POSTED FOR HENRY ROBERT BURKE [burkeh@charter.net]
8/5/04

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To All Concerned,

For a long time, I had been attempting to present my Underground Railroad research to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati (NURFC). I had incorrectly assumed that NURFC was the repository for the history of the Underground Railroad across the United States! The name: National Underground Railroad Freedom Center misled me, and I think a lot of other local Underground Railroad researchers.This has never been the goal or function of NURFC. They are simply a Cincinnati based organization and understandably their goal is to promote Cincinnati!

In defense of my making this horrible mistake, I think the NURFC is responsible for some of this misconception. They should have clarified their goals, so everyone would understand! This would certainly have saved me and others a lot of time and effort, and it would have prevented some of my negative comments about NURFC.

I have finally sorted this out in my mind. The organization that I and other local Underground Railroad researchers should been contacting and supporting is the National Park Service's Network To Freedom program (NPS-UGRR-NTF). UGRR-NTF program is in danger of collapsing because of the lack of funding!

I know that some researchers have some issues with some projects that NPS-NTF have done, but this can easily be remedied. The immediate crisis is that the UGRR-NTF program is in danger of collapsing unless they get $1.5 Million to continue. This sounds like a lot of money, but it is small compared to the federal and state funds that NURFC received. We must all come together to support UGRR-NTF. Based on recent conversations with officials in the UGRR-NTF program, they are now, more than ever committed to working with local Underground Railroad researchers. Please help me support them in getting funding by sending me e-mail [burkeh@charter.net]. As I see it, at this point we have nothing to lose.

Sincerely,
Henry Robert Burke
E-mail: burkeh@charter.net