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Federal parks officials held a formal event Tuesday establishing a new national park named after abolitionist Harriet Tubman in upstate New York, reports NBC News.

From NBC News:

Members of the state’s congressional delegation joined U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell in Washington, D.C., for the official signing ceremony Tuesday that makes the [Harriet Tubman National Historical Park] part of the National Park Service system. It encompasses the site of Tubman’s old home on the outskirts of Auburn, about 25 miles west of Syracuse, and a nearby church where she worshipped.

The New York park will focus on Tubman’s work later on in her life when she was an active proponent of women’s suffrage and other causes. It will be a sister park to the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in Maryland.

“These two parks preserve and showcase a more complete history of one of America’s pivotal humanitarians who, at great personal risk, did so much to secure the freedom of hundreds of formerly enslaved people,” Secretary Jewell said. “Her selfless commitment to a more perfect union is testament that one determined person, no matter her station in life or the odds against her, can make a tremendous difference.”

The designation of the Auburn site as a national park comes after a long-running legislative effort, which began in 2000 with a law allowing for a study on how to best preserve the Underground Railroad hero’s legacy, reports USA Today.

SOURCE: NBC NewsUSA Today

SEE ALSO:

Harriet Tubman: Activists Push For Statue At Maryland State House

Report: Harriet Tubman To Replace Jackson On The $20 Bill

 

National Park Named For Harriet Tubman Gets Official Stamp Of Approval  was originally published on newsone.com