“Songs of the Underground Railroad,” an evening performance at the Rotch Jones Duff House garden slated for July 17th

On Thursday, July 17 Nzinga’s Daughters who will perform “Songs of the Underground Railroad” in an evening performance at the Rotch Jones Duff House garden. The five-women, internationally acclaimed ensemble will share their gift of drumming, song and prose that shares the stories of the Underground Railroad and the African American struggle for freedom and equality. This event is co-sponsored by the New Bedford Historical Society and the Rotch Jones Duff House. The performance is from 7:00-8:30pm and will be held in the RJD garden at 396 County Street. It is free and open to the public.

Nzinga’s Daughters are a group of women from Central Connecticut, who have developed a theme around the Underground Railroad, and through poetry, stories and songs, they reveal the coded messages that where hidden within Negro Spirituals and everyday objects. The mission of Nzinga’s Daughters is to educate through entertainment using music from the African Diaspora. The troupe celebrates and promotes cultural diversity by integrating the troupe’s experiences as women of African descent.

New Bedford was a major hub in America’s Underground Railroad and the home to many fugitive slaves who found support and assistance from city residents who safeguarded these individuals until they could make their move further north to freedom. Noted abolitionists Frederick Douglass, William Wells Brown and Harriet Jacobs were just a few of the fugitives who found safety and support from New Bedford’s abolitionist community. The Underground Railroad refers to the secret routes and the network of resource people in various states that thousands of enslaved Africans used to escape to freedom in Canada and Mexico.   As an underground resistance movement, the Underground Railroad was decentralized and covert in nature.  “Conductors” responsible for moving enslaved Africans from “station” or safe house to “station” and the “stationmasters” who housed them knew little more than their own part in the operation.  

The troupe chose the theme of the Underground Railroad to capture the spirit and powerful story through storytelling, prose, poetry and song. The performance fosters appreciation of a multicultural society and deepens public understanding of the history and cultural achievements of Africa and the African Diaspora. The program invites the audience to participate and experience the creativity, ingenuity, and perseverance employed by African American slaves in their efforts to shepherd runaway slaves to safety.  Because slaves were prohibited from learning to read or write, they developed an elaborate system of communication that included embedding coded messages into the verses of Negro spirituals. 

“We are so pleased to be able to sponsor a presentation by this troupe. Nzinga’s Daughters shares a powerful story that educates through entertainment and music and is great for all ages,” says Lee Blake, President of the New Bedford Historical Society. Come to this performance and learn more about the Underground Railroad, its secrets, and its inspiring songs and stories.  
 
This program is sponsored by the New Bedford Historical Society and funded by a grant from the MA Office of Tourism and Travel. For more information, please contact the New Bedford Historical Society at info@nbhistoricalsociety.com or call (508) 979-8828.

It is the mission of the New Bedford Historical Society to document and celebrate the history, legacy and presence of African Americans, Cape Verdeans, Native Americans, West Indians and other people of color in New Bedford, Massachusetts.