Leaders and Liberators: Honoring Harriet Tubman and her Columbia Connections

Join three influential leaders of the Underground Railroad will be brought to life in spirit and song in a free performance on Sunday March 10 at 4 pm, at Saint Stephen Episcopal Cathedral, 221 N Front Street, Harrisburg.

“Leaders & Liberators” tells the story of an imagined meeting in Cape May, New Jersey on Independence Day, 1872 when famed Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman met with Stephen Smith and William Whipper, courageous conductors and agents who led hundreds – –  possibly thousands – – of formerly enslaved Africans to freedom through the network of the Underground Railroad, from the 1830s through the 1850s.

In a one-hour dramatic reading, experienced stage performers will bring the historic figures to life. Raquel Richardson will portray the character of Ms. Tubman, while Lenwood Sloane will depict Mr. Whipper, and Nelson Polite, Jr. will animate Stephen Smith.  The script was inspired by well-documented events in the lives of these three leaders and liberators. Script writers are Lancaster residents Randolph and the Rev. Martha Harris, Priest in Charge of Saint Luke and Saint Paul Episcopal Churches in Lancaster County.

Whipper (1804-1876) and Smith (c. 1796-1873) were successful entrepreneurs in the lumber industry in Columbia, Lancaster County. They were brothers-in-law and became among the wealthiest Black business owners and operators in America before the Civil War. They were contemporaries of Ms. Tubman (c.1820-1913), who led scores of her friends and family members out of bondage from Maryland in the 1850s, earning her the beloved persona as The Moses of Her People.

Following the performance, stay for  service of Evening Prayer and a Reception.  The performance and reception are sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania and the Bishop Nathan Baxter Chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians.