Abolitionist John Brown, remembered for his 1859 raid at Harpers Ferry, a preview of the bruising Civil War to come, is buried just outside Lake Placid on the John Brown Farm State Historic Site. Each year the group “John Brown Lives!” holds an annual commemoration of Brown’s life and anti-slavery efforts at the farm. This year’s keynote speaker is comedian, social and civil rights activist, author and former presidential candidate Dick Gregory.
Dick Gregory ran for president in 1968 as a write-in candidate of the Freedom and Peace Party. He is a well-known civil rights activist and one of his heroes is the abolitionist John Brown. Gregory is the keynote speaker Saturday for John Brown Day 2013.
Dick Gregory is scheduled to speak at 2 o’clock Saturday afternoon at the John Brown State Historic Site near Lake Placid.