Northup included in Smithsonian's African American History & Culture Museum
Fri, 09/23/2016 - 05:00
Raymond Daye
Opens Saturday in Washington, D.C.
{Editor’s Note: Melissa Howell, a descendant of Solomon Northup, provided the following article concerning her ongoing efforts to recognize Northup, a freeborn black man from New York who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Avoyelles Parish in 1841. He was given his freedom on Jan. 3, 1853 at the parish courthouse in Marksville. Howell was among Northup descendants who were honored in a special commemoration event at the parish courthouse two years ago. Northup wrote the autobiographical Twelve Years a Slave about his experience.}
On Sept. 24, the Smithsonian Institution will open its newest museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
That day has also been declared “Solomon Northup Day” by Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, in recognition of Northup’s inclusion in that museum and commemoration of the 175th anniversary of his abduction on the streets of D.C.
The Solomon Northup Legacy has assembled a first-ever gathering of descendant families of Northup’s 1853 memoir Twelve Years A Slave to meet in Washington for the four-day event surrounding the museum’s opening.
Organized by Melissa Howell, founder and director of The Solomon Northup Legacy in Upstate New York, the descendants will retrace “Solomon’s Washington,” leading up to the opening dedication of the NMAAHC and his inclusion in the “Taking the Stage” and “Slavery and Freedom” galleries.
Participating in the four-day “Journey into Solomon’s Washington” will be immediate Northup descendants Howell (great-great-great-granddaughter), Irene Northrup-Zahos (great-great-granddaughter), Rebecca Bicksler (great-great-great granddaughter). Special guests will include cast members of the Oscar-winning Best Picture 12 Years A Slave, Kelsey Scott (who portrayed Anne Northup) and actor Jay Huguley (who portrayed the Avoyelles Parish sheriff). Descendants of others involved in Northup’s story will also participate in the event. they include Jeffrey Smith (great-great-great-grandson of Henry B. Northup), Anne Marie Barrios (great-great-great-granddaughter of William P. Ford), and Liz Brazelton (great-great-granddaughter of attorney John P. Waddill).
Making history of their own, these descendants will retrace a few of the many ties of Solomon’s narrative throughout the city and leading up to the opening of the NMAAHC.
Sites in Washington
The retracing will take one to reflect upon former slave trader James H. Birch and National Hotel owner John Gadsby at Congressional Cemetery. Retracing will continue with a visit to the former sites of Shekell’s Tavern and Williams’ Slave Pen with a guided history of 19th century Washington by local and prominent historian and author Carroll R. Gibbs.
At the Newseum, the history of the National Hotel will be observed -- including an overview of the museum’s championing of the First Amendment Freedoms of Speech, Religion, Press, Petition and to Assemble. On the terrace level, Liz Williams, director of Gadsby’s Tavern Museum in Alexandria, Va., will explore the history between John Gadsby and his ownership of the National Hotel and Decatur House.
Moving north of the city, the working historic site of James Madison’s Montpelier will be visited. There will be participation in the DIG expedition, offering a hands-on experience excavating the artifacts left behind and taking away a historical viewpoint of the last slaves who worked the property and reflect on Solomon’s labors.
“A Journey into Solomon’s Washington” will also include a visit to the White House, which was built in 1792 by slave labor and worked by the slaves held by several former Presidents.
This highly sought-out visit to the inner workings of the government will surely excite and bring forth a new perspective of a legacy in the 21st Century, experiencing the freedoms of the Bill of Rights so many were denied in the 1840’s.
Agencies participating
As one of the most anticipated 21st Century explorations of the African American diaspora, the NMAAHC joins a host of prominent Capitol region agencies contributing to the cumulative dialogue of and in perpetuating the legacy of Solomon Northup. Those include Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum, National Archives & Records Administration, Library of Congress & The American Folklife Center, Congressional Cemetery, Newseum, and Gadsby’s Tavern and Museum and Freedom House at Alexandria. Va.
To celebrate ‘The Book of Our Lives’ and the enduring legacy of Solomon Northup, these descendants will reflect, connect and reconcile the past to celebrate “freedom, family and forgiveness” – values that have made an indelible mark in the historical account of slavery and the only known recording by a native New York freeborn citizen to be enslaved and rescued.
The Solomon Northup Legacy was founded in 2014 “to protect, preserve and perpetuate the living legacy of Solomon Northup and its enduring cultural relevance,” Howell said.
The Legacy’s work includes a 2016 recommendation to award Solomon Northup the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which was endorsed by several esteemed supporters.
Northup wrote the 1853 slave-narrative Twelve Years A Slave. The University of Southern California posthumously presented Northup the Scripter Award in 2014, presented to an author of an original work adapted for film.