Event

Temporary Exhibit: "Freedom On Trial"

Independence National Historical Park

Fee:

Free.

Location:

Liberty Bell Center, 6th and Market Streets

Repeating Event

Days:

Every day

Dates:

February 01, 2023 to May 24, 2023

Time:

9:00 AM

Duration:

8 hours

Type of Event

Exhibition/Show

Security entrance for the Liberty Bell Center closes at 4:50 pm each day.

Description

See the temporary exhibit Freedom on Trial and explore how men, women, and children escaping a life of enslavement once faced legal hearings for their freedom in Independence Hall - the same building where the Declaration of Independence was signed.  Local resistance to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 included a daring rescue led by Reverend William Jackson of Monumental Baptist Church.  Hear interviews with Jackson's descendant Valerie Craigwell White and be inspired by the courage of freedom seekers and the power of family and community.  

Reservation or Registration: No

Image Gallery

Multiple exhibit panels show graphics and text about the Fugitive Slave hearings.
Multiple exhibit panels show graphics and text about the Fugitive Slave hearings.
Freedom seekers stood to lose their personal liberty in Independence Hall from 1850 to 1854.
NPS photo
Tags: black history month fugitive slave law independence hall african american history slavery abolition underground railroad network to freedom