Solomon Northup Day

Solomon Northup Day, annual observance held in July in Saratoga Springs, New York, U.S., in recognition of Solomon Northup, a free farmer, labourer, and musician who was abducted and sold into slavery in 1841 and liberated 12 years later.

Northup was born in Schroon (now Minerva), New York, and lived and worked in a variety of towns and villages in the state before moving his family to Saratoga Springs. In 1841, lured to Washington, D.C., with the promise of work, Northup was abducted, and soon thereafter he was sold into slavery in Louisiana. Through the efforts of Canadian abolitionist Samuel Bass, lifelong friend Henry B. Northup, and others, his freedom was restored in 1853. Later that year he published a memoir, Twelve Years a Slave, and achieved national celebrity.

In 1999 Saratoga Springs resident Renee Moore established Solomon Northup Day: A Celebration of Freedom. That multicultural event rooted in African American history and culture brought together writers, authors, artists, and historians. In 2000 the celebration was chosen by the Library of Congress as part of the Local Legacies project that was a component of the library’s bicentennial, and in 2002 the city council of Saratoga proclaimed the observance. It became part of the National Park Service’s Network to Freedom program, which unified historical places and events connected to the Underground Railroad, in 2007.

In 2013, in advance of the release of director Steve McQueen’s film 12 Years a Slave, actress Lupita Nyong’o attended a screening of the film at the Solomon Northup Day celebration and addressed the crowd. Skidmore College officially assumed responsibility for the program in 2014.