The Day of Resilience 2020

Harriet Tubman Legacy to be celebrated at “Day of Resilience 2020” 
 
Event features the unveiling of a new Harriet Tubman statue sculpted by Emmy and 
Academy award-winner Wesley Wofford. 
 
Cambridge, MD, August 25, 2020 – Day of Resilience 2020 is being organized by Alpha 
Genesis, CDC with support from the Constituency for Africa (CFA), Dorchester County, 
and the City of Cambridge. The event will be held on Saturday September 12, beginning 
at noon.  
 
Several events will be held on the Dorchester County courthouse green on High Street 
from noon-1:30 p.m., followed by the CFA Town Hall on Africa from 3:00-5:00 p.m. The 
courthouse program will be streamed live for home viewing. The event will close with a 
jazz concert from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at the Harriet Tubman mural in Cannery Way, featuring 
Washington DC jazz artist Linda Harris. 
 
The highlight of the event is the unveiling of a 9-foot, 2,400 pound bronze sculpture 
entitled “Harriet Tubman: Journey to Freedom”, that depicts Harriet confidently leading 
a slave girl on The Underground Railroad to freedom, by internationally recognized 
artist Wesley Wofford. This sculpture will be a temporary outdoor exhibit at the 
courthouse on High Street and will remain on exhibit until October 9.  
 
 "There is a lot of embedded symbolism within the narrative of the piece” states 
Wofford. “The contours of the base represent the Maryland/Delaware Peninsula, where 
Harriet was enslaved, eventually escaped, and continued to return for her freedom 
raids. The dramatic step up/cut is the Pennsylvania state line, and they are stepping out 
of the slave states to an elevated freedom. The dress is enveloping the young girl, 
billowing protectively like a flag, and is meant to represent all the legal protections 
afforded every United States citizen-a symbol of the future equality to come. Each hand 
on the sculpture signifies an attribute: Determination, Protection, Fear, and Trust.
 
The slave girl is leaning out to get a better look at where Harriet is taking her with a look of 
trepidation on her face. She is gripping Harriet's right arm tightly but her delicate finger 
grasp is cautiously hopeful. The girl is off balance and tentatively taking a step forward-
where Harriet was enslaved, eventually escaped, and continued to return for her freedom 
raids. The dramatic step up/cut is the Pennsylvania state line, and they are stepping out 
of the slave states to an elevated freedom. The dress is enveloping the young girl, 
billowing protectively like a flag, and is meant to represent all the legal protections 
afforded every United States citizen-a symbol of the future equality to come. Each hand 
on the sculpture signifies an attribute: Determination, Protection, Fear, and Trust.
 
The slave girl is leaning out to get a better look at where Harriet is taking her with a look of 
trepidation on her face. She is gripping Harriet's right arm tightly but her delicate finger 
grasp is cautiously hopeful. The girl is off balance and tentatively taking a step forward-
her left foot precariously hanging off a cliff, illustrating the danger and peril of the 
journey. The shackles are broken and the atrocities of slavery are left forever behind.” 
The finale of the unveiling ceremony includes a performance by the award winning 
Universal African Dance and Drum Ensemble from Camden, NJ. 
 
Between programming visitors are invited to view two exhibitions at the Dorchester 
Center for the Arts. “Portraits of Black Lives Lost: Showing Their Faces, Telling Their 
Stories” features paintings of those whose lives were ended by racial violence, and is 
presented by Artists for Justice. A second, “I Am My Sister Dolls” features the culturally 
iconic handmade doll line of event organizer Adrian Green Holmes. The exhibits will be 
open from noon – 6:00 p.m. at 321 High Street.  Guests may also visit the vendor area at 
Cannery Way from 1:00 until 8:00 p.m.  
 
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES 
 
Harriet Tubman Museum:  
The Constituency for Africa (CFA) begins the 2020 Ronald Brown African Affairs Series in 
Cambridge, MD. The virtual Harriet Tubman Town Hall on Africa will be broadcast from 
the Harriet Tubman Museum from 3:00-5:00 p.m.
 
Dr. Julianne Malveaux is the keynote speaker for the Harriet Tubman Town Meeting. Dr. Julius Garvey, the Honorable Robert 
Dussey, Foreign Minister of Togo, and Izmira Aitch, Legislative Assistant to Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), are among the speakers. 
 
The Town Hall program includes a live creation of a Salt Art portrait by local artist 
Miriam Moran. This will be a global event on Zoom with participants from across the 
country and Africa. The building will not be open to the public, however a Zoom link will 
be provided.  
 
In addition, from 2:00 to 2:45 p.m., CFA will organize a meeting for the young leaders in 
Cambridge, the “Youth Ambassadors” and the Bowtie Boys from Houston, TX, to follow-
up on a similar meeting last year, and the trip to Washington in February by a 30 person 
youth delegation that visited the embassies of Mali, Ghana and Rwanda for briefings.  

Cannery Way Park: 
Jazz concert fundraiser at the Harriet Tubman Mural featuring Washington DC Jazz Artist 
Linda Harris, 6:00-8:00 p.m. Linda Harris has performed in France, Sweden, Panama, 
New Orleans, New York, and South Carolina.  Linda holds fast to the words of Harriett 
Tubman - "I had reasoned this out in my mind, there was one of two things I had a right 
to - liberty or death". In 2020, the walk for liberty continues as Linda and 7 other ladies 
walk the 125-mile path of the UGRR September 5-10, 2020.  Harriett's story motivates 
Linda in the most amazing ways; she wrote a song called "Freedom" in honor of the 
journey and will release a music video featuring the video clips from the journey and the 
Harriet Tubman mural - Take My Hand.  Cambridge musician Antone Ennels is the 
opening artist performing his newly released single “1 Foot”. For more information visit 
www.AlphaGenesisCDC.org or on Facebook at the Day of Resilience.  
 
Please note: both the opening ceremony and closing concert will have limited seating in 
order to adhere to all social distancing guidelines. Wrist bands, masks and temperature 
check will be required for each seated event.   
 
For more information, contact Info@alphagenesiscdc.org. 


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Caption to photo:

"Harriet Tubman, Journey to Freedom" bronze sculpture by Wesley Wofford