|
National
Abolition Hall of Fame
The
National Abolition Hall of Fame (NAHOF) honors
exemplary people from three centuries that
have dedicated their lives, efforts, and
personal wealth to gain equal rights for
all. For the purposes of the Hall of Fame,
abolition is recognized as both the legal
ending of slavery, or the First Abolition,
and the moral ending of discrimination, or
the Second Abolition.
The Upstate Institute has sponsored several
fellows as they work for the National
Abolition Hall of Fame. They include:
Kia King, '07, began work
with NAHOF during the spring of 2005 while
the organization was still in development as
part of the Smithfield Community
Association.
In the middle of the 19th century, the
Madison County village of Peterboro was a
central point of the abolitionist movement.
Noted philanthropist and abolitionist
Gerritt Smith made his lifelong home there.
His house served as a stop on the
Underground Railroad, and Peterboro was also
the location of the first meeting of the New
York Anti-Slavery Society. King developed a PowerPoint
presentation about the project that helped bring it to life for potential funders
and other participants. King said, "“I have newfound respect for upstate New
York, specifically the local historians and
activists that reside here. I believe that
it is important as a Colgate student to
understand the history of this area and I
have grown to admire this region for its
integrity and boldness in issues of racial
and gender equality,” says King.
In the summer of
2005, Lauren Johnston, '07, continued to
work with NAHOF. Her report of the
experience is below:
During my ten week fellowship with the
Upstate Institute, I am working with the
National Abolition Hall of Fame (NAHOF). I
am now a member of The Cabinet of Freedom,
which is the Smithfield Community
Association Committee created to launch
NAHOF. The mission of the Hall of Fame is to
both honor those who worked to accomplish
the legal abolition of slavery, and promote
the work of those who are trying to
accomplish the unfinished moral abolition of
slavery. My role on the Cabinet of Freedom
was to promote and help organize both the
Hall of Fame, and the first annual Induction
Ceremony, which will take place October 22,
2005 in Hamilton. Because NAHOF is in its
very beginning stages, I was responsible for
developing promotional materials, including
a brochure, a large display, a PowerPoint
presentation, and Press Packages. I also
gave several presentations to local groups,
and wrote press releases. Additionally, I
helped to organize the Cabinet of Freedom,
and plan the Induction Ceremony. I learned a
lot about working for a 501-(c)(3), and made
a lot of great connections to activists in
the community that I really admire.
During the January
field school, Ayanna Williams, '08, worked
with two
board members to compile a nomination and
selection process for future inductees to
the Hall of Fame. She researched the
nomination and selection processes from
other halls of fame around the country and
created several drafts for a form that NAHOF
may use. She also created an extensive list
of organizations to which nomination forms
and press releases can be sent, and compiled
spreadsheets that the current and future
Nomination & Selection Committees can use to
re-evaluate and improve the nomination and
selection processes throughout the history
of the NAHOF. Williams said, "Working with
NAHOF was an amazing experience. I never
would have thought that I could have gotten
so much experience and insight from two
weeks of work. Because of the impact that I
knew my work would have, I was very invested
in it and am happy to continue working with
NAHOF outside of my internship to help with
the selections process and in general
meetings. It is really nice to know that I
won't be spending two weeks working
diligently on something and then never
returning to see how it was used. I now can
continue to help with the development of
NAHOF and that is a very rewarding feeling."
In the summer of
2006,
Lydia Gottesfeld,
'08, developed and disseminated NAHOF
public relations material. Part of her
publicity efforts included website
development for the NAHOF. She also
research inductee plaque, panel materials
and costs, and participated in
coordination of induction and commemoration
of future inductees. Her final report is
below:
I just finished
my ten-week internship with the National
Abolition Hallof Fame. My supervisor was
Dot Willsey, the Chair of NAHOF. Going into
this experience I was a little bit
skeptical, for I had never heard of any
Abolition Hall of Fame and it seemed as
though the organization was in its early
stages of development. What I came to find
was that those characteristics contributed
to my learning experience with NAHOF.
