The Friends of the Network to Freedom Association invites proposals for its upcoming annual conference (September 16-19, 2009). Taking a cue from our host city, Indianapolis, which is referred to as the “Crossroads of America,” this year’s conference theme is “Freedom Trails at the Crossroads: Paths to Telling the Underground Railroad Story through History, Teaching ,and Technology.”

The conference will explore the Underground Railroad as a meeting point or a zone of contact in which cultures, geographies, regions, races, ethnicities, religious and political ideologies met and interacted. In addition to exploring past connections, the conference also seeks to explore ways in which present day people interested in the story of the Underground Railroad transcend local histories and make connections to a larger national story with global significance.

The Friends of the Network to Freedom Association welcomes proposals from a wide variety of academic, public, and community partners and interested Underground Railroad researchers. However, the conference program committee gives preference to session proposals that address the specific conference theme.

Presentation topics can include but are not limited to:

• Conflicts of cultures and ideologies on the Underground Railroad
• State, interstate, and international travel connections on the Underground Railroad
• Evaluating your local Underground Railroad sites, facilities, and programs
• Religious and political support and opposition to Underground Railroad activity
• Modes of transportation (including maritime travel) used in the Underground Railroad
• The Underground Railroad in today’s American history curriculum
• Technologies and databases as a way of documenting, analyzing, preserving, and interpreting slavery and the Underground Railroad
• Myths and realities —evaluating and re-evaluating definitions and histories of the Underground Railroad

Submission Procedure—MUST BE DONE ONLINE
Proposals can be submitted for (1) panels up to three individuals and a moderator on a particular theme or topic or (2) individual 20 minute paper presentations. Conference applications can be completed and submitted online from the Friends Association website, www.UGRfriends.org.

Deadline for receipt of proposals: April 30, 2009
All proposals should include:
• A complete mailing address, email, phone number and affiliations (if any) for each participant;
• A 500 word abstract for the complete session and 250 word abstract for individual submissions; and
• A 250 word biographical sketch for each participant.

Registration fee for presenters will be waived. Presenters are responsible for their own conference travel, lodging, transportation, and meals.

Accepted presenters can expect to receive notification by June 1, 2009.

Friends of the Network to Freedom Association
Phone: 502-863-2203
Fax: 502-863-2231
E-mail: info@ugrfriends.org
P. O. Box 13487
Lexington, KY 40583-3487