Abolitionist Harriet Tubman’s legacy continues to live on throughout New York. The Underground Railroad Consortium of New York State is hoping to honor her legacy with its proposed Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad New York Corridor.
“She means freedom. She means greatness. She means empowerment,” said Deanna Stanford Walz, Harriet Tubman’s relative.
From Niagara Falls to the Hudson Valley, upstate New York’s abolitionist history is evident. The Underground Railroad Consortium of New York State is hoping to bring more awareness to it with its proposed Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad New York Corridor.
“I think it's great to have this corridor, this sponsored corridor, to tell all the stories that maybe people haven’t heard before, or just make it more well known to not just everyone in New York state, but other visitors,” Walz said.
Tubman was Walz's grandmother's great aunt. She hopes the corridor inspires future generations and benefits underserved communities.
The route would run around 500 miles from Niagara Falls to New York City, connecting Underground Railroad sites to increase tourism and teach the public how enslaved people like Tubman reached freedom.
“We can all find ... our greatness through her," Walz said. "She was born a slave. She wasn't educated officially, but she did all of these great things. And I think that we all have greatness in us like her."
The project is inspired by the Tubman Byway in Maryland. An economic impact study by the Dorchester County Tourism Department in 2021 found its byway contributed to more than $20 million per year in sales.
The proposed corridor in New York would be around four times longer.
"The corridor would be really important for the state because it does traverse the entire state of New York," said Ally Spongr DeGon, president of the Underground Railroad Consortium of New York State. "And what we're also planning for is the marketing of other Underground Railroad partners and supporters and sites that are maybe even off of the corridor as well."
The Underground Railroad Consortium of New York State plans on holding discussion meetings in Albany and the Hudson Valley later this year.