On the program for July 19, 2014: Violinist Henrique Prince, of the Ebony Hillbillies
On the program for July 19, 2014: Jazz saxophonist T.K. Blue (photo by R. Andrew Lepley)
On the program for July 19, 2014: Actress Devyn Tyler, '12 Years a Slave'
Solomon Northup Day 2013: Renee Moore pinning a corsage on Laura Northup Linzy, Northup family matriarch
Solomon Northup Day 2013: Frank Orsini (left) and Dan Hubbs
Solomon Northup Day 2013: Lloyd Steward, author of "The Great Migration"
Solomon Northup Day 2013: t-shirt design by Northup descendants
Solomon Northup Day 2013: Lupita Nyong'o with Skidmore Professor Timothy Harper
Solomon Northup Day 2013: (from left) Enid Mastrianni, Renee Moore, Lupita Nyong'o
Solomon Northup Day 2013: Northup descendents (photo by Tom Dimopoulos)
The story of Solomon Northup, a local African-American man abducted into slavery in 1841 and transported to Louisiana, is now known internationally thanks to the acclaimed 2013 film based on Northup’s autobiography, Twelve Years a Slave. But a grassroots effort to raise awareness of this compelling story has been going on for a number of years, in particular through Solomon Northup Day, an annual event launched in 1999 by Saratoga Springs resident and Skidmore College alumna Renee Moore, UWW '01.