The 150th anniversary of the event that many historians say helped ignite the War Between the States, will be commemorated in public ceremonies, art, and music.

John Brown lived in Akron along with members of his family off-and-on from 1844 to1854, and led the raid on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry in what is now West Virginia, supported with cash and weapons from his "old friends and neighbors" in Akron.

On the 150th anniversary of the event, the City of Akron, the Summit County Historical Society, the Ohio Historical Society, and the Akron-Summit County Public Library have joined forces with the Akron Art Museum, the Akron Symphony Orchestra, the Akron Zoo, and other organizations to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the failed raid, which Brown thought might inspire African slaves to ignite an uprising against their slave-owners.

CITY, SCHS, ZOO SPONSOR COMMEMORATIVE EVENT AT JOHN BROWN MEMORIAL, 11:00AM FRIDAY

The City of Akron’s commemorative event will take place Friday at 11:00am at the permanent monument erected to John Brown in Perkins Woods on the grounds of the Akron Zoo, 500 Edgewood Avenue.

Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic will lead the commemoration event, which will include a live re-creation of John Brown In His Own Words by Neil Thackaberry, Artistic Director of Actors’ Summit in Hudson, and music by the University of Akron’s Graduate Brass Quintet, which will perform John Brown’s favorite hymn, Blow Ye The Trumpet, Blow. Other speakers include Pat Simmons, president of the Akron Zoo; Richard Comstock, president, the Summit County Historical Society; and Rev. Dr. Vince L. Monden, pastor of Wesley Temple AME Zion Church, which traces its history to 1864.

The memorial has stood for 99 years on land that was to become a 76-acre park, donated to the City of Akron by George Tod Perkins, grandson of Akron’s founder, a colonel in the Union Army.

In 1910, the German-American Alliance took it upon itself to remember the man they saw as a hero in the fight against slavery, by erecting the monument - consisting of a six - foot stepped sandstone base with a bronze plaque, on which rests a Tuscan-style sandstone column of tapered drums topped by a sandstone ball - a column from the portico of the first Summit County Courthouse, which was demolished a few years prior to 1910, to make way for the current courthouse.

(Cleveland Museum of Natural History geologist Joseph Hannibal says the column appears to be made of stone quarried on South High Street where city hall is located today.)

In 1938, a second addition to the memorial was made by The Negro 25-year Club, an octagonal stone platform with benches, a bronze image of Brown, a fountain - now gone, and a plaza built by WPA stone masons.

"John Brown is Akron’s nationally-known link to the movement to end slavery," said Mayor Plusquellic. "This is an opportunity for us to remember the role that Akron played in the greatest civil confrontation in our national history."

In 2001, the monument was enclosed by a fence built by the Akron Zoo, which plans future expansion of exhibits in the park area. While the fence has protected the monument from vandalism that had become significant by 2000, it also kept visitors from seeing the monument at will. This summer, the City and Zoo conducted free public tours of the monument and grounds on six separate days.

Limited seating will be available, and transportation will be available for persons with disabilities. The commemoration event is free and open to the public. Parking is available at the Zoo beginning at 10:00am.

"All of these events, performances, and exhibits recall a rich era in our history," said Mayor Plusquellic. "I hope many families will use this opportunity to enrich their children’s knowledge of Akron’s role in the great cause against African slavery, and to learn more about a man who even today remains controversial."

Following the ceremony, guests are invited to visit the John Brown Home, owned and maintained by the Summit County Historical Society, at the corner of Copley and Diagonal roads (˝ mile from the zoo) from 12:00 - 2:00pm. Exhibits describe the life of Brown and his family in Akron.

ART MUSEUM’S ‘THE LEGEND OF JOHN BROWN’ EXHIBIT OF JACOB LAWRENCE PRINTS OPENS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16

To commemorate Akron’s most famous historic resident, the Akron Art Museum presents selections from Jacob Lawrence’s print series The Legend of John Brown. The exhibition opens Friday, October 16 and continues to February 14, 2010.

Jacob Lawrence, one of the most significant American 20th-century artists, was the first African American to depict the white abolitionist’s saga. A superb storyteller, he used visual art to interpret and disseminate important events in American history.

Lawrence’s screen prints, which are owned by the museum, frame the story as a narrative. Each image presents a specific incident in Brown’s dramatic life. Rather than depicting these events in a realistic manner, Lawrence tells the story using sparse details rendered with simplified forms and vibrant colors, which heightens each scene’s emotion.

The prints are joined by related images and artifacts from the Summit County Historical Society and the Akron-Summit County Public Library Special Collections Division.

Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000), lived in New York City during the Harlem Renaissance, and was the first African American artist to be included in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

AKRON SYMPHONY PRESENTS 'PASSION OF JOHN BROWN'
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 8PM

The Akron Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Christopher Wilkins marks the Harper's Ferry anniversary Saturday, October 17 at The University of Akron’s E. J. Thomas Hall at 8:00pm.

The concert will feature the premiere performance of The Passion of John Brown—a new work by Malone University Professor Jesse Ayers—and a musical setting of lines from Stephen Vincent Benét’s epic poem John Brown’s Body by composer Kevin Puts; both works will be narrated by WEWS news anchor Leon Bibb.

