[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 3 (Friday, January 5, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E3-E4]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      HONORING THE 165TH ANNIVERSARY OF SOLOMON NORTHUP'S FREEDOM

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOHN KATKO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 5, 2018

  Mr. KATKO. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize the legacy of New 
York native Solomon Northup on Solomon Northup Freedom Day.
  165 years ago, Solomon Northup was set free from his enslavement. 
Born a free man in New York, Mr. Northup made a living as a farmer and 
as a professional violinist. Unlike many African American free men 
during this time period, Mr. Northup was a landowner in Hebron, New 
York.
  In 1841, Mr. Northup was offered the position of violinist with a 
traveling circus. In Washington, D.C. the very same men who hired Mr. 
Northup drugged him, and sold him into the abhorrent institution that 
is slavery. Mr. Northup was sent to Louisiana, and lived in captivity 
for 11 years, 8 months, and 26 days.
  During his horrific enslavement, Mr. Northup worked with a Canadian 
who helped get word to New York about his whereabouts. New York State 
provided aid to free New York citizens who had been kidnapped and sold 
into slavery. Mr. Northup's family and friends did not abandon hope. 
They sought the support of Washington Hunt, the Governor of New York, 
who helped Mr. Northup regain his freedom on the morning of January 4, 
1853.
  No longer enslaved, Mr. Northup took little time to rest after being 
freed from his captors. Mr. Northup became a fierce abolitionist. He 
began to lecture on his experience and appear at anti-slavery 
conferences throughout the northeast. His memoir, ``Twelve Years A 
Slave,'' recounted the horrors and injustices that he faced, and 
received domestic and international acclaim.
  Today, on Solomon Northup Freedom Day, I am proud to join the cities 
of Saratoga Springs and Auburn in recognizing the story of Solomon 
Northup. Central New York is such an important part of the Abolitionist 
Movement. After escaping from slavery, Harriet Tubman lived in Auburn, 
New York until the day she died. Tubman fought her whole life for the 
eradication of slavery. Today, the Harriet Tubman National Historical 
Park in Auburn represents her legacy, and the importance of human 
rights, gender equality, and ending racism.
  Solomon Northup Freedom Day also reaffirms the necessity of 
eradicating modern-day slavery, human trafficking, and racial 
prejudice. This January is National Human Trafficking Awareness month, 
and the United Nations estimates that more than 40 million men, women, 
and children continue to be enslaved globally.
  Solomon Northup will be remembered for his dedicated efforts to fight 
for those who

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were vulnerable and did not have a voice. May we honor his legacy each 
and every day by following in his footsteps.

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