Following the service, at 12:00 noon, Mayor Don Plusquellic and students from Goodyear Middle School will ring an historic bell that will begin the ringing of church bells throughout downtown Akron, just as they were in Akron on the day Brown was hanged, December 2, 1859. On the day of his execution, bells rang; 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.

Historian Paul Finkelman will deliver remarks at the 11:00 service. Finkelman, the William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law at Albany (NY) Law School, is the author of "Terrible Swift Sword: The legacy of John Brown" (Ohio University Press.2005,) and "His Soul Goes Marching On - Responses to John Brown and the Harpers ferry Raid," (University Press of Virginia, 1995.)

Finkelman is an expert on the legal history of slavery and constitutional law. This marks a return to Akron for Professor Finkelman, who held the John F. Seiberling endowed chair at the University of Akron School of Law, 1998-1999.

Akron’s 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.

Pastor Mark Ruppert will deliver an invocation. The history of the church will be offered by the church’s historian Edie English.

The ensemble Exalting Him will perform "Lift Every Voice and Sing," also known as the "Negro National Anthem;" and "Blow Ye the Trumpet, Blow," John Brown’s favorite hymn.

Area vocalist Carla Davis will close the ceremony with the song first created in memory of John Brown - "Battle Hymn of the Republic." Accompaniment will be provided by church organist Heidi Guttermuth (GUT er mooth).

During this 150^th anniversary year of Harper’s Ferry, the community has collaborated in many ways to mark the events that led to what many believe was the starting point for the U.S. Civil War - the failed raid, which Brown thought might inspire African slaves to ignite an  uprising against their slave-owners.

Presentations:

• The Akron-Summit County Public Library continues an exhibit through December 31, "Summit County's John Brown"- historical artifacts at the Special Collections Division of the Akron-Summit County Public Library downtown.
• The Akron Art Museum is presenting selections from Jacob Lawrence’s The Legend of John Brown through February 14, 2010. This series of screen prints presents specific incidents in Brown’s dramatic life. Lawrence is a significant American 20^th-century artist, and was the first African American to depict the white abolitionist’s saga.
• The Summit County Historical Society opens the John Brown Home at the corner of Copley Rd. And Diagonal Rd. Tuesday, November 24 and Wednesday, December 2, 3pm -6pm. Admission is free.  Exhibits describe the life of Brown and his family in Akron.
• In October, on the 150^th anniversary of the Harpers ferry raid, the City with the Summit County Historical Society and Akron Zoo sponsored a ceremony at the permanent monument erected to John Brown in Perkins Woods on the grounds of the Zoo, which included a live re-creation of John Brown In His Own Words by Neil Thackaberry, Artistic Director of Actors’ Summit in Hudson.
• The Akron Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Christopher Wilkins premiered The Passion of John Brown—a new work by Malone University Professor Jesse Ayers narrated by WEWS news anchor Leon Bibb at its October concert.
• The Summit County Historical Society, with writing and literary support from the Akron-Summit County Public Library and a grant from the City of Akron, produced a new 12-page booklet on John Brown in Akron. 15,000 free copies have been distributed.

"John Brown is Akron’s nationally-known link to the movement to end slavery," said Mayor Plusquellic. "All of these events, performances, and exhibits recall a rich era in our history. 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."                         

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, he 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 Harpers Ferry, Virginia.

He led the raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry in what is now West Virginia, supported with cash and weapons from his "old friends and neighbors" in Akron.

He was captured by Col. Robert E. Lee of the U.S. Army, and hanged for treason on December 2, 1859. 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.