Miki Conn Journey To Freedom

Miki Conn grew up in Delmar, NY. She and her sister, Fern, were the only Black students in the Bethlehem school system. She attended Howard University and joined the campus civil rights organization--the Nonviolent Action Group (NAG). Miki traveled with protestors to Cambridge, Maryland, where she was arrested outside a restaurant that refused to serve Black people. After college, Miki lived and worked in Kenya. She later settled in Schenectady where she directed the Hamilton Hill Arts Center. Miki organizes Schenectady’s Juneteenth celebration, and the annual Kwanzaa Celebrations. She is a published poet and author of three children’s books.

The Journey to Freedom project has recorded the stories of women and men from the Capital Region of New York who participated in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Many traveled to the segregated Deep South. Others were active in their home communities. All worked to advance social justice. Their stories highlight the powerful impact that regular folks can have in effecting change, and the importance of documenting the histories of everyday heroes.

Siena College professor Dr. Paul Murray and co-producer educator Donald Hyman worked with videographers Kirk Daniels and Zebulon Schmidt to record and make publicly available the histories of 15 activists. Attendees of this webinar will learn the history of this project, its development process, and ways they can undertake similar projects in their home communities.