My Journey into Maryland Spirituals:

This is My Story by Tilghman Paca Logan

My Journey into Maryland Spirituals: This is my Story by Tilghman Paca Logan.

Summary

Join Tilghman Paca Logan on his journey into Maryland history and spirituals. Working with a cast of educators in NYC and Maryland (Natalie Bumagin, Katherine Deats, Debra Fisher, Brooke Jackson, Michelle LaBelle, Sam Maslow, Bruce Glover Nelson, JoAnne Riina, Kenay Sudler, Patrick Sprinkle), Tilghman connects to what James Weldon Johnson referred to as America’s “only art form” through music, history, and leading tours of the Underground Railroad with retired school teachers and Tubman descendants.

Meet the Ancestors. 

We all have ancestors.

Who built this country?

Who are the Founding Black Families of America?

Launching the Kunte Kinteh Foundation at Paca Garden, Annapolis. 

Meet the ancestors of Maryland’s Founding Black Families on the Chesapeake Bay, at the Kunte Kinteh Foundation launch, with descendants living in the U.S. and also the Gambia. Alex Haley’s nephew, Chris Haley, who serves as Director of the Legacy of Slavery papers at the Maryland State Archives, presided over the event.

African dancers performed with invited guests to honor the ancestors.

Resistance! Resistance! No oppressed people have ever secured their Liberty without resistance.” These words by Henry Highland Garnet in his Call to Rebellion speech of 1843 resonate with many people today in the Black Lives Matter Movement. They are a part of the Underground Railroad Museum and National Park in the Blackwater Refuge.

First Lady O’Malley welcomed my Lady to the Governor’s Mansion.

Unveiling the portrait of Frederick Douglass. Waiting for the gates to open to a special party at the Governor’s Mansion in Annapolis, Maryland with Mrs. Frances Curtis, Mrs. Betty Mack, and Ms. Maya Davis, Deputy Director of the Legacy of Slavery Papers at the Maryland State Archives.

Governor O’Malley at the unveiling of the painting of Frederick Douglass. First Lady O’Malley holding up the boards as the artist Mr. Simmie Knox explains. Mr. Ted Mack and Governor O’Malley stand by watching the fascinating presentation.

The show was so popular that it toured to four museums! The opening in Easton was historic as it represented the largest integrated gathering ever on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Mrs. Brenda Henry and Mrs. Tissier Moaney in front of a portrait of their relation, Bernard Moaney.

Sylvia and Eddie Brown were Patrons to the Exhibition. Thank you Eddie and Sylvia Brown and Brown Capital Management for your support! It meant a great deal to so many.

We took the Comptroller of Maryland on a tour. He was really nice, and asked good questions. So did his colleague, Matthew Minson.

We took First Lady Hogan and Mrs. Rutherford around the exhibition as well. The First Lady loved the artwork about the African American spirituals, and Mrs. Rutherford liked the dignified way in which the Founding Black Families were portrayed.

Founding Families of Maryland celebrate diversity. Many people built our country, and their ancestors did the heavy lifting, making the ultimate sacrifice. They too made significant contributions toward the creation of America as we know it today, and are honored in Maryland.

From Miss France to the Louvre, I love works of Art. How is it that everything about Paris so beautiful? I enjoy striding through Paris in my walker–even inside museums like the Louvre. Travel across the water with Mrs. Curtis and myself to Paris where we meet Gospel Dream, and take part in the 1,000 year celebration of christianity at St Germain des Pres and the American Cathedral in Paris. As a person who experiences cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and uses a wheelchair, my life is full of global art experiences which brighten my world, and I share with viewers how I view art in the Louvre in a walker, and get next to the Mona Lisa, admiring global accessibility.

My favorite Museums are MoMA, the Louvre, and the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art! 

Everywhere I go, my family always makes sure that I have access to museums and concerts. Seeing art displayed at eye height means so much to me.

Gospel Dream at the American Cathedral in Paris with Mrs. Frances Curtis. They brought her up onto the stage to honor her as a lady from one of America’s Founding Black families. I was so proud of her when she took a bow in front of the audience.

Celebrating 1,000 years of Christianity with Gospel Dream at St. Germain-des-Pres, Paris. The cathedral was overflowing with guests who took part in the praise, and the singers brought us up onto the stage to take part in the final song, Oh Happy Day.

I love the world and everyone in it. Everyone should give it a try!

I attend the Lab High School for Collaborative Studies in New York City. It is a public school.

I live in New York City, I go to school in New York City, but for me, Maryland is my home. In its peace, tranquility, and connection to history and nature, it is like no other place on earth. Returning to Maryland, I like to lead friends through the picturesque Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay’s Underground Railroad, with stops at the Linchester Mill, farm of Tubman descendant Paulette Green and her partner Donna Dear, The Bazzel Church, Parson’s Creek, and the Third Haven Quaker Meeting House in Easton, Maryland.

Celebrating Miss Tish with My Lady. Miss Frances and our church family at the Waters Church in Oxford mean a lot to me, and this is a big reason why Maryland feels so much like home. Travel with me to the Water’s Church where choir leader Mrs. Tissier Moaney is honored for a life of singing with surprise proclamations from President Obama, Governor O’Malley, and members of local government.

Award from the Governor for her excellence in singing and helping others. Miss Tish being honored by Governor O’Malley. Award from President Obama for a lifetime of her beautiful voice and with it, community building. What a Lady!

Celebrating Miracles: I look for her when walking! Miss Frances and her niece Paulette Albury are my friends. We meet when I’m out in my walker.

Lady Frances Keeps Me Steady. She holds my hands when I’m in my walker.

My Lady Guarding me when I’m sick. She prays for me when I’m not well, and builds love around me to protect me. Even though she went to Heaven two years ago, she is still with me, and I say a prayer to her every night.

I took retired teachers on a tour of the Underground Railroad when I was 12! We went to the Blackwater Preserve and Parsons Creek with Stewart’s Canal. It is wild and pretty there.

Near the home of Harriet Tubman’s parents and brothers: We visited the farm of Tubman descendant Paulette Greene and her partner Donna Dear. What a day!

Mr. Bailey is a descendant of Frederick Douglass, and owns the Executive Transportation Company. He helps me to get on and off of his bus. We saw many places including the Linchester Mill, Leverton House, and Bucktown Store.

The Bazzle Church is built on the ancient prayer grounds of Harriet Tubman.

Remote Learning in NYC and Maryland. I love my teachers and therapists in NYC and Maryland, and appreciate all they do to help me learn and imbue me with philosophies that allow me to become a better person.

This is the best education I’ve ever had! Thank you everyone!!! Remote learning is a gift for me as I work with the singing of Kentavius Jones, John Wesley Wright and Danielle Cumming of North Meets South, Tish Moaney and the Waters Choir, and the Wright Studio Quartet with singers Jeremiah Copeland, Patrick Gover, and Sara Miller.