Zoom link will be provided.

In addition, from 2 to 2:45pm, CFA will organize a meeting for young leaders in Cambridge, the “Youth Ambassadors” and the Bowtie Boys from Houston, TX, to follow up on a similar meeting last year, and the trip to Washington in February by a 30-person youth delegation that visited the embassies of Mali, Ghana, and Rwanda for briefings.

Cannery Way Park:
A jazz concert fundraiser at the Harriet Tubman Mural will feature Washington, DC Jazz Artist Linda Harris, from 6 to 8pm. Harris has performed in France, Sweden, Panama, New Orleans, New York, and South Carolina. She holds fast to the words of Harriet Tubman – “I had reasoned this out in my mind, there was one of two things I had a right to – liberty or death.” In 2020, the walk for liberty continues as Harris and seven other women walk the 125-mile Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway from September 5 to 10, 2020. Harriett’s story motivates Harris in the most amazing ways; she wrote a song called “Freedom” in honor of the journey and will release a music video featuring the video clips from the journey and the Harriet Tubman Mural, “Take My Hand.” During the Sept. 12 concert, Cambridge musician Antone Ennels is the opening artist performing his newly released single “1 Foot.” Concert is open only to those with advance, paid tickets. See ticket info.

For more information, visit AlphaGenesisCDC.org or the Day of Resilience Facebook page.

Please note: both the opening ceremony and closing concert will have limited seating in order to adhere to all social distancing guidelines. Wrist bands, masks and temperature check will be required for each seated event.

For more information, contact info@alphagenesiscdc.org.

Tubman’s legacy to be celebrated at Day of Resilience Sept. 12Jill Jasuta2020-09-07T11:27:38-04:00