Join us August 18 to Commemorate the Fugitive Slave Law Convention of 1850

​Cazenovia has a human history of a thousand years or so. We remember our history in our place names, arrow head displays, statues, preservation activities, old home restorations, Lorenzo events, etc.   To anti-racists,  probably our most important historical event was The Fugitive Slave Convention, held here on August 21 and 22, 1850. 

The meeting opened on Aug. 21, at the Free Congregational Church of Cazenovia, now the Catherine Cummings Theater on Lincklaen Street.  The second day the overflow crowd moved to meet on the site of Grace Wilson’s apple orchard, on Sullivan Street, next to the Presbyterian Church. The meeting laid out the abolitionists' opposition to the proposed  Fugitive Slave Act, which would allow federal marshals to arrest and return runaway slaves and punish those who harbored them. Frederick Douglass,  Gerrit Smith, many more prominent abolitionists, and about 50 fugitive slaves attended the convention.

The Anti Racism Coalition of Cazenovia (ARC-C) will be holding a commemoration of the convention on Sunday, August 18 from 3-5 PM @ the site of the generally acknowledged second day of the convention's activities,  Grace Wilson's apple orchard, located @ 11 Sullivan St, Cazenovia, as well as @ the nearby Cazenovia First Presbyterian Church. The program is as follows-
At the site of race Wilson’s apple orchard, 3:00

1. Acknowledgment of Land and Place and Moment of Arriving- Anita Beuno
2. Opening words

• ​​Town of Cazenovia board member - Logistics of how 200 abolitionists and slaves arrived in Cazenovia back in 1850, and in a time of conflicting town culture did amazing abolitionist work
• Jayden Kaplan -  Overview of Abolition that led to 1850 Convention
• Wendy Everard -  Overview of the Convention that took place on August 20 and 21, 1850

    Moving to the First Presbyterian Chapel, until 5:00

1. Opening Words -  Phillip Hamilton- the importance of the Public Address and Gathering to/for Enslaved People)
2. Looking back to Slavery in Cazenovia - Hadley Briglin
3. In the present and looking forward - ARC-C members
4. Music: a song from the 1850 convention, led by Anita Beuno and Laura Reeder 
5. Imagining the future through Cards and Tree Installation Activity, led by Rebecca Garden and Laura Reeder
6. Breaking bread together: Hearthstone loaves (with gluten free option) and apples

This remarkable convention that took place in Cazenovia almost 200 years ago, is an event worth knowing about, celebrating, and learning from. Understanding this historical event can assist us in creating an intentional, equitable, and compassionate future

Since  much of this important historical event took place in an apple orchard, it seems appropriate to end with these two quotations-

“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture  is like a tree without roots.”  MARCUS GARVEY
“If you don’t know history, then you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree.” MICHAEL CRICHTON

​— Louise Brown Smith