Tanisha M. Jackson, assistant professor in the Department of African American Studies and executive director of the Community Folk Art Center, delivered the keynote address at the Harriet Tubman Day celebration in Auburn, just west of Syracuse, on March 10.

The event, organized by the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in partnership with the New York State Equal Rights Heritage Center and the City of Auburn, marked the anniversary of Tubman's death on March 10, 1913. This year's theme was "Towards a More Perfect Union."

Jackson's lecture, titled "Freedom Is a Practice: Harriet Tubman, Black Women's Cultural Work, and the Making of a More Perfect Union," placed Tubman's legacy in conversation with contemporary Black women artists who build creative spaces rooted in wellness, mutual care and social transformation. The program was held at the Equal Rights Heritage Center in Auburn.