I will be heard!”
Those words of Hugh C. Humphreys, master of ceremonies, rang through Colgate University’s Golden Auditorium on Saturday during the annual induction ceremony held by the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum (NAHOF).
Humphreys was echoing the words of the three abolitionists inducted into the hall of fame, and the power with which he spoke stood as a testament to the conviction the three inductees showed in their mission to rid the United States of slavery and to promote equality for all.
Saturday’s ceremony invoked memories of Civil War times, and the presentation of each inductee was accompanied by a short performance monologue meant to capture the dynamism of each abolitionist.
One of the inductees, George Gavin Ritchie (at right), was a former student at Madison University, which would later become Colgate University.
Ritchie was expelled for expressing his anti-slavery views in the student newspaper. Despite his expulsion, he continued to run the publication, and soon became an important contributor to national and statewide abolitionist organizations.
Colgate honored Ritchie at the 1998 commencement ceremony by posthumously granting him the degree he had never received. His great-grandson, Daniel Ritchie, accepted the degree in his name.
William Edmonston, a former Colgate professor, and his wife, Nellie, submitted Ritchie’s name for nomination to the hall of fame.
Nellie Edmonston “discovered” Ritchie while searching for a story topic to share with the Hamilton Fortnightly Club.
“His nomination into the National Abolition Hall of Fame is appropriate because he resided in, and carried forth, his anti-slavery message in the central New York area,” William Edmonston said.
Two other important abolitionists also were highlighted in this year’s ceremony: Abby Kelly Foster, a Massachusetts resident and one of the first women to speak publicly against slavery, and Jermaine Wesley Loguen, the “Underground Railroad King” of Syracuse who helped 1,500 fugitive slaves.
Julie Dudrick, of the university’s Upstate Institute, said that the inductees represent lessons for the future.
“We can come to conclusions about how we can contribute to the fight for the elimination of discrimination by using these people as models,” she said.
The Upstate Institute has worked closely with NAHOF since 2005, when the first nominees were inducted. Nominations are largely made by members of the community and by polling scholars about important abolitionists of the time.
The induction ceremony was part of a daylong event that featured workshops and presentations. All attendees were given the opportunity the next day to take a tour of the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum and the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark, both located not far from campus in Peterboro, N.Y.