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Hidden Brookline History: Stories of Slavery and Freedom in Our Town NEW!

Until recently, many Americans have thought—and been taught—that slavery was a “peculiar institution” of the South that was not part of life in the North. This thinking makes it easy to imagine Northerners as Underground Railroad conductors, and, as a population, ready to embrace a civil war to abolish slavery. Researchers are now uncovering the often forgotten history of slavery in the North, including Massachusetts. On this evening, we will focus on the current research on slavery, and freedom from slavery, here in Brookline from 1700 through the 1960s. In the 18th century, African Americans enslaved in Brookline sought freedom by fleeing from the town. In the mid-19th century, after slavery was abolished in Massachusetts, many African Americans escaping from the South found freedom by coming through Brookline on the Underground Railroad. Finally, in the 20th century, African Americans were eventually able to find freedom in the town. Brookline’s hidden history will be explored through lecture, lively stories, and the examination of primary historical documents, including an unusual map of town property from 1744 indicating how many Brookline residents were slaveholders.

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