Solomon Northup Scripter Award at the Brookside Museum
This article originally appeared in a Saratoga County History Center press release.
Melissa Howell, a Solomon Northup descendant, is loaning the prestigious Scripter Award, presented on behalf of Solomon Northup by the University of Southern California, to the Saratoga County History Center’s Brookside Museum, along with other memorabilia. The Award honors Northup and recognizes the work of screenwriter John Ridley, who wrote the script for the 2013 movie 12 Years a Slave. Ms. Howell will present the award along with a talk entitled “Embracing the Legacy of Solomon Northup” on Saturday, July 9 at 2 pm at Brookside Museum in Ballston Spa. The award and memorabilia display are new additions to the “Black Experiences in Saratoga County, 1750-1950” exhibit.
Solomon Northup was an African-American free citizen born at Schroon, New York on July 10, 1807. In March 1841, Northup was 33 years old when he was introduced to two men who claimed they ran a traveling circus and lured him to New York City and Washington, D.C. to play violin for a lucrative payout. A turn of catastrophic events found him chained in a slave pen within view of the U.S. Capitol. His identity- altered. His life- interrupted. He was shipped south to New Orleans and sold as a chattel by a slave trader. He was enslaved for 11 years, 8 months, and 26 days on the Red River Bayou of Louisiana. Read more...