Toni Morrison gives us a seat for remembrance

Toni Morrison — prolific writer, Pulitzer Prize winner, Nobel Prize winner — has given readers and students the gift of meaningful prose throughout her decades as a writer. In Nyack on Monday, she added a history lesson to that list of accomplishments.

More than 300 people gathered for a glimpse of Morrison, the famed author of "Jazz" and "Beloved," as she honored 19th century abolitionist Cynthia Hesdra in a ceremony dedicating a Bench By the Road.

Morrison, a Grand View resident and Princeton professor, launched The Bench by the Road Project through the Toni Morrison Society. The goal is to create a place to pay respects for those lost through slavery of Africans in the United States and the Caribbean. Since 2006, there have been 15 benches placed in historical neighborhoods around the world. The first bench was placed on Sullivan's Island in South Carolina in 2008.

The bench is in memory of Cynthia Hesdra, a former slave turned entrepreneur and Rockland land owner. Hesdra was born in Tappan but was enslaved for a time, moved and grew to considerable wealth on land within view of the bench that now honors her.

The Nyack event marked a rare local appearance by Morrison. Audience members stood in a roped-off area and holding up books, hoping for an autograph or to shake hands. Morrison, 84, talked to organizers and was in a jovial spirit smiling thoughout the ceremony with fans. She stood up during the ceremony, and was driven out in a golf cart.

The program began at Nyack Center where a packed crowd of students, elected officials and community members learned more about this bench program, and about Hesdra's life from Dr. Lori Martin, author or "The Life of Cynthia Hesdra: the Ex-Slave's Fortune."

Sam Waymon, the Nyack High School Chamber Orchestra, Nyack High School Chorale and Nyack College Chorale all performed selections that dealt with the theme of freedom and social justice.

"I love that there is an important dedication so close to home," said Bel Rodriguez, a 10th grader.

After the hour-long program, gospel singers led the group — members of the Nyack Commemoration Committee and the Toni Morrison Society wore white clothing and held yellow signature umbrellas — on a walk down the hill to Nyack Memorial Park for the dedication.

Morrison said this bench, so nearby to her home, was meaningful to her.

"I was in places like Paris and Martinique to visit the benches, but I have to say this particular bench placement to commemorate the life of Cynthia Hesdra, in my neighborhood, is really profound," she said.

The Toni Morrison Society's "Bench by the Road" project was inspired by comments Morrison made in a 1989 interview that bemoaned the lack of recognition for the history of enslaved Africans. Her novel "Beloved" would serve to mark that history, she said.

"There is no place you or I can go, to think about or not think about, to summon the presences of, or recollect the absences of slaves," Morrison told The World magazine. "There is no suitable memorial, or plaque, or wreath, or wall, or park, or skyscraper lobby. There's no 300-foot tower, there's no small bench by the road. ... And because such a place doesn't exist ... the book had to."

Other benches are set in places of significance, from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, which begat the Freedom Riders, to Lincoln, Massachusetts, in the Walden woods made famous by Henry David Thoreau, where the needs of escaped slaves were tended to.

"It was a great success," said Bill Batson, chair of the Nyack Commemoration Committee, said of the event. "Everything best about Nyack was here today to celebrate our heritage."

Peter D. Kramer contributed to this report.

Twitter: @krhudsonvalley