Medicinal Chemistry Collaborative

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Underground Railroad Tree Exhibition at Downtown First Friday

April 1, 2019

In a special pop-up exhibition at downtown Greensboro’s April First Friday, UNCG students, faculty, and staff will reflect on the Great Tree and Guilford Forest as silent witnesses to the intertwined lives of those who have lived in or near the forest and who have passed through it, and by blurring traditional disciplinary boundaries of study.

The show is titled “The Underground Railroad Tree: Explorations through Art, History, and Science.”

The work displayed and performed in this exhibition is conducted at UNCG within the context of two classes: an Honors history and methodology seminar co-taught by Dr. Omar Ali and Dr. Nadja Cech, and an Organic Chemistry course taught by Dr. Kimberly Petersen. As Cech explains that through collaborative research and creative activity, their courses and approach to teaching “highlight the ways in which history, science, art, music, and dance are synergistic, complementary, and inextricable.”

Ali highlights the historical significance of The Underground Railroad Tree as being “a marker of the southern terminus of the Underground Railroad, a living monument to the struggles of over 2,000 enslaved Africans and African Americans who found their way to freedom.” At just over 300 years old and one of the largest trees in the forest, it is also a natural and scientific wonder to behold.

This project allowed students a chance to research, reflect, and make work that takes them out of the classroom and the lab and into nature to directly experience the Great Tree in its natural and historical setting. The students also visited related sites such as the Greensboro Historical Museum and the Quaker Archives at Guilford College to learn more about the people, events, and natural history related to the site.

The exhibition is hosted by UNCG’s Medicinal Chemistry Collaborative and the Lloyd International Honors College, and is a part of the “A Week of the G.”

Come and learn. The show will be open April 5-7 from 1 to 9 p.m. in the UNCG Pop-up Shop at 300 S. Elm St. in Greensboro, A special reception will be held during the downtown Greensboro First Friday on April 5, between 6 and 9 p.m., with readings and live music from students and faculty starting at 7 p.m.

All events are free and open to the public. Visit mcsquared.uncg.edu/underground-railroad-tree for more information.