Niagara Movement

HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. - Harpers Ferry National Historical Park invites the public to retrace the footsteps of the men and women in 1906 of the Niagara Movement during a commemorative walk to the 1906 site of the John Brown Fort at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 22. The ceremony will include music, historic readings and a memorial roll call of the members of the Niagara Movement. Following the pilgrimage, a non-denominational memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. at Curtis Freewill Baptist Church in Harpers Ferry.

HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. - History buffs and others continued to enjoy the 100th anniversary of the Niagara Movement on Sunday, including about 300 people who traced the steps of an inspirational walk to pay tribute to abolitionist John Brown. The Niagara Movement involved a 1906 meeting in Harpers Ferry of black leaders and others who were working for freedom and equality for blacks. The movement became the foundation for the formation of the NAACP. At the 1906 meeting, Niagara Movement members honored the memory of abolitionist John Brown by walking to the fort where he was captured in Harpers Ferry at the start of the Civil War. Brown had a plan to start a war against slavery, but he was captured in a fire engine house after he and others raided Harpers Ferry.

"What's the punch line?" I asked a man who walked past my friends and me as we picnicked at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park a couple of Saturday evenings ago. I could read the large letters on his T-shirt - "Lies My Teacher Told Me" - but I couldn't quite make out the finer print underneath. That first part is the title of a book he wrote. Published in 1995, subtitled "Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong," it is the result of author/sociologist James W. Loewen's two years of research surveying 12 high school American history textbooks, according to information on his home page at the University of Vermont Web site at www.uvm.

West Virginia Sen. Robert C. Byrd said during Thursday's opening ceremonies of the 100th anniversary celebration of the Niagara Movement that the effort changed history. The opening ceremonies kicked off a weekend of events commemorating the centennial of the effort that eventually became the NAACP. See Friday's Herald-Mail newspapers for the full story.

HARPERS FERRY, W.VA. - U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd will participate in Thursday's opening ceremony of the 100th anniversary of the Niagara Movement at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, his office said Monday. Byrd, D-W.Va., is expected to speak during the opening ceremonies, which begin at 3 p.m., Byrd officials said. The Niagara Movement was founded in 1905 by a group of black men led by W.E.B. DuBois, J.R. Clifford and others. The organization's 1906 meeting, the first in the U.S., was held on the campus of Storer College, now part of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.

HARPERS FERRY, W.VA. - This is what Anissa Chams-Eddine wrote on her quilt square Saturday during the Centennial Commemoration of the Niagara Movement in Harpers Ferry: "I know why I'm here, but why are you?" It's a deep thought for a 10-year-old girl to have, and she expressed others when asked about the Niagara Movement, the precursor to the NAACP. "I want to learn more about this," she said, saying she learned about the Civil War and Reconstruction in school, but not the Niagara Movement.

HARPERS FERRY, W.VA. - U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd set a poignant tone Thursday for the opening ceremony of the 100th anniversary of the Niagara Movement, saying he would not go into some of his personal history that those in attendance did not appreciate. Byrd did not mention it during his speech, but he once was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, something he long has denounced. "I said it before, I'll say it now. I was wrong. I don't say that to get your votes. I don't have to say that to get your votes," Byrd told dozens of people, including black leaders, during the opening ceremonies at the Storer College campus, now a part of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - The Jefferson County Historical Society will hold its spring meeting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 1, in the Betty Roper Auditorium at Wright Denny School, 208 W. Congress Street in Charles Town. A highlight of the meeting will be a presentation on the 1906 Harpers Ferry, W.Va., meeting of the "Niagara Movement. " The public is invited. One hundred years ago, at Storer College in Harpers Ferry, W.E.B. Du Bois and other black leaders of the Niagara Movement met to continue developing the first major civil rights organization of the 20th century.

chambersburg@herald-mail.com HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. - It was a precursor to the modern civil rights movement, but a meeting of the Niagara Movement 98 years ago is little remembered today, according to John Powell, a park ranger at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. Powell hopes a new program at the park will shed light on the role played in the civil rights movement by Harpers Ferry, most famous for abolitionist John Brown's 1859 raid. The first Niagara Movement tours were given Saturday and Sunday.

HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. - A Berryville, Va., man was charged Saturday with three offenses after police allegedly found a loaded gun, a machete and other items in a car he was driving, police said. Kenneth Lee Crouse Jr., 41, 413 Persimon Lane, was charged with two counts of concealed dangerous weapons and left of center, Harpers Ferry Police Chief Donald Buracker said Sunday. Crouse was arraigned before Magistrate Gail Boober and released on $5,000 bond, Buracker said. Crouse did not say why he had the gun, the machete and other items in the car, Buracker said.

