Underground Railroad by Marsha Morningstar
In July of 2023 the State of Michigan joined the wide majority of US states in declaring Juneteenth National Independence Day an official state holiday. The Michigan Advance writes:
Juneteenth recognizes the date, June 19, 1865, that Union Army Gen. Gordon Granger landed in Galveston, Texas, and read General Order No. 3, stating that all enslaved people were free, and that former masters and enslaved people were absolutely equal in personal and property rights.
Its importance has long been celebrated in the African-American community as the country’s second Independence Day, marking the last place in the former Confederacy that experienced emancipation. Although as the National Museum of African American History and Culture has noted, it was only through passage of the Thirteenth Amendment that slavery was truly abolished throughout the United States.
I selected this photo to share because for a long time, I believed as many others did that slavery ended at the end of the Underground Railroad or with the end of the Civil War. It certainly didn’t end there, and many of the structures remain firmly entrenched to this day. If you’re angry about this celebration, I encourage you to read this excellent piece in The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture on the historical legacy of Juneteenth.
Marsha took this detail shot of “The Gateway To Freedom” by sculptor Edward Dwight at the Philip A. Hart Plaza way back in 2012. Click here for more in her Street Shots album on Flickr & for sure read more about the sculpture at Detroit 1701.
Michigan in Pictures 
FUCK JUNETEENTH!
LikeLike
Damn I hope your racist ass unsubscribed. I’d hate to think my posts were bringing you any happiness at all
LikeLike
Also this man replied LESS THAN A MINUTE after I posted. He’s not just racist, he’s super racist.
LikeLike
And you’re not just an asshole, you’re a super asshole! What part of black crime and black criminals is it that you like? You must be black!
LikeLike
UNSUBSCRIBE ME PLEASE!!
LikeLike
🙄
WHEN U R RACIST BUT ALSO TOO STUPID TO USE A COMPUTER
LikeLike
Thanks for the photo and the info on the statue. I was still working in Downtown Detroit in 2001 and I didn’t know it existed. I’m also sorry to say I never knew the full name of Hart Plaza, nor whom it was named after, so this post and a little Googling filled me in. You may be younger than me, so you don’t know the impact of the TV miniseries “Roots” when it debuted in 1977. People were glued to their TV sets and it was the topic of conversation around the coffee machine/water cooler at work every day for the duration of that show.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome. Sometimes I sit & work on my laptop on this other structure really close to the statue.I feel like Hart Plaza gets way less attention than it should. I may not be your age, but I totally remember Roots. I miss the days when people could learn horrible facts about history without losing their minds. The racist comments & backlash to Juneteenth is repellant.
LikeLike
When I worked downtown in the 70s and 80s we had the ethnic festivals at Hart Plaza. Every week, Friday – Sunday, was a different festival. The food, the music – vendors set up their stands beneath Hart Plaza. I think the Down Under Restaurant was there. It was a lot of fun and we always went on our lunch hour. Roots was a wonderful miniseries and most people, like me, learned a lot of history lessons.
LikeLiked by 1 person