Letter to Director Jarvis, National Parks Services

Letter

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer urged National Park Service Director Jarvis to pledge to hire local Cayuga County and Finger Lakes region residents upon successful designation of the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park by the National Parks Service. This assurance from NPS would mean that this park designation would be a job creator, in addition to boosting tourism in the region, and is Schumer's most recent step toward preserving and promoting the life of Harriet Ross Tubman, the most famous "conductor" of the anti-slavery resistance network known as the Underground Railroad. In February 2011, Schumer introduced the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park and The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park Act to create this Park in Auburn, which would serve a critical role in preserving and promoting the local landmark and tourist site. Schumer is continuing to advocate for his legislation's passage in Congress.

The National Historical Park in Auburn would focus on Harriet Tubman's later years where she was active in the suffrage movement and established one of the first incorporated homes for aged African Americans. The National Parks Service (NPS) endorsed the legislation, determining through a multi-year study that Auburn is a suitable location for a national park to preserve and promote the life and legacy of Harriet Ross Tubman.

"Today, I am urging the National Park Service to assure all stakeholders that the creation of the Harriet Tubman National Historical will mean the creation of local jobs in Cayuga County and the Finger Lakes region," said Schumer. "In February, I introduced park legislation that will provide a big boost to our regional tourism industry as people from across the country flock to Auburn to visit the Harriet Tubman House. Ensuring that it will be Cayuga County and Finger Lakes residents providing those tours and coordinating those interpretive programs would be a huge additional benefit to this extremely important legislation. Harriet Tubman is an American hero, and creating local jobs while honoring and preserving her life's work is as American as apple pie."

In a letter to National Parks Service Director Jarvis, Schumer urged that, upon a successful NPS designation, the agency hire local Cayuga County and Finger Lakes residents for all available positions at the local landmark and tourist site. With the creation of the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park, the agency would be charged with hiring at least five staff members who would operate interpretive programs and assist with resource preservation activities at the Tubman site. Schumer points out that the NPS staff would be on the front line of tourism, too, conducting tours and interacting with people from across the country that visit the site, and he wants the agency to commit to hiring from the Auburn region should his legislative efforts become a reality.

In February 2011, Sens. Schumer and Gillibrand introduced the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park and The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park Act, which authorizes grants for the preservation, rehabilitation, and restoration of the many Harriet Tubman properties in New York. The allocation of these funds would be determined by a locally driven planning process after the passage of the bill. The Harriet Tubman National Historical Park would include important historical structures in Auburn, New York. They include Tubman's home, the Home for the Aged that she established, the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church and rectory. The legislation would also help boost tourism in the region by providing funds for the development and construction of interpretive historical materials. Thematically linking several historical sites would help visitors better understand Harriet Tubman's important contribution to Central New York and the United States as a whole.

Harriett Tubman has a deep history in New York and Maryland. Harriet Tubman was born in Dorchester County, Maryland, where she spent nearly 30 years as a slave. She escaped slavery in 1849, but returned for more than 10 years to Dorchester and Caroline counties where she led hundreds of African Americans to freedom. In 1857, Harriet relocated her parents from St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada to Auburn, NY. Soon after, she purchased land in Auburn and spent the rest of her life there. In 1913, she was buried in Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn, NY.

Schumer continued, "I am pushing to make this critical parks bill a local jobs bill, to garner support from both sides of the aisle. During these tough economic times, legislation that creates local Cayuga and Finger Lakes jobs, all while preserving Harriet Tubman's legacy should be something that everyone can agree on. We must protect Harriet Tubman's story in Auburn by maintaining the site as a monument to the freedom and equality that we cherish."

A copy of Senator Schumer's letter to National Park Service Director Jarvis appears below:

Jon Jarvis, Director
National Park Service
1849 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20240

Dear Director Jarvis:

I write regarding the creation of the Harriet Tubman National Historic Park in Auburn, New York to urge that the National Park Service pledge to hire local workers to staff the facility should we succeed in achieving the national designation this site so richly deserves.

While my legislative efforts to propel this national landmark enjoy longstanding local support, it is critical to reinforce how important this designation would be for Upstate New York's economy, culture, tourism and jobs. Furthermore, upon a successful NPS designation, your agency envisions hiring at least five staff members who would operate interpretive programs and assist with resource preservation activities at the Tubman site. Your staff would be on the front line of tourism, too, conducting tours and interacting with people from both near and far. That is why I feel so strongly about asking your agency to commit now to doing as much as it can to hire from within and around the Auburn region should my legislative efforts become a reality.

In an effort to advance my legislation, along with a surge in tourism for Auburn's economy, I'm asking the NPS to assure any and all stakeholders involved with this project that the Harriet Tubman Home would also boast local jobs, with local talent at the helm.

Thank you for your efforts on behalf of our National Parks and for working with me to deliver local workers to Cayuga County and the Finger Lakes region when the Harriet Tubman National Historic Park becomes a reality. Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions regarding my request or this legislation.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer

United States Senator

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