The Fenton History Center is set to host two new events in June in honor of Juneteenth.

The first event will take place on June 14 at 1 p.m. and is a screening of the 2022 documentary “Underground Chautauqua: Three Freedom Trails”. The second event is on June 16 at 6 p.m., titled “Songs of Slavery and Emancipation”. Both events take place during the week of Juneteenth and are free and open to the public.

The Underground Railroad documentary will be presented in conjunction with both Juneteenth and the Busti Bicentennial celebration, as the documentary focuses on the William Storum family from Busti, the Harrison Williams capture in Busti, the Jamestown stationmaster Catherine Harris, and the Jamestown Underground Railroad agent Judge E.T. Foote.

The film is based on research conducted by Douglas Shepard and Wendy Straight between 2010 and 2018, and features the interactive map that they created with Nicholas Gunner of Orbitist, LLC. In the film, viewers follow the map across three Underground trail systems that passed through Chautauqua County from the regions of Corry, Sugar Grove, Warren, and North East, Pennsylvania. Straight is also the director of the film and will be present afterwards for a question and answer session.

The “Songs of Slavery” event will be presented by Matt Calahan, who is a musician and author from New York City, and put together the project. The project consists of a book, two CDs and a film. He gathered the information and research for the documentary, and his music will also be included in the presentation, along with his books and CDs which will be for sale. The Fenton has also been given permission to use one of his songs for their Underground Railroad exhibit.

Executive Director of the Fenton History Center, Jane Babinsky said she hopes both events will be well attended because they focus on a very important part of history.

“We see a lot of issues today that are related to these same issues,” Babinsky said. “I think people should come because it will be a very good learning experience and they can learn more about the issues that led to the Civil War. These issues are reflected in things that are still happening today and it is a good way to support the African American community.”

Events that focus on these issues are important, Babinksy said, not just for the Fenton History Center to promote the Underground Railroad exhibit, but also because Babinsky has a personal stake in them.

“I have a personal stake in the topic because where I came from in Ohio my family were abolitionists and ran a stop on the Underground Railroad,” Babinsky said.

Additionally, Babinsky hopes people will leave the events with a better understanding of what people went through in the past, whether they were African American, White, or immigrants, or anyone.

“Basically we are trying to educate people so they can have a better understanding and maybe help resolve some of the issues we see in society today,” Babinsky said.

The Fenton History Center has not done any Juneteenth events before, but Babinsky said they feel it is an important way to help the African American community to explore and celebrate their history.

Other upcoming Fenton History Center events include the regular monthly lecture series. July’s lecture focuses on prohibition in Jamestown, which connects to their upcoming gala on July 29, which has a theme focused on the Roaring 20s.

Babinsky invited everyone to come to the Fenton for the events and to see the Underground Railroad exhibit. The center is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, and children 17 and under are free.