March to Freedom History Conference
June 9 -11, 2023

The March to Freedom History Conference will be hosted by Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park. The purpose is to examine the complicated and contested process of emancipation for enslaved African Americans of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It is the further intention to connect the regional cultural and natural resources that preserve and interpret our African American Heritage in both Kentucky and Ohio to foster heritage tourism. The conference features presentations by scholars and historians, and guided tours of sites that amplify the Black experience.

*All presentations will occur in the Arlington Room of the Worthington Lodge*

The March to Freedom History Conference will be hosted by Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park. The purpose is to examine the complicated and contested process of emancipation for enslaved African Americans of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It is the further intention to connect the regional cultural and natural resources that preserve and interpret our African American Heritage in both Kentucky and Ohio to foster heritage tourism. The conference features presentations by scholars and historians, and guided tours of sites that amplify the Black experience.

Conference Speakers and Times:

Friday, June 9th

"American Evangelicals and the Underground Railroad." – 6 p.m.
Dr. Alicestyne Turley, Commissioner Kentucky African American Heritage Commission
Public Historian, Educator & Author
Book signing to Follow Presentation

William Wells Brown: How I Got My Name – 7 p.m.
Virgil Covington, Jr, Kentucky Humanities Council

Saturday, June 10th

Unknown Project: On The Banks of Freedom – 9 a.m.
Hannah Drake & Josh Miller– blogger, podcast host, activist, public speaker, poet, author

A Tour of the Underground Railroad along the Ohio River – 10 a.m.
Dr. Nancy Theiss, Executive Director Oldham County Historical Society
Book signing following presentation

For Their Own Cause: The 27th United States Colored Troops – 11 a.m.
Dr. Kelly D. Mezurek, Walsh University
Book Signing to follow presentation.

General Charles Young Bridge Builder – 1 p.m.
Mike Jones, Kentucky Humanities Council

We encourage those who are participating in the March to Freedom conference to visit other nearby African American history location such as:

Harriet Beecher Stowe House & Old Washington County Courthouse – Maysville, KY

John Parker and Reverend Rankin House – Ripley, OH

Camp Nelson National Monument – Nicholasville, KY

The Buffalo Trace Trail preserved within Blue Licks Battlefield State Park was used by African Americans escaping to freedom in nearby Ripley, Ohio or to Nicholasville, Kentucky to join the union army at Camp Nelson to fight for their freedom. Mark your calendars for this informative weekend of learning.
For more information email matthew.dollar@ky.gov

*This program was funded in part by Kentucky Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities.