There will be an event focussing on Harriet Tubman in Cape May on Saturday, Oct. 15, 11:00 a.m. at Cape May Stage, with a presentation by a biographer and a performance by a woman who becomes Harriet Tubman.

I saw the latter in Trenton recently and highly recommend this. Below I have pasted the press release on the event and other related events from the Secretary of State's office:

Secretary Regena L. Thomas to Salute Two Extraordinary Women in New Jersey History: Fannie Lou Hamer and Harriet Tubman
Two-Week Tribute Includes the Tubman-Hamer Walk From Cape May to Atlantic City

On October 6, 2005, the birthday of Fannie Lou Hamer, Secretary Regena L. Thomas will begin a two-week tribute to two great crusaders for social justice and personal heroes who have made an indelible mark on New Jersey history. The Tubman – Hamer Tribute is comprised of five events that will take place from October 6th to October 22nd. This will be the final celebration of the lives of Fannie Lou Hamer and Harriet Tubman that Secretary Thomas will organize as Secretary of State. During her term, Secretary Thomas has forged a legacy of promoting New Jersey’s history and cultural heritage.

For the first event, the New Jersey Department of State, in partnership with Richard Stockton College, will host a special tribute in honor of civil rights pioneer, Fannie Lou Hamer, on October 6, 2004. This year marks the 40th anniversary of Mrs. Hamer’s inspirational testimony at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City.

This program will feature a lecture by June Johnson, who worked with Mrs. Hamer in the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party; a lecture by Chana Kai Lee, author of the Hamer biography For Freedom’s Sake: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer; and the premiere showing of A Civil Rights Turning Point: Fannie Lou Hamer in Atlantic City, 1964, a video jointly prepared by the New Jersey Historical Commission and New Jersey Network for elementary-, middle-, and high-school New Jersey students. Students from the Pleasantville school district have been selected to view the premiere showing of the video.

The tribute will be held from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Stockton’s Performing Arts Center in Pomona, New Jersey, and will highlight Hamer’s remarkable legacy with first-hand testimony.

Continuing the celebration in the spirit of the Underground Railroad, the “Tubman – Hamer Walk” will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 15, in Cape May and end at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 18, at the Civil Rights Garden in Atlantic City. Participants will make stops in both Cape May and Atlantic City. The walk will take place in two parts: from Cape May to Whitesboro and Ventnor. The walk will begin on Saturday following the program at Cape May Stage.

There are two scheduled events to take place during the walk. The first event will take place in Cape May on October 15th at the Cape May Stage. It will feature a lecture by the Tubman biographer Kate Clifford Larson, author of Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman: Portrait of an American Hero, and a portrayal of Harriet Tubman by the actress Millicent Sparks. The second event will be a special tribute to Mrs. Hamer held at the Civil Rights Garden in Atlantic City on October 18th at the conclusion of the “Tubman – Hamer Walk.”

Members of the New Jersey Youth Corps and various New Jersey-based women’s organizations will be participating in the celebration.

The final program of the tribute will take place in Camden at Camden County College on October 22. Hamer biographer Chana Kai Lee, Tubman biographer Kate Clifford Larson, and actress Millicent Sparks will return to give additional presentations on Hamer and Tubman.

Secretary Thomas has led numerous celebrations to heighten public awareness of the lives of Tubman and Hamer and their respective contributions to the nation’s two most important movements for social justice: the 19th century end to slavery and the 20th century struggle to secure their constitutional right to vote. Both Fannie Lou Hamer and Harriet Tubman have spent time in New Jersey. Tubman, a legendary Underground Railroad operative, spent the summers between 1850 and 1952 working in Cape May hotels; Hamer, a modern civil rights’ activist, was present at the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City.

Activities for the Fannie Lou Hamer 40th Anniversary Celebration are free and open to the public. Members of the media are encouraged to attend.

Event Schedule for the Tubman –Hamer Tribute for October 6 – 22, 2005:

October 6
3:00PM - 6:00PM
Fannie Lou Hamer Tribute
Lectures: Chana Kai Lee, Hamer biographer; June Johnson, Civil Rights Activist
Richard Stockton College, Pomona, NJ

October 15
11:00 AM
Harriet Tubman Tribute
Lecture: Kate Clifford Larson, Tubman biographer
Tubman Chautauqua (Living History Performance): Millicent Sparks
Cape May Stage, Cape May, NJ

October 15 – 18
Harriet Tubman – Fannie Lou Hamer Walk
Cape May, NJ – Atlantic City, NJ

October 15
1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Cape May Stage
Cape May, NJ – Whitesboro, NJ

October 18
8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Starting Point to be Announced
Ventnor, NJ – Atlantic City, NJ


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October 18
11:00 AM
Fannie Lou Hamer Tribute
Civil Rights Garden, Atlantic City, NJ

October 22
11:00AM – 2:00 PM
Harriet Tubman – Fannie Lou Hamer Tribute
Lectures: Chana Kai Lee, Kate Clifford Larson
Tubman Chautauqua: Millicent Sparks
The Learning Theatre Camden County College
Broadway and Cooper Street, Camden, NJ
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