Ona Maria Judge Staines, born enslaved by George and Martha Washington, liberated herself at age 22 and was never caught. Through her act of self-emancipation, she can be understood as a forgotten founding mother of the formative United States.
This procession is a meditation on the perpetual state of fugitivity as freedom for the marooned members of the African Diaspora. This procession also serves as a binding hex to refract and reverse the evil deeds of past and present colonizers and slave-owners lionized in monuments.
As we continue to challenge and remove racist monuments, Ona Maria Judge Staines calls from the beyond to dismantle false mythologies surrounding America’s celebrated tyrants.
Please contribute your livestreams and social media posts to our archive with the following hashtags: #OnaJudge #AbscondedProject #EjectionDay2020 #Fugitiva |
THE ROUTE
- Seneca Village Site // Central Park West
Founded in 1825 by free Black Americans as the first such settlement in the city, the village was razed in 1857 through eminent domain for the construction of Central Park.
- Equestrian Statue of Teddy Roosevelt // Museum of Natural History
The design of this 1939 statue lauds and justifies white supremacy over Black and Indigenous people. Its impending removal, supported by Roosevelt’s descendents, is already too late.
- Frederick Douglass Statue // New York Historical Society
Though they never met, kindred spirits Frederick Douglass and Ona Judge had their words published in the same abolitionist journals in the 1840s.
- Columbus Ave Promenade
The Lenni Lenape greeted European settlers with gifts and peace, but were betrayed. Break the legacy of theft and violence by contributing here: mannahattafund.org
- Intersection of Columbus & Broadway
The Wickquasgeck Trail (now known as Broadway) is one of the oldest thoroughfares on the continent. It ran the length of the island along a natural ridge of land. Text your zip code to (907) 312-5085 to learn the original name of the occupied Native land of that region.
- San Juan Hill // Lincoln Center
Named after the many African-American and Latinx veterans of the Spanish-American War who made this neighborhood their home, this vibrant cultural hub was razed in the 1950s through eminent domain to clear space for the construction of Lincoln Center.
- Columbus Circle
In the 1920s and 30s, Columbus Circle was known as a center for far-right soapbox orators. Since the mid 70’s it has served as an unofficial bus depot for family visits to upstate penitentiaries.
- Tr*mp International Hotel
True to the poisoned lineage of Columbus, this hotel disgraces this land with its legacy of extractive, exploitative violence and unpaid labor.
SPONSORS
