365 Days black history ~ Live it. learn it. make it.
Saturday, December 2, 2023
2023 FOUNDERS DAY : honoring a legacy...passing the baton
“ My life’s journey has been wonder-filled. From low dangerous ravines to lofty mountain tops. Always the ‘Divinity’ with me…leading me…protecting me.”
~Louise Calloway
Click link below then 'other' to secure your $75 dinner/program ticket
About Us
Mission Statement
The Underground Railroad Museum of Burlington County is dedicated to keeping history alive- connecting the past to the present through the acquisition and presentation of historical artifacts and materials while giving voices to history through creative expression in art, music, and the "spoken word"
All audiences are welcome, especially those who have had limited access to
historical truths.
Up Coming Events @ Smithville Park
Smithville Mansion Upcoming Events Calender
Arts After Dark, September 9, 2023
African Diaspora Festival, September 24, 2023
UGRRMBC CONTRIBUTORS
UGRRMBC CONTRIBUTORS
Ken Johnston
is a Philadelphia-based walking artist, who responds to the call of social change and history by walking to put Movement back in the civil rights movement.
During the past three years, Ken has traced the footsteps of Harriet Tubman’s movements between known Underground Railroad communities from Poplar Neck, Maryland to
St. C
Ken Johnston
is a Philadelphia-based walking artist, who responds to the call of social change and history by walking to put Movement back in the civil rights movement.
During the past three years, Ken has traced the footsteps of Harriet Tubman’s movements between known Underground Railroad communities from Poplar Neck, Maryland to
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
While raising awareness on the importance of protecting and preserving hard earned Civil Rights, Ken works on building community through lantern making engagement activities. He uses lanterns, the major light source of the 19th century, for shining light on issues to bring communities closer together.
Most recently, Ken completed a five week, 454-mile, solo walking journey following the Underground Railroad across New York State from the Harriet Tubman Memorial Statue in Harlem to the Salem Chapel BME Church in St. Catharines where Harriet Tubman attended church.
Also last year, he walked 165-miles from Cape May to Burlington, New Jersey exploring the hidden Underground Railroad communities adjacent to the rivers and creeks along Delaware Bay.
In 2018, Ken successfully completed a 400-mile solo walking journey across the Deep South for MLK50 from Selma, Alabama to Memphis, Tennessee visiting the many places Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. either worked, pastored, or led peaceful protests.
Internationally, he has walked across Ireland symbolically linking its short lived Civil Rights movement with the U.S., and across Puerto Rico on the second anniversary of Hurricane Maria following the trajectory of the devastating storm’s path.
When Ken is not walking he enjoys planning and creating public lantern events while researching his next adventure. His professional background is in career development and human services.
David B. Cole
Is a composer, writer, arranger, performer, educator and also guitar instructor at the Duke Ellington School of Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. His 50-year musical biography spans the genres of Blues, Jazz, R&B, and Rock n Roll. He has performed the world with top names including Roberta Flack, Regina Bell, Archie Bell, Percy Sledge and the Delfonics in Japan, Canada, Paraguay, India, and throughout the Caribbean and the U.S. He has performed in musical productions at the Arena Stage, Kennedy Center, Metro Stage, and Signature Theaters. He is the leader of David B. Cole and Mainstreet Blues formed in 2004. Mainstreet Blues performs a variety of genres through the mid-Atlantic states.
He formed a collaboration with Linda Harris in 2022 to develop “Songs of Freedom”, a musical production and narration of songs of the Underground Railroad. The ensemble comprised of a percussionist, banjo player, bassist, harmonica player and vocalist deliver the songs in afro-centric rhythm that conjure the spirit of the ancestors. The production has been performed in Pa, Md, D.C., Delaware, Ohio and Virginia. Their 2022 CD – entitled – “I Got Shoes” is nominated for a Wammie, 2023 award in the County/Americana category for Best Album, Best Group and Best Song.
Linda D. Harris
Is a performer, singer/songwriter and Director of Events and Programs at the Harriet Tubman Museum and Education Center in Cambridge, Md. Over the past 3 years she has led walking tours along the underground railroad and freedom trails from Cambridge to Philadelphia, Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, Money to the Tallahatchie River, Miss., and the Combahee River Trail in South Carolina. As part of living history programs, she and David B. Cole sing and engage groups in songs along the Underground Railroad on walking tours. The musical tours have gained such popularity that a production of “Songs of Freedom” was first performed for an audience at the Tubman Museum for African American History Month in 2022. Since then, the production has traveled to Kennett Square, Pa, Cleveland, Oh, Lewes, Del, Washington, D.C., Alexandria, Vienna, Wheaton, Maryland at Brookside Manor for “Maryland Emancipation Day”. The production was so well received at the 200th Anniversary Celebration sponsored by the National Park Service – Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park, that it will be reprised and filmed this summer for the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). Ms. Harris performed the code songs at the Music em Rhein Festival in Bonn, Germany. And has performed as a jazz musician in France, Sweden, Panama, Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, Germany, New Orleans, Florida, and South Carolina.