Historian Bill Hayes will present "Fight Against Slavery on the Great Plains: Nebraska's Underground Railroad" on Sept. 18.
Independent historian Bill Hayes will discuss the issue of slavery in the U.S. during the 1850s, and how it affected people moving to the Nebraska Territory, during his “Fight Against Slavery on the Great Plains: Nebraska’s Underground Railroad” program on Thursday, Sept. 18, at Wayne State College. The public is invited.
The program, scheduled for 4 p.m. in Wayne State’s Connell Hall, Room 131, is being held in conjunction with Constitution Day. It is funded in part by Humanities Nebraska and co-sponsored by Wayne State’s chapter of the Phi Alpha Theta national history honorary. Guests may park in any available spots, except reserved spots.
Hayes’ presentation describes the overall history of the Underground Railroad and how the movement became connected with the Great Plains. Hayes explores how the Underground Railroad formed in Nebraska and emphasizes specific sites where escaping enslaved persons most likely found refuge on their journey north to freedom.
Hayes, also the coordinator of the MRB Lewis & Clark Reenactors Corps in Nebraska City, Neb., grew up in the historic town of Brownville, Neb. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in History from Peru State College and his master of arts degree in History from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. He was involved with the Mayhew Cabin historic site from 2006 to 2020 and researched the Underground Railroad in the region while involved there. He presented a paper at the 2010 National Underground Railroad Conference in Topeka, Kan., and helped coordinate the 2011 Nebraska Network to Freedom Conference in Nebraska City.
Humanities Nebraska provides major funding for this program. It receives support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Nebraska State Legislature, the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, and private donations.
“Fight Against Slavery on the Great Plains: Nebraska’s Underground Railroad” is one of approximately 300 programs offered through the Humanities Nebraska Speakers Bureau. More than 165 available speakers include acclaimed scholars, writers, musicians, storytellers, and folklorists on topics ranging from pioneer heritage to ethics and law to international and multicultural issues, making it the largest humanities speakers bureau in the nation.
Speakers are available to any nonprofit organization in Nebraska. Each program lasts 30 minutes to an hour, plus a question-and-answer period.
The most frequent users of the Humanities Nebraska Speakers Bureau are primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, libraries, museums and historical societies, agencies for the elderly, rural organizations, churches, arts organizations, and ethnic organizations. Humanities Nebraska sponsors the largest Speakers Bureau program in the United States, according to the National Endowment for the Humanities.
For information regarding available speakers and guidelines for booking them, visit Humanities Nebraska (Speakers section), or contact Humanities Nebraska at 215 Centennial Mall South, Suite 330, Lincoln, NE 68508; phone 402-474-2131; or email [email protected].