"The music and narration of The Passion of John Brown convey the fierce passions of the man and the scope of his world-changing vision," said Wilkins. "Barber’s soaring lament – Adagio for Strings – leads into another brilliant new work by Kevin Puts who has set to music excerpts from one of America’s greatest epic poems, Stephen Vincent Benet’s John Browns Body."

Dr. Jesse Ayers will visit several schools on Tuesday, October 13 to talk with students about life as a professional composer and The Passion of John Brown. An abbreviated version of the concert will be performed for local school children on Thursday, October 15 at 9:45am.

Akron schools attending include: Edge Academy; North Akron Catholic School; National Inventors Hall of Fame School/Center for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics; St. Sebastian and Spring Garden Waldorf School.

"The Passion of John Brown attempts to tell Brown’s fascinating story, both the good and the bad," says Dr. Ayers. "In it, you will hear Brown’s favorite hymn, Blow Ye Trumpet, Blow. I have used melodic fragments from this refrain as haunting bugle figures echoed by the surround-sound trumpet."

CITY, CHURCH MAKE PLANS TO COMMEMORATE BROWN EXECUTION
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 11:00AM

The City of Akron, the Summit County Historical Society, and members of the First Presbyterian Church at 647 E. Market Street in Akron will host a special ceremony commemorating the 150th anniversary of the day John Brown was executed in Charlestown Virginia, on December 2, 1859.

The service will feature special music and historical reminiscences of the legacy of John Brown.

At 12:00 noon that day, church bells will be rung, just as they were in Akron on the day Brown was hanged. On the day of his execution, flags flew at half staff in Akron, the courts adjourned, and stores closed. That night, "a great indignation meeting" was held in Empire Hall and speeches were made by Akron’s leading citizens.

The First Presbyterian Church, organized in 1831, was divided by the issue of slavery in 1859, and the present day congregation descends from the anti-slavery faction of the church.

JOHN BROWN

John Brown called Akron "home" for the better part of the decade preceding the Civil War - not that he ever stayed in one place for long. (Born in Connecticut in 1800, raised in Hudson, apprenticed in Kent [then Franklin Mills].)

An expert breeder of sheep and respected authority on wool, Brown accepted the offer of Col. Simon Perkins - the son of Akron’s founder - to reside in the cottage that sits today on Diagonal Road.

With his second wife Mary and nine of his 20 children, Brown resided in Akron at various times between 1843 and 1854.

Brown’s religious convictions led him to oppose slavery. While working with Perkins, he remained an active abolitionist and regularly housed slaves moving through the Underground Railroad in his Akron home.

In contrast with the northern pacifist attitude, Brown believed that militant actions were the only way to end slavery. In the mid-1850s, he organized covert attacks in an attempt to liberate slaves and bring down the pro-slavery establishment. In 1859, with a company of 21 men—white and black—he led a raid on the federal armory at Harper's Ferry, Virginia.

He was captured by Col. Robert E. Lee of the U.S. Army, and hanged for treason on December 2. While historians agree that Brown’s actions helped spark the Civil War, his dogged determination and the violence of his methods have been hailed as both heroic and foolhardy.

-end-

(Summary follows)

Summary of Community Events Remembering John Brown

Akron-Summit County Public Library John Brown exhibit

On View through December 31

"Summit County's John Brown," an exhibit of historical artifacts.

Special Collections Division of the Akron-Summit County Public Library downtown, http://www.ascpl.lib.oh.us

A glimpse into all the different time periods of his life: moving to Hudson, Ohio as a young boy, his own life as a husband and father, business failures, the infamous raid at Harper's Ferry and finally his hanging as a traitor in 1859. 

Akron Art Museum, "The Legend of John Brown."

October 16 – February 14

Judith Bear Isroff Gallery: Selections from Jacob Lawrence’s celebrated print series. www.akronartmuseum.org
Address: One South High, Akron, OH 44308
Tel: 330.376.9185

Gallery and Store Hours: Wednesday – Sunday: 11 am – 5 pm, Thursday: 11 am – 9 pm, Closed Mondays and Tuesdays

Admission: Adult general admission is $7, Student and Senior (65+) general admission is $5, Children (12 and under) are FREE, members are FREE. On the first Sunday of every month, individual admissions to the collection are FREE. Special exhibitions may require paid admission. No tours available on these days.

Akron Symphony Orchestra The Passion of John Brown

Saturday, October 17, 2009

E.J. Thomas Hall, 8:00 PM

Works to be performed:
- Copland: Fanfare for the Common Man
- Ayers: The Passion of John Brown (premiere performance; Leon Bibb, narrator)
- Barber: Adagio for Strings
- Puts: John Brown’s Body (Leon Bibb, narrator)
- Beethoven: Symphony No. 3, (Eroica)

Tickets On Sale Now:
- $20, $28, $35, $40
- Order by phone: 330-535-8131
- Order online: Ticketmaster.com
www.akronsymphony.org

150th anniversary commemoration of John Brown’s Execution.

December 2, 2009

The First Presbyterian Church, East Market Street

To commemorate the day of the execution of John Brown on December 2, 1859, the City of Akron and Summit County Historical Society, will hold a memorial event in collaboration with the First Presbyterian Church on East Market Street in Akron. The church, organized in 1831, was divided by the issue of slavery in 1859, and the present day congregation descends from the anti-slavery faction of the church.