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B&O Railroad Museum Exhibition
G&W SUPPORTS B&O RAILROAD MUSEUM EXHIBITION
On Thursday, October 20, G&W team members attended a celebratory reception for the B&O Railroad Museum’s new exhibition, “The Underground Railroad: Freedom Seekers on the B&O Railroad,” in Baltimore, Maryland. The exhibition examines the role of the physical railroad in the Underground Railroad Network and gives an intimate look at the lives and journeys of 27 individuals who sought freedom from slavery along the B&O. G&W is a proud sponsor of the exhibition.
The exhibition also explores the Black travel experience during this time as well as the use of railroad terminology as a secret, coded language for Freedom Seekers. An immersive 180-degree video experience sharing the stories of Henry “Box” Brown and William and Ellen Craft illustrates their journeys through Mount Clare Station, the oldest surviving building on the museum’s historic campus. Mount Clare Station has been designated a National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Site by the National Park Service.
The reception featured a moving performance by Howard University’s Afro Blue Ensemble and Department of Music, who sang Henry “Box” Brown’s song, “Escape from Slavery,” which the group adapted in collaboration with the museum and is included as part of the immersive experience in the exhibition. Henry “Box” Brown was a slave from Virginia who escaped to freedom by arranging to have himself mailed in a 3 ft x 2.67 ft x 2 ft wooden crate to abolitionists in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Brown remained still during the 27-hour journey, with only a bladder of water and short biscuits to sustain himself. The box was transported by wagon, railroad, steamboat, wagon again, railroad, ferry, railroad and, finally, delivery wagon.
The reception also featured a food tasting of “freedom cake” and “short” biscuits, interpreted by Nancy Siegel, professor of art history and culinary history at Towson University.
In addition to the new exhibition, the B&O Railroad Museum contains a wealth of history about railroading in America. Per its website, it “possesses the oldest and most comprehensive railroad collections in the world. Dating from the beginning of American railroading, the collection contains locomotives and rolling stock, historic buildings and small objects that document the impact of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) on the growth and development of early railroading and cover almost every aspect of an industry that left a permanent mark on the folklore and culture of America.”
The roundhouse at the B&O Museum.
Mount Clare Station
Howard University’s Afro Blue Ensemble and Department of Music sang Henry “Box” Brown’s song, which the group adapted in collaboration with the museum and is included as part of the immersive experience in the exhibition.
G&W group photo in front of Mount Clare Station. From left: Kathi Maness, vice president of diversity, equity & inclusion; Kay Maier, corporate recruiter; Joe Arbona, assistant vice president of government affairs; Jon Rudman, director of sales & marketing; and Laurie Nivison, director of communications.
