Location: Cape May Stage | 405 Lafayette St, Cape May, NJ 08204

​

Date & Time: Monday, September 30, 2024 at 7 PM

​

The public is invited to a free performance of Leaders and Liberators: Harriet Tubman and her Cape May Connections at Cape May Stage, 405 Lafayette Street on Monday, September 30, 2024 at 7 PM. A dramatic reading of an original script, Leaders and Liberators portrays an imagined meeting on July 4, 1872 in Cape May, New Jersey between Harriet Tubman and two abolitionist allies from Columbia, Lancaster County Pennsylvania, the Rev. Stephen Smith and William Whipper. These three influential leaders of the Underground Railroad Movement were courageous conductors and agents who led hundreds to freedom through the anti-slavery network of the Underground Railroad, from the 1830s through the 1850s. Portraying Harriet Tubman will be Raquel Richardson. The part of William Whipper will be presented by Lenwood Sloan. Nelson Polite, Jr. will portray Stephen Smith. Accomplished actors in period theatre, the trio will present an historically informed script authored by Lancaster historian Randolph Harris and his wife, the Rev. Martha Harris, a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania. Chase Jackson, Executive Director of the Ocean City Arts Center, Ocean City, NJ will serve as the Interlocutor who will set the period scene and introduce the presenters. Ms. Jackson will also facilitate a post-production dialogue with the actors. The public is invited to attend this free community event sponsored by the African American Historical Society of South Central Pennsylvania. A free will offering of donations to the African American Historical Society of Central Pennsylvania will be collected. Cape May Stage is making this presentation possible as a community service without rental fees or related charges. The mission of the African American Historical Society of South Central Pennsylvania is to collect, analyze, interpret, and preserve essential facts and materials related to the life of African Americans in historic and contemporary communities in South Central Pennsylvania and adjoining areas.