Plan for countywide MLK Day of Service To the editor: Volunteer Washington County (VWC), a newly formed nonprofit committed to inspiring, supporting and celebrating volunteerism in Washington County, is partnering with many organizations, businesses and civic clubs to hold the first countywide MLK Day of Service and Evening of Celebration. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service is celebrated on Jan. 16 and marks the beginning of the service year as millions of Americans honor the memory of Dr. King by contributing their time, talent, voice and money to improve their communities.

HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. - Harpers Ferry National Historical Park invites the public to retrace the footsteps of the men and women in 1906 of the Niagara Movement during a commemorative walk to the 1906 site of the John Brown Fort at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 22. The ceremony will include music, historic readings and a memorial roll call of the members of the Niagara Movement. Following the pilgrimage, a non-denominational memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. at Curtis Freewill Baptist Church in Harpers Ferry.

HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. (AP) -- ABC's "Good Morning America" is coming to Harpers Ferry National Historical Park next week. The national news show will broadcast from the park on Sept. 18 during its whistle-stop train tour. The tour is part of the "50 States in 50 Days" project that leads up to the November 4 presidential election. Park spokeswoman Marsha Wassel says that while the broadcast will focus more on the election, she's sure that some of the history of the park and the town will be highlighted.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - He's been credited with forging partnerships to help Harpers Ferry National Historical Park expand by hundreds of acres and overseeing major events at the park, like the 100th anniversary of the Niagara Movement, a meeting of black leaders in 1906 which became the foundation of the NAACP. Murphy's Farm, a 99-acre School House Ridge tract rich in Civil War and civil rights history, was saved from development during Don Campbell's tenure and he is being praised for other projects, like the restoration of the Harpers Ferry Train Station.

Lafayette M. Hershaw: Pioneer for Freedom HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. - Lafayette M. Hershaw devoted his life to making a difference in the lives of fellow African Americans. As a founding member of the Niagara Movement, he helped to shape the modern civil rights era. Opening and reception 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 3. Second floor of John Brown Museum, Shenandoah Street, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. Exhibit is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily throughout February. Call 304-535-6029.

IceFest 2008 A weekend of special events featuring ice carving and many other activities. ArtFest will be today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and a chili cook-off will be today from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Today and Sunday. Downtown Chambersburg, Pa. For a schedule, call 717-264-6883 or go to www.icefestpa.com . Trains for everyone Displays include HO- and O-scale model railroads, trains for kids to operate, artifacts and photos, and historic railroad equipment. Today and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum, 300 S. Burhans Blvd.

HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. - People know about the NAACP, they've probably heard of its founder, W.E.B. DuBois, but "you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who's heard of Lafayette Hershaw," said Park Ranger Kim Biggs. Hershaw was among the early civil rights activists willing to put his life and livelihood on the line for a single belief - that all people were created equal. Harpers Ferry National Historical Park will pay tribute to Hershaw at a February exhibit at John Brown Museum, entitled "Pioneers for Freedom.

HARPERS FERRY, W.VA. - Each year during its African American History Month celebration, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park shines the spotlight on someone who made significant contributions to black history in the area and the nation. Some of those individuals were associated with Storer College, a local college that was started after the Civil War to give blacks and others a place to obtain higher education. Those recognized over the years have included J.R. Clifford, who helped found West Virginia's first black newspaper and became the state's first black attorney, and David Henry Cole, a Jefferson County native who broke racial barriers in 1954 by becoming an accountant for Washington, D.C.'s tax and finance office.

HARPERS FERRY, W.VA. - A planned rally Saturday in Harpers Ferry by the World Knights of the Ku Klux Klan will be countered by an event sponsored by another organization whose members believe it is time to "stand up and say something" about hate and violence spreading across the country. A group of local churches has been working to launch the creation of the Love Your Neighbor Coalition and the group will sponsor an event at Bolivar Park along Washington Street from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, the same time the KKK will be holding a rally in Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.

"What's the punch line?" I asked a man who walked past my friends and me as we picnicked at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park a couple of Saturday evenings ago. I could read the large letters on his T-shirt - "Lies My Teacher Told Me" - but I couldn't quite make out the finer print underneath. That first part is the title of a book he wrote. Published in 1995, subtitled "Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong," it is the result of author/sociologist James W. Loewen's two years of research surveying 12 high school American history textbooks, according to information on his home page at the University of Vermont Web site at www.uvm.