The U of A Humanities Center and the African and African American Studies Program will be presenting a public forum at the Fayetteville Public Library at 6 p.m., Monday, Aug. 29, on the proposal before Fayetteville City Council to commemorate Nelson Hackett. Caree Banton, associate professor of history and director of the African and African American Studies Program, and Mike Pierce, associate professor of history and director of the Nelson Hackett Project, will provide historical context for the discussion of how to memorialize Hackett.

Hackett was an enslaved man whose 1841 escape from Fayetteville set in motion the events that ensured Canada would remain a haven for those fleeing slavery in the United States. Taking a horse, saddle, coat, hat, and watch and chain on his way out of Fayetteville, Hackett traveled 360 miles through slave territories and another 600 miles through the free states of the North. Upon reaching Canada, Hackett thought that he had found freedom, but his owner tracked him down and demanded his extradition on charges of theft. When the Canadian government sent Hackett back to face the charges, he became the first fugitive from slavery that Canada returned to bondage.  

The Nelson Hackett Project is a digital humanities site from the U of A that follows Hackett's journey with maps, documents and explanatory essays. 

The forum will meet in the Willard and Pat Walker Community Room of the Fayetteville Public Library from 6-7 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 29. The event is free and open to the public.