Throughout my
internship, I worked mainly on my own either
in the Barge or the Library. I would meet
with Dot once or twice a week to touch base
on my projects, get new tasks, report to her
 what I had been doing, and find out new
things about the organization. Our meetings
were very productive and usually lasted
about an hour or two. From the beginning I
began working on developing an invitation
and a program pamphlet for the upcoming
Inductee Commemoration in October. I also
developed a database for NAHOF that grew to
over 400 names by the end of my ten weeks.
My main projects were the invitation,
program pamphlet, working on getting
information and contacts for the banner
panels to be presented at the ceremony in
October, and writing a grant to partially
pay for the banners. I accompanied Dot to
numerous meetings and met various people in
the community.
Dot and I
worked together really well to complete
these projects. I also worked on several
smaller projects such as designing a
letterhead, designing and printing business
cards for the board, building upon the
archives, and researching grants. I
recently mailed out the first wave of
invitations which felt really good to do
after working on them all summer long.
Although I am a political science major, I
ended up doing a lot of design work for
NAHOF which I really enjoyed. I took art in
high school and had not been able to take
any here at Colgate so it was really fun to
express my creative abilities in this
internship.
I benefited
greatly from working with Dot and NAHOF this
summer. I got to see first hand all of the
tedious work it takes to start a new
not-for-profit. I attended meetings with
lawyers and accountants and saw all of the
paperwork and processes it takes to even get
501(c)3 status. The most amazing thing I
took away from this experience was the
knowledge that a small, dedicated group of
people who are passionate about something
can really accomplish a lot. These people
are working to turn Peterboro into a
Historic District and tourist destination.
They have already received over a hundred
thousand dollars in grant money and are
working toward getting much bigger grants to
help aid their dreams. Dot has showed me
that if you know the right people and you
are dedicated enough to something, you
really can do anything you want to. I am
really happy that I was able to be a part of
the things that are going on in Peterboro,
no matter how frustrating it is a this stage
of the process. These are lessons that I
will take with me back to campus and apply
to the work I do with student groups. The
organization and people motivating skills I
witnessed and took part in this summer will
definitely aid my work with the groups that
I lead at Colgate.
At times it was
a little difficult to stay focused because I
was completely on my own. But I felt as
though this experience has really taught me
self-discipline and I learned how to make my
own deadlines and complete them.
Occasionally I did wish that I had one
project I was working on because with no
real deadlines and a lot of loose ends
floating around I did feel a little lost
sometimes. But in the end, I completed a
lot of things for the Hall and I do feel
like I contributed to the organization
greatly. Although some tasks, like stuffing
envelopes and taking minutes at a meeting,
were somewhat secretarial, for the most part
I was doing the meaty work of the
organization and I really appreciate that I
got the opportunity to do that.
What I enjoyed
most was meeting the people involved in this
project. They are all so devoted and really
willing to put the work in to develop this
place and bring out its historical
importance. Peterboro, New York is a very
special place and I do not think it will be
very long before the rest of the country
realizes that.
I cannot begin
to comment on how much I enjoyed my summer
in Hamilton. Hamilton is an amazing town
with a lot to offer. For a small town I
thought I would be bored a lot more than I
was. We were always off doing something in
the region and I still feel like there is so
much more to do. We did everything from
visiting every ice cream place in the
surrounding 20 miles to visiting Norm, the
World’s largest known pig to boating on Lake
Morraine to antiquing in Bouckville to
milking cows out Route 20. I also got a
much better feel for the region and the
County. Because Dot is so involved in
everything in Madison County, she is on of
the reasons I found out about all the neat
things going on around here. The people of
Central New York are so nice and it was
great to feel like a part of the Hamilton
Community. This summer I felt like I was
“in Hamilton” rather than “at Colgate” and I
think there is a big difference there. The
other students in the Upstate Institute,
students doing research, and Hamilton kids
our age provided me with a great circle of
friends to spend the summer with. I met a
lot of students who I would have never known
and who are all great and I am sure I will
remain friends with over the next few years
at Colgate. I would not trade my summer in
Hamilton for anything, I had a great
learning experience with my internship with
the National Abolition Hall of Fame, I made
some amazing friendships, and explored a
truly beautiful and interesting region of
our Country.
|
