Residents enjoy a presentation on the life of Harriet Tubman and a hero from Palmyra’s own history is honored with a dedication
Stephen Finn
The Sun
“Harriet Tubman didn’t take no stuff. Wasn’t scared of nothing neither. Didn’t come in this world to be no slave. And wasn’t going to stay one either,” reads the poem, “Harriet Tubman,” by Eloise Greenfield.
On Sunday, Feb. 24, Camden County Technical School teacher Marilyn Larke read Greenfield’s words in the character of Tubman herself during a special presentation celebrating Black History Month at the Palmyra Community Center.
The presentation was a two-part affair that began with a history lesson from Larke on the life of America’s most celebrated Underground Railroad conductor and concluded with an official announcement by Mayor Michelle Arnold of the borough’s plan to rename Grove Park after former Palmyra Police Chief Payton I. Flournoy.
Larke gave her presentation in full period garb, jumping in and out of the character of Tubman as she told stories from her incredible life.
“I’ve always been fascinated with black women in history. Especially Harriet Tubman because of the role she played — not just during slavery but even after slavery — working with Susan B. Anthony, being a women’s rights activist; it’s almost a parallel to our times today,” said Larke.
She also brought along plenty of literature and visuals, including a replica of the Emancipation Proclamation, for attendees to pore over. One by one she presented other replicas, including candles, dolls and special quilts that would have marked a house as a safe haven for passengers on the Underground Railroad.
According to Larke, it may surprise people who only know Tubman for her work leading slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad that she was also a scout and spy during America’s Civil War and served Robert Shaw, commander of the first all-black regiment, his last meal.
Larke calls her presentation “Harriet Tubman and the People She Met Along the Way.” In addition to telling Tubman’s story, Larke also wants to teach people about the abolitionists and Quakers who opened their homes to those fleeing bondage.
“I want them to learn about those quiet heroes, the Quakers, that opened their doors and hid them. Those are ordinary people that people never talk about,” said Larke. “If we can learn a lesson from them, what a better world this place would be.”
Following Larke’s presentation, Mayor Arnold announced the borough’s plan to rename Grove Park, next to the borough municipal building, after Flournoy. The name change comes after a resolution was passed at the Feb. 19 borough council meeting.
According to Arnold, a dedication ceremony will take place at the park this spring.
Payton served as chief of police in Palmyra from 1959 until his retirement in 1976. He is recognized as the first black police chief in Burlington County. Appointments like his were extremely rare at the time and the historic accomplishment garnered national attention.
The Flournoy family, including Payton’s son, Timothy, and daughter, Valerie, were present at the event to be recognized and to accept the honor on Payton’s behalf.
“I know he loved Palmyra and it seemed like Palmyra really loved him, for him to get the position that he did at the time,” said Timothy.
“Martin Luther King did his ‘I have a dream’ speech in 1963, and dad was chief of police in 1959, so I always say that Palmyra was ahead of its time,” said Valerie.
