Lowey Announces $100k in Federal Funds for Historic Hudson Valley

Statement

Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-Rockland/Westchester), Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, today announced that Historic Hudson Valley in Tarrytown, NY, will receive $100,000 through the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to support the project People Not Property: Stories of Slavery in the Colonial North and enhance their digital tools to assist educators as they teach this sensitive topic.

"We cannot untangle slavery from our nation's history, and it is our duty today to learn from and confront our history with open eyes," said Congresswoman Lowey. "Far too often, slavery is scrubbed out of the narrative. These federal funds give Historic Hudson Valley the important opportunity to provide an accurate portrayal of New York in 1741 so that we can build an equitable future for New York in 2020. I will continue fighting to expand investments in the humanities and provide more opportunities for future generations to explore the full history of our country."

Historic Hudson Valley will use this grant to create a documentary that supports the reinterpretation of the Philipsburg Manor historic site. Specifically, this funding will help illuminate the story of Cuffee, an enslaved man who stood trial without representation before a jury of white male landowners for the insurrection that became known in the 18th and 19th centuries as the "New-York Conspiracy." These resources will give Historic Hudson Valley the opportunity to extend the reach and understanding of this moment in the history of slavery in the North.

"Congresswoman Lowey's advocacy for this project and Historic Hudson Valley is second to none," said Waddell W. Stillman, the organization's president. "We are also thankful for the NEH's decades-long investment in public programs to share the often untold history of slavery in the colonial North with the largest possible audience. Now we can add Cuffee's Trial, a free, online documentary to our constellation of public resources."

As Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, Congresswoman Lowey has fought to increase investments in NEH. In the fiscal year 2020 federal spending bill that was signed into law in December, Congresswoman Lowey secured $162.25 million for NEH, which is $7.25 million more than the 2019 enacted level and rejected the President's budget request to eliminate the agency.

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