Arcs of Freedom Exhibit and Symposium Held at Washington County Historical Society

Section of the ARCS of Freedom Exhibit at the LeMoyne House

Credit all Photos: Bill Rockwell

In conjunction with Black History Month 2025, the Washington County Historical Society partnered with The NAACP Washington Branch and The LeMoyne Community Center to present a day long symposium titled “ARCS of Freedom” along with a related exhibit.

The symposium included five speakers who addressed the audience on the subject of the role SW Pa. played in activities of the Underground Railroad.

Part of the Exhibit

The first speaker, was Samuel W. Black, director of the Heinz History Center’s African American Program, speaking on the topic of “Martin Delany: A Voice in the Plight of Freedom and Nationhood.”

Dr. Cory James Young, assistant professor of history at the University of Iowa’s talk was titled “New Findings in Western Pennsylvania’s County Enslavement Registrations.”

Before lunch, Dr, Lucien Holness, assistant professor of history at Penn State University, gave an address on “Race and the Flight Over Freedom: Belonging and Citizenship in SW Pa.”

The final two speakers were Marlene Bransom, author, historian and president of AAHGS Pittsburgh delivering an address titled Nasa McCurdy, A Freed Mulatto Slave from Greene County, Pa: His Descendants and Their Amazing Legacy.”

An Exhibit Visitor

The symposium concluded with a talk by retired professor of history at Washington and Jefferson College and author of the award-winning book “Abandoned Tracks” speaking on “Revisiting the Underground Railroad: A Look backward.”

Following the symposium, attendees were invited to see the new exhibit “Arcs of Freedom” on display across the street at the LeMoyne House, the home of the Washington County Historical Society, 49 East Maiden Street in Washington. For more information, phone (724) 225-6740 or www.wchspa.org.

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