State Historic Site Highlights Our Right to Vote
With Election Day now in the rearview mirror, it is important to remember the strides our nation has taken to move towards equal voting rights for all. A brief scan through history often evokes a feeling of steady progress. Yet, standing upon the grounds of the John Brown Farm State Historic Site the viewer of a new voting rights exhibit will walk away with a better understanding that progress is not a steady line.
A 3,000-mile drive through the southern states inspired Karen (Ren) Davidson, the curator of the multi-panel outdoor display, to create a physical timeline of the significant milestones in American voting rights history. From Harpers Ferry to Selma, Ren spent a month gathering stories and historic events from important civil rights locations that could then be transferred into a digestible and emotive format for visitors to the State Historic Site. Ren also felt it would resonate well in proximity to the popular civil rights Memorial Field for Black Lives installed at the Site five years ago. The new display was intentionally designed to circle around the already existing exhibit to complement rather than compete with it.
John Brown statue with Memorial Field
During a recent conversation with Ren, she explained that many Americans are familiar with these points in history, but do not understand the context. “We simply weren’t taught much of this history in school,” Ren noted. Slowly moving from the first panels around the curved pathway will help a viewer to better conceptualize the relationship of the events. The backdrop of the Adirondacks is an ideal setting for a viewer to look up from each panel to process the thought-provoking information.
Voting Rights History display with Adirondacks in Background
A website to complement the exhibit is currently underway ( amemorialfield.org ) and will be live next year. It will offer downloadable versions of the signs along with much additional information. A traveling version of the exhibit is also available. Please contact John Brown Lives! to find out how you can bring it to your community.
The John Brown Farm is a significant piece of human rights history located just outside the village of Lake Placid. According to John Brown Lives! (the non-profit Friends group that runs the site in partnership with New York State Parks), “When John Brown lived here, he helped administer Gerrit Smith’s ‘scheme of justice and benevolence’ to give land to free blacks so they could move from cities, begin lives as farmers and vote.” Take the time during your visit to view the indoor exhibits, stroll along the surrounding trails, and sit alongside the quiet pond to reflect.
