Coastal Crossroads Speaker Series
A Southern Underground Railroad: Black Georgians and the Promise of Spanish Florida and Indian Country
Join us for this intriguing speaker/lecture event with book signing as Dr. Paul Pressley discusses his most recent book, "A Southern Underground Railroad: Black Georgians and the Promise of Spanish Florida and Indian Country" (University of Georgia Press, 2024).
Despite its apparent isolation as an older region of the country, the Southeast provided a vital connecting link between the Black self-emancipation that occurred during the American Revolution and the growth of the Underground Railroad in the final years of the antebellum period. From the beginning of the revolutionary war to the eve of the First Seminole War in 1817, hundreds and eventually several thousand Africans and African Americans in Georgia, and to a lesser extent South Carolina, crossed the borders and boundaries that separated the Lowcountry from the British and Spanish in coastal Florida and from the Seminole and Creek people in the vast interior of the Southeast. Even in times of peace, there remained a steady flow of individuals moving south and southwest, reflecting the aspirations of a captive people.
"A Southern Underground Railroad" constitutes a powerful counter-narrative in American history, a tale of how enslaved men and women found freedom and human dignity not in Jefferson’s “Empire of Liberty” but outside the expanding boundaries of the United States. It is a potent reminder of the strength of Black resistance in the post-revolutionary South and the ability of this community to influence the balance of power in a contested region.
This event is for Lifelong Learning members only.
- Doors open at 6:15
- Wine and Cheese reception: 6:30-7:00 pm
- Lecture: 7:00-7:40 pm
- Book signing: 7:40-8:00 pm.
Lifelong Learning Institute members are invited to a private reception at 6:30 p.m. to meet the speaker and enjoy light hors d'oeuvres, beer, wine, and soft drinks.
The lecture will begin at 7:00 p.m. and is open to the public.
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