Join clergy and other faith leaders for a tour of one of Iowa’s Underground Railroad sites in Salem, Iowa alongside Jason Sole, founder of the Institute for Aspiring Abolitionists and co-founder of the Humanize My Hoodie Movement. After the tour, we’ll join Jason at the Underground restaurant in Salem for a meal and discussion of today’s abolition movement and reimagining public safety with our faith communities.
We’ll begin at 11:00am in Salem, Iowa, the first Quaker community in Iowa, founded in 1835 for a guided tour of the Henderson Lewelling House. The house served as a Safe House on the Underground Railroad and two separate hiding spaces are located inside.
“Like other Quaker Meetings across the country, the Salem Monthly Meeting experienced a schism within in its membership over the action the community should take in opposing slavery. The Society of Friends opposed slavery, but some members felt that they should not participate in helping fugitive slaves to freedom. Lewelling represented the more active side of this decisive question and in 1843, along with other members of the Salem Monthly Meeting, established the Abolition Friends Monthly Meeting. By 1845, Salem Meeting had disowned 50 of its members, an indication of how divided the Society of Friends was over participation in the Underground Railroad.” - nps.gov
Following the tour, we’ll gather at the Underground restaurant, at 107 S.Main St, Salem for lunch and conversation with Jason Sole on today’s abolition movement and catching a new vision of public safety and paths toward community accountability.
OUR CONDUCTOR
Jason Marque Sole is a formerly incarcerated abolitionist who has taught criminal justice courses for over 12 years and is currently an adjunct professor at Hamline University in the Criminal Justice and Forensic Science Department. He has been a national restorative justice trainer since 2008, leading circles in jails, prisons, and community. In addition, Jason is the cofounder of the Humanize My Hoodie Movement in which he challenges threat perceptions about Black people through clothing, art exhibitions, documentary screenings, and workshops. He is the founder of Institute for Aspiring Abolitionists - a network of community members and practitioners to learn effective ways to improve relationships and reduce harm through courses, workshops, trainings, and coaching.