Click to Donate to the CAS Memorial Marker
|
Click to Donate to the CAS Memorial Marker |
Honoring the Legacy of Africans and their descendants in Poughkeepsie, NY
New Legacies at Three Poughkeepsie Elementary Schools
Thanks to incredible efforts by Poughkeepsie community members, including the AD-Hoc Committee Building Names Study Group, Celebrating the African Spirit, as well as the students, parents, and teachers who rallied in support of their motions over the past two years, three Poughkeepsie Elementary Schools will be renamed after figures of immense historic and national importance. The previously-named Samuel F.B. Morse Elementary will be called Sojourner Truth Elementary School, Gov. George Clinton Elementary will be renamed Roberto Clemente Elementary School, and Christopher Columbus School will be called Jane Bolin Elementary. These figures
are not only models of resilience against the racism, violence, and discrimination, but they are also visionaries - fighting for the kind of just, equitable world we are still fighting for today.
Jane Bolin
Born in Poughkeepsie, Jane Bolin graduated from Poughkeepsie High School to become the first Black Woman to earn a degree from Yale Law School. A trailblazing lawyer, and the first black judge in the United States, she broke racial and gender barriers and dedicated her life to fighting for the marginalized.
Roberto Clemente
Clemente was not only a celebrated baseball player, but an advocate for racial equity who used his platform to speak out against violence and discrimination, celebrate his Puerto Rican heritage, and offer material support to the most under privileged communities.
Sojourner Truth
A formerly enslaved women, Sojourner Truth fled to freedom with her daughter at 29, becoming an itinerate preacher and a charismatic speaker who espoused the evils of slavery. Truth’s writings and her speeches on suffrage, emancipation, and prison reform grew to national prominence.
SAVE THE DATE FOR Juneteenth 2025
On June 19th, CAS will gather to unveil the memorial marker at Waryas park, honoring the legacy of enslaved African Americans and their role in the lives of Poughkeepsie today. Join us now to reach the very last of our goal!
Thursday, June 19th, 6-8 pm
Support the Memorial Marker at Waryas Park!
Join us in honoring the contributions of enslaved Africans and their descendants in the Mid-Hudson Valley by installing a Memorial Marker in Poughkeepsie.
The Memorial Marker was designed by local young people of color and we’re proud to announce the City of Poughkeepsie has approved the placement of the marker in Waryas Park.
Change the
NAME of
Morse Elementary
Explore the History of Upper Landing Park
Walk the trail to Upper Landing Park, and learn about its relationship with the history of enslaved Africans and their descendants.
POEM BY ANTHONY T. BROWDER, Transition 13
We knew not
We studied
We learned all there was to know
We taught others
Then we forgot what we had learned
and then forgot we had forgotten
Now we are taught (by those whom were once taught by us)
knowledge
(that we already had)
So…
we study
we learn all there is to know
we teach others
WILL WE FORGET AGAIN…
