The Lexington Freedom Train project has been in the works for several years but was put on a back burner when one of its visionaries moved. Then the pandemic hit now, it’s back on track.
The Underground Railroad had several stops across Lexington's East End and more than 100 slaves were led to freedom with the help of Lewis and Harriet Hayes, an enslaved couple who became abolitionists after they made their own daring escape from Lexington and across the Ohio River. Marciana Kates is an eighth grader at Lexington Traditional Magnet School at North Limestone and 4th Street, the site of the Future Monument.
“It can be used as something to see how far we've come, and you know it can just serve as a really cool history fact for some people.” Kates added, “For me personally, it shows the untold story of two amazing people who really should have had their stories told sooner.”
Former WNBA and University of Kentucky women's basketball star Valerie Still shared her own family history, which includes both activists and freedom seekers.
“My ancestors who were enslaved across from Henry Clay and the two older brothers were sold, and Williams still ends up being the youngest brother. He's the father of the Underground Railroad. He worked with Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass in Philadelphia. He was with the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society and documented all the cases that he published his book in 1872.”
Still, says the Lexington Freedom Train monument is long overdue and will lead to education and healing.
“I talk about my ancestors who were enslaved. They weren't slaves. They were just enslaved. And we can go beyond that.” Still said, “We can recognize slavery for what it was without having any ill fills or, you know, negative vibes and I think that's what education does. So, these kinds of you know events and recognition that helps people to come together to talk about it. You know, it's part of our history and we can't get around that.”
97 artists from around the world applied, and the field has been narrowed down to four. Their designs will be revealed to the public on March 13th at the Lyric Theater. So far, just over $200,000 has been raised for the project.
