Underground Railroad History Project to Host Liberty Con 2017 – “Americans@Risk: Race, Denial, Privilege, and Who Matters”

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Liberty Con 2017 – Americans@Risk: Race, Denial, Privilege, and Who Matters, the 16th annual public history convention organized by Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region, is scheduled for March 24-25 at Schenectady County Community College in Schenectady, NY and on March 26 at The Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence in Albany, NY. Race relations, gender issues, immigration reform, white privilege, and religion play a role in the risks Americans face today. Designed for a multi-age, diverse audience, this three day convention will explore these and other civil rights issues, locate them in their relationship with American history, and dialogue about action responses through a series of workshops, roundtable conversations, and keynote speakers. Is history repeating itself?

Tim Wise, internationally known anti-racist speaker and author, will open the proceedings on Friday, March 24 at 7pm in the Carl B. Taylor Auditorium of Schenectady County Community College on the theme of Racism, Denial, and Movement Building. Having graduated from Tulane University in 1990, he received his antiracism training from the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (www.pisab.org) in New Orleans. Tim Wise has been featured in several documentaries, including “White Like Me: Race, Racism and White Privilege in America.” Among his ten published works are included Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama (2009, City Lights Publishers) and White Lies Matter: Race, Crime, and the Politics of Fear in America (2017, City Lights Publishers). Wise has spoken at over 1,000 academic institutions, and to hundreds of professional and community groups around the country, in Canada, and in Bermuda. He has trained corporate, government, law enforcement and medical industry professionals on methods for dismantling racism in their institutions.

“Tim Wise is one of the most brilliant, articulate and courageous critics of white privilege in the nation. His considerable rhetorical skills, his fluid literary gifts and his relentless search for the truth make him a critical ally in the fight against racism and a true soldier in the war for social justice. His writing and thinking constitute a bulwark of common sense, and uncommon wisdom, on the subject of race, politics and culture. He is a national treasure.” — Michael Eric Dyson, University Professor, Georgetown University, and best-selling author of nine books, including Race Rules, Holler if You Hear Me, and Between God and Gangsta Rap.

On Saturday, March 25 Liberty Con 2017 will host a keynote presentation, “Cross Roads”, given by CeLilliane Green (www.celilliannegreen.net), lawyer, poet, and playwright. Panel presentations, round tables, student poster displays, vendors, exhibitors, an art exhibition, web based games, a Solution Wall, and a Where’s Stevie search fill out the experience. Attendees are invited to come dressed in early to mid-19th century attire. Costumed re-enactors will bring historic abolitionists and freedom seekers to life. On Sunday, March 26th, an Open House will be hosted at the award-winning Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence.

Full details for Liberty Con 2017 – Americans@Risk: Race, Denial, Privilege, and Who Matters are available at www.undergroundrailroadhistory.org/conference or by calling Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region at (518) 432-4432.

Underground Railroad History Project researches and preserves the local and national history of the anti-slavery and Underground Railroad movements, their international connections, and their legacies to later struggles, engaging in public education and dialogue about these movements and their relevance to modern society. More information about Underground Railroad History Project and Liberty Con 2017 is available at www.UndergroundRailroadHistory.org or by calling (518) 432-4432.