Thomas Smallwood Coins the Term "Underground Railroad"

This event has already occurred. This page is provided for reference only.

Fee:

Free.

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Location:

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial

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Dates & Times

Date:

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Time:

12:00 PM, 5:30 PM

Duration:

1 hour

Type of Event

Walk

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Description

Former slave Thomas Smallwood, a shoemaker near the Navy Yard, helped more than 150 enslaved people escape from Washington, D.C. by working with abolitionist Charles Torrey. Smallwood’s newspaper letters named and shamed enslavers and introduced the phrase "Underground Railroad," as detailed in journalist Scott Shane’s recent book Flee North.

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Reservation or Registration: No

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Contact Information

Ranger Joe Mohr
[phone]