MikeDunnAuthor<p>Today in Labor History October 1, 1851: 10,000 New Yorkers busted up a police station in Syracuse to free William "Jerry" Henry, a craftsman who was fleeing slavery in the south. He had been arrested by a US Marshall during the anti-slavery Liberty Party's state convention. Citizens of the city stormed the sheriff's office, freed Henry and helped him escape to Canada via the Underground Railroad. There were a lot of abolitionists living in New York, especially in Syracuse, including Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, and a large number of abolitionist Quakers and Unitarians. Consequently, Syracuse became known as the great central depot on the Underground Railroad. Jerry Rescue Day was celebrated every October 1 in Syracuse, until the start of the Civil War. The annual event included speeches, poetry, music, and organizing against slavery. They also collected funds to keep the Underground Railroad running in central New York.</p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/workingclass" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>workingclass</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LaborHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>LaborHistory</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/slavery" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>slavery</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/abolition" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>abolition</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/UndergroundRailroad" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>UndergroundRailroad</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/frederickdouglass" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>frederickdouglass</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/harriettubman" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>harriettubman</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/police" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>police</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/blm" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>blm</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/quaker" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>quaker</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/unitarian" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>unitarian</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/newyork" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>newyork</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BlackMastadon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BlackMastadon</span></a></p>