Where:
Massachusetts Historical Society
1154 Boyleston St
Boston, MA 02215
Admission:
$10
Categories:
History, Lectures & Conferences, Virtual
Event website:
https://www.masshist.org/events/master-slave-husband-wife-epic-journey-slavery-freedom
This is a hybrid event. FREE for MHS Members. $10 per person fee (in person). No charge for virtual attendees or Card to Culture participants (EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare). The in-person reception starts at 5:30 and the program will begin at 6:00.
Please visit here to register.
In 1848, a young, enslaved couple, Ellen and William Craft, achieved one of the boldest feats of self-emancipation in American history. Posing as master and slave, they made their escape together across more than 1,000 miles, riding out in the open on steamboats, carriages, and trains that took them from bondage in Georgia to the free states of the North. The tale of their adventure soon made them celebrities and the couple traveled another 1,000 miles, drawing thunderous applause as they spoke alongside abolitionist luminaries of the day. But even then, they were not out of danger. With the passage of a Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, all Americans became accountable for returning refugees to slavery, forcing the Crafts to flee once again—this time from the United States.