Up The Creek: The Frankford Underground Railroad Lantern Parade
2017
By walking artist Ken Johnston
Curated for the Riverfront North Partnership, Philadelphia, PA
Johnston led a night time lantern parade tracing a route between two historic Underground Railroad stations in the Frankford neighborhood of Philadelphia. For enslaved people, Philadelphia was the threshold of freedom, and the nearby Delaware River was an important escape route, as well as its tributaries like the Frankford Creek. Ken introduced the project and the history of the maritime underground railroad in an artist talk the week before, led a public lantern-making workshop to prepare participants for the parade, and shared the neighborhood’s historic connections to slavery and freedom along the route of the procession.
Video by Natasha Cohen-Carroll