Event Details

• Multiple Days: 05/02/2013, 05/03/2013, 05/04/2013

  Location: Multiple Locations | Map Time: 12:00 AM to 12:00 PM Fee Information: FREE Contact Name: Boston African American NHS Contact Email: e-mail us Contact Phone Number: [phone]

TO REGISTER FOR THESE EVENTS, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

In commemoration of the 150^th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and of the
first black Civil War troops from the North, several Greater Boston educational, historical,
and cultural organizations are collaborating to present Freedom Rising: The 150^th
Anniversary of The Emancipation Proclamation and African American Military Service
in the Civil War from May 2 through 4, 2013.

Freedom Rising takes place throughout Greater Boston with lectures by Pulitzer Prize-
Winning Historian Eric Foner and others, a Symposium focusing on the hemispheric impact
of the Emancipation Proclamation, and Roots of Liberty, a performance with special guests
actor Danny Glover, scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and author Edwidge Danticat
exploring the impact of the Haitian Revolution on the antislavery movement and the Civil
War. All events are free and open to the public. Reservations are not required but RSVPs
are appreciated. www.freedomrising2013.com

The second founding of the United States took place in the midst of the great sacrifice and
destruction of the American Civil War. Before the war, slavery was protected by the
Constitution and the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled that no African American possessed
any right that white men were bound to respect. During the war, blacks served in the armed
forces with distinction, making a Union victory possible. After the war, slavery was
extinguished and black men gained the right to vote-key to full citizenship-and many won
election to state legislatures in the North and South and to both houses of Congress. The
key document of this transformation is the Emancipation Proclamation.

Freedom Rising coincides with exhibitions at Harvard University's Houghton Library and
at the Museum of African American History.

For more information, to RSVP, or to join a mailing list to keep informed about Freedom
Rising, the general public should visit FreedomRising2013.com.To attend any of the
events on May 2-4, we would appreciate your RSVP by April 26.

Freedom RisingSchedule of Events

Thursday, May 2, 6PM-7:30PM:

Museum of African American History, 46 Joy Street, Beacon Hill, Boston, MA

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Eric Foner opens the conference in the Museum's African
Meeting House with a public address.
For other Lowell lectures in this series see: www.maah.org Space is limited; reservations
required: [e-mail].

Friday, May 3 9AM-5PM

Radcliffe Institute Gymnasium, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA

A day-long symposium focusing on the Emancipation Proclamation and its hemispheric
impact, recruitment of black troops, black communities, black women, and legacy in art.

Saturday, May 4, 5pm-7pm

Tremont Temple Baptist Church, 88 Tremont Street, Boston, MA

Roots of Liberty - The Haitian Revolution and the American Civil War

Produced by Underground Railway Theater, in residence at Central Square Theater.

A performance celebrating the Haitian revolutionary hero Toussaint Louverture and the
impact of the Haitian Revolution on the American Civil War - the antislavery movement and
African American soldiers, set in Boston's historic Tremont Temple, where the Emancipation Proclamation was read in 1863. Special guests include Danny Glover, author Edwidge Danticat, and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Danny Glover will be
performing one of the key historical figures in Roots of Liberty.

For Roots of Liberty, Community Partners are helping spread the word, and will be
acknowledged in the playbill. Community Workshops will offer a preview of the script.
Participants will help createa giant puppet of Toussaint Louverture by inscribing on his
costume their thoughts and feelings about the Haitian Revolution and Emancipation
Proclamation.

Central Square Theater has receivedthe very first Public Squared grant of $25,000
fromMass Humanitiesfor the Roots of Liberty project. Mass Humanities supports program
s that use history, literature, philosophy, and other humanities disciplines to enhance and
improve civic life throughout Massachusetts. Their new Public Squared initiative is designed
to build a "public square" around an important subject that addresses a crisis in our society,
exponentially multiplying the impact of conversation on our collective culture.

Community Workshop Schedule

Tuesday, April 9^TH, 6:30-8PM

Welcome Project, 530 Mystic Avenue, Somerville.

Hosts: The Welcome Project, Books of Hope, The Haitian Coalition

Saturday, April 13^th, Noon-1:30

Hibernian Hall, 184 Dudley St., Roxbury

Host:Madison Park Development Corporation

To become a Community Partner or attend a Workshop, contact: James Pierre,
617.308.1780 or [e-mail].

Freedom RisingCollaborators:

African American Experience Fund

African & African American Studies Department, Harvard University

Boston African American National Historic Site

Boston National Historical Park

Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice, Harvard University

The History Channel

History Department, Harvard University

Houghton Library, Harvard University

Lowell Institute

MASS Humanities

Massachusetts Office for Access and Opportunity

Museum of African American History

New Democracy Coalition

Office of the President, Harvard University

Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University

Underground Railway Theater, in residence at Central Square Theater

Warren Center, Harvard University

W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, Harvard University

Community Partners:

The Welcome Project

Books of Hope

The Haitian Coalition

Madison Park Development Corporation.