2023 International Underground Railroad Month - Negro Hill, Mormon Island and Negro Bar

2023 International Underground Railroad Month - Folsom, California
174th Anniversary of the Gold Mining District - Negro Hill, Mormon Island and Negro Bar
Alta California

Proposed California Legislative Resolution - September 29, 2023

WHEREAS; the Underground Railroad was a secret network of routes and safehouses utilized by enslaved African Americans to escape to Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico and the Western Frontier, where they would not be subject to so-called fugitive slave laws during the lead up to the Civil War; and

WHEREAS; between 1840 and 1875, thousands formerly enslaved individuals – including Honorable William Alexander Leidesdorff, Jr, a famous freedom seeker, who traveled from sea to shining sea in the quest for a greater measure of freedom. The "African Founding Father of California" a staunch abolitionist, aided many freedom seekers on their journey to freedom; and

WHERAS; while accounts of our California Underground Railroad experiences are scarce and difficult to authenticate, as both those who traveled it and those who aided them had to be discreet about their activities, documentation relating to several courageous journeys throughour California have since been uncovered; and

WHEREAS; our state is committed to the preservation of our Underground Railroad history and, in fact, the California State Library and California State Archives are home to several authenticated stories of freedom seekers in the State of Californa; and

WHEREAS; we recognize the efforts of the many people – throughtout the State of California and throughout the world – who have dedicated their lives to keeping the memory of the Underground Railroad alive through the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom and UNESCO’s Sites of Memory designations; and

WHEREAS; September 2023, the 174th Anniversary of Negro Hill, Mormon Island and Negro Bar, provides us an opportunity for all Californians to acknowledge the contributions of the Underground Railroad to the eradication of slavery in the United States, and to reflect on our collective past and how it informs the systems of oppression that persist in our culture and institutions; and

WHEREAS; this month, the State of California commends the courage, determination, and resilience of the thousands of enslaved individuals who risked their lives on the Underground Railroad, and we reaffirm our commitment to creating a more just and equitable state and nation that would make these freedom seekers proud;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, do hereby proclaim September 2023 as INTERNATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD MONTH throughout the State of California and I commend this observance to all our state’s residents.