Underground Railroad Sculpture, 256 W Van Buren, Battle Creek MI ~ May, 2021

Our first attempt to see the sculpture took place last February 😊

We returned last May and had a much better visit.

Erastus and Sarah Hussey were Quakers and abolitionists who started hiding escaping slaves in 1840. Their home became one of the main stations on the Underground Railroad in Battle Creek. Erastus and Harriet Tubman are featured on the front of the monument. There is no evidence Tubman ever set foot in Michigan but the contributions of the "Black Moses" are well-known and made her a national hero. 

One side of the monument depicts the Husseys helping escaping slaves into their home, and the details of the entire sculpture are impressive.

Harriet Tubman is shown on the other side leading slaves to their freedom.

The sculpture is 14 feet tall land 28 feet long and is the largest Underground Railroad Sculpture in the U.S. It was designed by Ed Dwight and dedicated in 1993. Besides being a well-known sculptor, Dwight was an air force jet pilot in 1962 when President Kennedy nominated him as an astronaut trainee. Dwight would have been the first African-American astronaut. After Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, NASA dropped Dwight from the program. 

Ed Dwight has two other well-known sculptures in Michigan: Rosa Parks in Grand Rapids and another Underground Railroad sculpture in Detroit.

Ed Dwight may not have made history with NASA but he's doing his part to help us remember our history.

Sojourner Truth 1797 - November 26, 1883 ~ Battle Creek, Michigan

 

Sojourner Truth was born into slavery as Isabella Bomfree sometime in or around 1797. After getting her freedom, she became an outspoken advocate of abolition and a champion of civil and women's rights. The end of her life was spent in Battle Creek, Michigan, where she was buried.

We went to find Sojouner Truth's gravesite in the winter but the snow was deeper than we anticipated when we arrived at Oak Hill Cemetery.

Up to my knees 😮

We returned this Spring when the snow was gone.

There is a large sculpture of Sojourner in downtown Battle Creek. Winter photos are followed by photos from our Spring visit.

This panel provides her given name and why she changed it.

This is the only known example of her signature.

This mural can be found at 17 W Michigan Avenue in Battle Creek.

You can stand in her footprints in Quaker Park (63 Groveland St, Battle Creek), the site of the church where Sojourner sang.

The Battle Creek History Museum has a small exhibit about Sojourner's life.

At the time of our visit, there were hats available that had been painted by a descendant of Sojourner, and this one came home with me.

This photo also hangs in the Clinton Presidential Museum in Little Rock, Arkansas.

She is honored in the Capitol in Washington D.C.

What a woman and what a life 💗