Underground Railroad Conference

The annual National Underground Railroad Conference will take place in Little Rock, Arkansas from June 19-22, 2013 bringing together scholars, archivists, community researchers, and enthusiasts from across the nation. The four-day conference will include renowned speakers, panel discussions, an exhibit hall, and tours of state and local museums and historic sites in Little Rock, Pine Bluff, and Helena. This year’s theme is The War for Freedom: The Underground Railroad During the Civil War. The conference will commemorate the Sesquicentennial of the Emancipation Proclamation, as well as the 15th Anniversary of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

As the title suggest, the 2013 National Underground Conference will focus on the Underground Railroad during the Civil War, exploring resistance to enslavement through escape and flight during this tumultuous period of the nation’s history. As the battle over whether the nation should accept or abolish slavery waged on, people continued to fight against the institution of slavery. The Underground Railroad continued to play an important role, as shown by the continual enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act during the war. It was not until the 13th Amendment eliminated “slavery and involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime” that the need for the Underground Railroad ultimately ended.

The conference will take place at the Doubletree-Downtown in Little Rock and is sponsored by the National Park Service, National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program (NTF). The NTF was established by legislation passed in 1998 promotes the preservation and interpretation of resources associated with the Underground Railroad. For more information about the NTF, please visit www.nps.gov/ugrr.

Registration for the conference is available through the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) at http://www.asalh.org/ugrr.html. Register by May 31st to receive the reduced conference rate. Advertising and Exhibit/Vending opportunities are also available.