On a bright winter afternoon, you head to Cousens for your lunchtime workout. As you hurry toward the gym's ramp entrance, a gleam catches your eye. You turn, look down into a large patch of bushes and suddenly realize that there is a rock with a plaque on it. If you stop to read the sign, you'll notice that it reads: "Site of the Stearns Estate, A Waystation on the Underground Railroad, a haven for slaves seeking freedom, 1850-1860. Placed here by members of the Tufts community who continue to honor the tradition of sanctuary. Dedicated April 8, 1987."
Most of us have probably walked by this rock a hundred times without ever knowing it was there. But besides thinking, "Oh cool! I didn't know an Underground Railroad stop was right here," we should also ask "Who was Stearns? Why should I care about him?"
George Luther Stearns was a radical, militant abolitionist. His family disagreed with his abolitionist beliefs, and a wealthy relative even disowned him after a heated argument about slavery. Kansas became Stearns' first cause. From 1854 to 1857, he served as chief financier of the Emigrant Aid Company and as chairman of the Massachusetts State Kansas Committee, an organization that sent money and munitions to ensure that Kansas would become a free state.
"The Evergreens," Stearns' Medford estate, located where our gym now stands, was not only a stop on the Underground Railroad, but it was also what he seriously considered selling to raise funds to support John Brown's revolt at Harpers Ferry in what is now West Virginia. Brown, an abolitionist even more militant than Stearns, wanted to arm the slaves so they could fight against their masters, bringing the Southern slaveholders' worst fears to life.
George L. Stearns was one of the "Secret Six," a group of six Northern white men who financially backed Brown's plan. As the chief financier, Stearns sent his own money, rifles, pikes and ammunition to support the resistance. Some may recall John Brown was caught in his attempted raid in October 1859 and executed that December. Brown's violent resistance to slavery jarred the country and helped precipitate the Civil War. When Brown was captured, Stearns and another of the Secret Six had to flee to Canada until after Brown's execution.
Clearly, Stearns endangered himself and made great personal sacrifices to stand against slavery. Although best known for his Harpers Ferry role, he continued his endeavors to support resistance to slavery despite Brown's failed revolt. During the Civil War, Stearns recruited Northern blacks for the Union army, and after the war, he helped create the Freedmen's Bureau and fought for black suffrage. At Stearns' death in 1867, there were not sufficient funds for his sons to learn professions, though Stearns' son Henry did study briefly at Tufts. Stearns' widow, Mary, left the remaining property to Tufts at her death after World War I.
George L. Stearns deserves more than a tiny sign on a small rock that no one sees. What has happened in the last 20 years at Tufts that this memorial has been confined to shrubbery? Why has this memorial been forgotten?
To enact social change in our own time, we need to consider the mistakes and the triumphs of the past. Tufts itself needs to recognize the history which this very soil has witnessed. As the Tufts administration prepares to expand the Cousens Gym and Gantcher Center complex on College Avenue, they must consider the site's historical significance and at least preserve the Stearns memorial. Indeed, it ought to be made more prominently visible to the public and students as a source of inspiration.
The next time you hurry to Cousens or to Eliot-Pearson, take a moment to stop at that little rock. Think about the man who took a stand to change the world.
Think about the present as well. Our presidential election approaches this fall, and with it comes the pressing immigration question. The Stearns memorial states that it was placed there by "members of the Tufts community who continue to honor the tradition of sanctuary." Is this not an opportunity to follow in their footsteps? Are we not facing questions about "safe haven" and "seeking freedom" today?
According to Required Reading's "The Human Trafficking Issue," traffickers bring 17,500 people into our country each year, and many of the estimated 20 million undocumented immigrants work in modern enslavement conditions. The U.S. still exploits "free" labor but now renders it invisible to the public. Now is the time to question public apathy, ignorance and unjust systems.
As we take on issues of systemic injustice, we frequently favor those who make peaceful contributions to social progress. But does radical, in-your-face militant action have a place in creating a more just world? What does "too radical" mean when social justice - the fate of human lives - is at stake? And if we choose to be bold like Stearns or Brown, will our legacy and our contribution be forgotten or hidden?
Perhaps a better question is: When is it better to choose militancy over non-violence? In response to current human trafficking, a ballot, not a gun, will likely be most effective for convincing those in power that we need safe haven for those unseen, exploited and abused in our country. Come November, remember George Luther Stearns and ask yourself, "What am I doing to help others in my life? How will I choose to be an active citizen in the world today?"
Celeste Codington-Lacerte is a junior majoring in English.
