Ferry to statute of liberty: freedom! Greeting immigrants. Definitely no connection to slavery!
Statue of Liberty museum: yeah, so this French abolitionist wanted to congratulate the US for getting rid of slavery, and thought a statue celebrating things like the rule of law that applies to all people equally was a nice gesture. Contemporary black people had pretty mixed feelings about it though, because there was still a lot of inequality. Women made some sarcastic comments as well, given how it was a tad bit ironic to celebrate liberty with a statue of a woman, without giving them the right to vote.