Jacob Morris (activist)
Jacob Morris (born 1947) is a New York City activist and local historian responsible for many street renamings. He is the head of the Harlem Historical Society and the New York Freedom Trail, an organization which seeks to establish an official government tour of sites connected to the fight against slavery.
Historical activism
Since 2006,
The
He also advocates on other issues related to public history in New York City. Scholar David Levering Lewis told the New York Times, “Almost every month Jacob finds a reason to be agitated, excited, outraged and militant, and usually he’s quite right in his concerns.”[2] A primary task, given an interest in the Underground Railroad, is to establish a "Freedom Trail" that would mark key places related to the fight against slavery -- Underground Railroad sites and sites links to abolitionists.[4][5] This effort would be inspired by the successful Freedom Trail in Boston that is connected to the Revolutionary War.[5]
Many of these proposed sites, such as the home of David Ruggles at 36 Lispenard Street and the place where Elizabeth Jennings Graham was thrown off a street car, are in Lower Manhattan.[6]
Morris said that the trail plan "tells the truth about where we come from and the path we've taken to get to where we are today. We need to know this stuff: the adversity, the things that were surmounted."
In 2006, he worked with Roger Green, an activist from
Morris also opposed some of the projects of the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio related to monuments. He opposed public funding for the Women's Rights Pioneers Monument in Central Park before it was changed to include Sojourner Truth.[9] Even then, he wrote a letter to make sure the addition would be historically accurate and appropriate.[10]
Another goal of Morris is to name a street after Maya Angelou.[2][1]
Family history
Morris was born in 1947 in Astoria, Queens.[2] His family was Jewish Greek.[2] The New York Times reported that almost all of his family was killed in the Holocaust due to the Nazi occupation of Greece.[2] In the 1970s, Morris worked in real estate and owned different properties in SoHo, including a video rental chain called "Rare Bird."[2] His tenants implemented a rent strike, forcing him in the 1990s to declare bankruptcy.[2]
While his son Lincoln was in school, Morris started to get involved in politics when he learned that New York City public schools did not have to include in their reports the scores of students assigned as learning disabled.[2][1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Jerkins, Morgan (12 September 2018). "Harlem's mission to rename streets after black women before it's too late". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Boyer-Dry, Margot (5 March 2021). "He Honors Black New Yorkers. Not All Black Activists Are Thrilled". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ a b Lombardi, Frank (21 November 2010). "Upper West Sider Jacob Morris is takin' it to the streets to honor blacks". New York Daily News. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ Maloney, Jennifer (2 July 2012). "A New Freedom Trail". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Shapiro, Julie (20 March 2012). "'Freedom Trail' Plan Would Link Manhattan's Abolitionist Sites". Archived from the original on 27 January 2022.
- ^ Maloney, Jennifer (14 February 2014). "Freedom Trail Idea on Move in New York City". Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Venarchik, Anna (23 February 2021). "Underground Railroad Tours Are a Hot Ticket: Could NYC's Abolitionist History Get Easier to Access?". Bedford+Bowery. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ Croghan, Lore (26 September 2019). "Planned Willougby Park could be renamed to honor Downtown BK abolitionists". Brooklyn Eagle. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ O'Connell-Domenech, Alejandra (21 August 2019). "Moment of 'Truth' for suffragettes statue". amNY. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ Small, Zachary (21 August 2019). "Historians Raise Concerns Over Central Park's Suffragist Monument". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 27 January 2022.