Lewis and Harriet Hayden, who were once enslaved in Lexington, became prominent figures in the Underground Railroad.

The Lexington Freedom Train project has been hosting a Lyceum series to educate people about the history of slavery and the Underground Railroad in Lexington, and to spark community conversation about these topics.

We have more about that and this week's Arts and culture segment we call Tapestry Lyceum.

It's a 19th century term in a lot of people, you know, are not familiar with it in this in our 20th century, but it is an educational format that allows introduction of spoken word, which is art, poetry, music and presentation by noted authorities.

And it's a way to open a discussion with your audience as it presenting them information that will encourage conversation.

And I think part of what this event is designed to do, and the series is to educate people about the Underground Railroad monument project, the significance of of history in Kentucky and Lexington, specifically, that most people didn't learn in school.

All of our presenters for the last themes are PhDs.

They've done the research and questions and answers that follow usually bring forward questions from the audience.

We have chosen the venues that were here on site here in Lexington, during the time that Lewis and Harriet Hayden were growing up.

Lewis was born about 1811, Harriet about 1815, and they lived in the downtown core.

I'm reading Paul's from the same time period as Lewis and Harriet Hayden in that song.

They must've been faster because I know the story of the song.

And how it's tied to enslavement.

I don't get nostalgic.

I don't weep, for Kentucky.

I think about enslavement and the horrors of being a soul for the South.

And what it must have been like to be away from your family, your wife and children.

And imagine and wishing to be back home because you're not missing a cabin.

You know, you're missing your family.

I really enjoyed how we were able to give voices to the individual who didn't have that voice.

And it gave us context as to what exactly the perspective, what the perspectives were during that time.

And I felt like it really solidified Kentucky's place within the overall slavery context, if that makes sense.

So it shows that, yes, Kentucky did have slavery.

And yes, it was just as impactful as slavery in the Deep South, where present reforms to try to make it more personal.

You know, hopefully the person reading tries to inhabit or embody, the person, so that, you know, you forget that is a poet reading and you believe it's a little bit of theater and you can buy into the the personality of the person reading and, and because you have a chance to believe it, it makes it more of a memorable and an emotional experience and hopefully a little bit like cinema and people might not remember the exact words.

But if you remember how you felt when you heard those words, that's even better.

I got three at my waist, one on my hip and one more in my belly.

Right now.

But don't count the children.

Look at the scars on my face.

These eight from my husband's head.

I spared my baby girl.

Not from this life, but from my life.

I think events like this are important because it brings community members in as well as students.

And just like everyone in general, could come together and recognize that this history is important and that this truth matters.

And if we're not able to get this within an educational classroom, that at least we're still able to get this source of information, that there's a collective responsibility, that we must uphold this history and allow it to still be present within our everyday conversation, keep this history alive in the classroom.

And I also think within that you need to open up your heart and be empathetic and just really, really try to understand the stories that were erased and the emotional weight that it still holds presently to this day.

And the last event in this series is coming up this Friday night, May 23rd at 630 at Saint Paul AME church.

The topic is Network to Freedom.

Also, look out for the unveiling of a statue in honor of Lewis and Harriet Hayden, created by artist Basil Watson, next month in celebration of Juneteenth.