Statue of abolitionist Harriet Tubman is now part of downtown Binghamton

BINGHAMTON — Downtown Binghamton now includes a statue of Harriet Tubman, the famed abolitionist and activist who led slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad. The statue is located at Tubman’s marker along the Downtown Binghamton Freedom Trail, a public trail denoting Underground Railroad stops and other anti-slavery and civil-rights sites. The Harriet Tubman Center for Freedom and Equity at Binghamton University unveiled a statue of Tubman during a special event on March 21 at the Binghamton University Downtown Center, the school said. The center is located at 67 Washington St. in Binghamton. “Our hearts are so full today to see all of our co-creators and collaborators who opened their door and let us in when we told them about our dream for this day,” Sharon Bryant, associate director of the Harriet Tubman Center for the Study of Freedom and Equity, said in the school’s announcement. “It’s nice to be part of a university and a community that is so open-minded and willing to work together on a common goal.” Bryant also serves as associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion at Binghamton’s Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences. The Tubman Center chose to unveil the statue in March as Harriet Tubman Day falls on March 10. Anne Bailey, professor of history and director of the Tubman Center, said that the tour represents the advancement of freedom and equity from Harriet Tubman to Martin Luther King, Jr. The tour ends with the statue of King on the riverfront, but it is not the end of the journey. “Tubman, King and the other multicultural heroes on the tour are passing the torch to all of us,” Bailey noted.

Sculptor and the statue

Zoe Dufour, a figurative sculptor based in New York City, designed the bronze statue of Tubman. Following public feedback, Dufour’s design was selected in 2023 from a short list of five finalists. Dufour said the project was a “dream” for her and is grateful to have been able to bring the sculpture to Binghamton. “It is an incredible honor to commemorate an individual like Harriet Tubman,” Dufour said. “I want to spend my career sculpting individuals like her, that show us the best parts of humanity. She championed for rights and freedom against what must have felt like unassailable odds and was successful beyond what was imagined possible. She still captivates us today. Her story transcends time and is a reminder to hold hope hand in hand with action, rather than to give into despair.” The statue depicts Tubman carrying a lantern, meant to symbolize that she knows the way and is illuminating the literal and metaphorical “dark,” Dufour said. The lantern “tells us of the danger she was surrounded by and lights her up as a beacon of hope,” per the school’s announcement. The relief sculpture shown on the wall behind Tubman relates to her skill as an herbalist and naturalist, said Dufour, which was key to her ability to be an Underground Railroad conductor, an army nurse, and the first woman to lead a U.S. combat regiment.

State government help

In addition to the Tubman statue and the 13 markers along the trail, the Freedom Trail project includes the development of programming in partnership with local school districts including Binghamton City School District, focused on integrating curricula that includes Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) perspectives as well as material that celebrates New York state’s heritage of liberty and civil rights. The Tubman Center received a $400,000 state grant and an additional $100,000 from the City of Binghamton to support the Freedom Trail project. New York State Senator Lea Webb (D–Binghamton) and Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo (D–Binghamton) also supported the project since its inception, Binghamton University said. Gov. Kathy Hochul “personally arranged” the state grant funding, Binghamton University noted.