News Release

Underground Railroad Conference at UDM Oct. 19 – Oct. 21, 2011

University of Detroit Mercy will co-sponsor a three-day conference to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Underground Railroad Memorial Bi-National Monuments, “Gateway to Freedom” (Detroit, MI) and the “Tower of Freedom” (Windsor, Ontario). Most events will take place on Oct. 19-21 on UDM's McNichols Campus.

The conference entitled, “Celebrating the River at Midnight -The Fluid Frontier: Slavery, War, Freedom, and the Underground Railroad”, is sponsored by UDM in conjunction with the Detroit River Project, Caesars Windsor and the International UGRR Memorial Monument Commemoration Planning Committee.

“The Detroit River was the River Jordan for fugitive slaves seeking freedom,” said Roy Finkenbine, Interim Dean, UDM College of Liberal Arts and Education. “For them, Canada was the place. The vast majority of runaway bondsmen and bondswomen who crossed into Canada before the Civil War did so at Detroit with the assistance of Detroiters. That makes this a special place and this commemoration and conference a special event. University of Detroit Mercy is thrilled to host this conference,” he added.

Schedule for the three-day conference:

Day 1: Wednesday, October 19th

• Plenary Session: 9 -11 a.m.
  Opening Keynote Speaker: David W. Blight, Director, Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition, Yale University
  Topic: The Underground Railroad- Real and Mythic
• Detroit Area UGRR Bike & Bus Tour: 11:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
  Highlighting the most noted UGRR sites including those places, programs, facilities that are listed in the Network to Freedom Program. Leaving from UDM. Separate cost unless registered for the conference. (Mary Edmond/ Todd Scott, Michigan Trail and Greenways Alliance)

Day 2: Thursday, October 20th

• Plenary Session: 8 – 10 a.m.
  Keynote Speaker: Kerry Irons, Adventure Cycling Association/Topic: The Detroit UGRR Bike Route Alternate / National UGRR Bike Route
• Plenary Session: 10 a.m. – 12 noon
  Panel Discussion: Authors of the forthcoming book “A Fluid Frontier: Slavery, Freedom and the Underground Railroad in the Detroit River Borderland.” Panelists will include Karolyn Smardz Frost, Carol Mull, Roy E. Finkenbine, and others.
• 12 noon – 1:30 p.m.
  Keynote Speaker: The Detroit River Project
• Plenary Session: 2 – 3 p.m.
  National Park Service UGRR Network to Freedom- Deanda Johnson, Midwest Coordinator - NPS Network to Freedom
• Plenary Session 3 – 4:30p.m.
  Jeannie Regan-Dinius, Director of Special Initiatives, D.N.R.- State of Indiana, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology

Day 3: Friday, October 21st

• Plenary Session: 8 – 10 a.m.
  Keynote Speaker: Hari Jones, Curator,African American Civil War Museum, Washington, D.C.
• 10:30a.m. – 12:30p.m
  International UGRR Memorial Charette*** conducted by University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture / Detroit Collaborative Design Center – Virginia Stanard
  Session would allow the audience to brainstorm ideas about how to best promote the UGRR Memorials as a means to further educate American and international visitors about the importance of the UGRR story.
• 12:30 – 2:00 p.m.
  Keynote Speaker: Robert Stanton,Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Interior – Former Director, U.S. National Park Service
• 2 – 4:30 p.m.
  International UGRR Memorial Charette & Conference Conclusion

After the conference, there will also be a rededication of the two monuments that were created by acclaimed sculptor, Ed Dwight to commemorate the underground railroad, “Gateway to Freedom” (Detroit, MI) and “Tower of Freedom” (Windsor, Ontario). They were originally installed and dedicated on the banks of the Historic Detroit River during the “Detroit 300” celebration in October 2001. After the conference, they will be rededicated on Saturday, Oct. 22 at Hart Plaza in Detroit at 11 a.m. and Charles Clark Square in Windsor, Ontario at 1 p.m.

Both the Detroit River Project and the Essex County Black Historic Research Society will sponsor activities to commemorate the twin sculptures and to recognize the collaborative efforts of both Canadians and Americans to the abolition of slavery.

Pre-Registration for the Detroit Conference is $65 before Oct 15, 2011 and $75 the day of the conference at UDM.

For more information on the conference at UDM, contact detroitriverproject@gmail.com or phone (313) 651-5367. Members of the media can contact Dr. Roy Finkenbine, Interim Dean, College of Liberal Arts, University of Detroit Mercy at: finkenre@udmercy.edu or 313-993-3250.

Release date: October 15, 2011

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For more information about UDM, or to apply online, go to www.udmercy.edu/apply.