Title: THIRTY YEARS NOT A SLAVE
Location: Yorktown Hart Library, 1130 Main St. Shrub Oak
Description: By Howard Husock, Contributing Editor, City Journal, Manhattan Institute. This is the story of William Voris in Rye. In the early 19th century, The Hudson like the Ohio River divided slavery from freedom. New York had banned slavery but New Jersey at the time did not. It appears that William Voris had fled Bergen County and relocated in Westchester. Mr. Voris of Rye became among the nation’s wealthiest African-American business owners at that time. This is a story of what could happen when blacks had the chance to be free and to benefit from economic opportunity. Mr. Voris is buried in the Rye African American Cemetery.
Start Time: 21:30
Date: 02-16-2017