National Museum of African American History & Culture

Reflecting over 600 years of history
Gather in the shadow of the historic African American History museum south of the White House. Contemplate why in August 10th 1863 it was scandal when Frederick Douglas, an American of African Descent, met with the Presedent and just 145 years later President was of African Descent, President Barack Obama. We will gather for the time travel on the Museum's welcoming porch, a concept with its roots in Africa. The structures ornamental bronze-colored metal lattice pays homage to the intricate ironwork that was crafted by enslaved African Americans. The openness of the museums walls reflect a shared desire with this tour to promote reconciliation, healing and to stimulate an open dialogue about race.

Join the escape aboard the Pearl

Escape on the Pearl
Escape of Pearl down the river itself. Since 1619 when Africans began to be enslaved along the Chesapeake river, they had begun to escape to freedom. Travel back to April 15, 1848, and join one of the largest attempted self-liberations was attempted by 77 brave Americans of African descent. Daniel Bell was so upset that his enslaved wife and children were to be sold to an enslaver in another state that he funded the escape attempt. Two of the escapees Emily and Mary Edmonson have a statue honoring their courage in Alexandria, Virgnia. We will follow their escape ship, the Pearl, down the Potomac River towards their destination of New Jersey. Its effects were succesfful far beyond its apparent capture. A young sentator from Illinois would enter a bill for the liberation from enslavement in response to this action, and as President he would see it as succesful in 1862! Also the event helped foster the rush to publication of Uncle Tom's cabin which would highlight for all how the escapes happen succesfully, and where is the land of freedom that awaits them, a book which made its way down to Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Help Frederick Douglass' Flight to Freedom

Visit The Birth of His Liberation
Traveling back in time thirty years as we cross the Chesapeake Bay to the oposite bank from the Pearl's farthest advance. We reach back to the formative years of the heroic Mr. Frederick Douglass. From the love of his mother and grandmother he walked 12 miles to the horror of a consciousness of enslavement at the age of six at the Wye Concentration Camp in Talbot County, Maryland where his only provided sustenance was cornmeal in a pig trough. The tour will move through the corrupt, enslaving, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, pimping, hypocritical and faithless county where its perverted legislature voted its inhabitants to be legalized kidnappers, rapists and murderers. On the concentration camp's southern border we will honor the thousands who escaped here, including Frederick Douglass' family, and joined the Union Army to liberate their entire families. After the war of liberation they moved to a former Abolitionist's farm which became Unionville. From Unionville, we will travel south across the Miles river to the site of Frederick Douglass first defeating an overseer in a fight so soundly he was never bothered by him again. There we will learn how he mastered literacy and see where he taught forty to read and write in secret. Finally, we will witness his first liberation attempt with his uncle and three friends and end this portion of the tour twenty years later when he was temporarily restrained in Easton prison before going on to Baltimore to escape for good via New York on the Under Ground Railroad. Now Easton is crowned with a statue to Mr. Frederick Douglass honoring his many contributions to freedom, one of which was providing us the most detailed account of the horrors of Talbot county which we will have witnessed in person. His global work sustaining the Underground Railroad,the Abolition movement and the legal enforcement of the liberation of all enslaved by force of arms were all fruits of this birth!

Take the Underground Railroad

Join Conductor Harriet Tubman on her most heroic escapes
Traveling ahead a decade, on year after the Pearl, we will join Harriet Tubman escaping ensalvement on the 17th of September 1849 after hearing of her being soon sold to enslavers to the south. After following Harriet north to freedom we will return with her to liberate many other friends and family members. Through Moses, we will experience the most heroic story of freedom and how it helped put a stake in the heart of arguments against giving all African descent Americans their freedom. This secret network of freedom stations, conductors represents America's "other tradition" of joint inter-racial fellowship and collaboration for mutual advancement. By joining this pathway to freedom you will be able to recognize its heroes and locate its safe houses as you travel the nation hereafter. The freedom seekers you will meet show the tremendous sacrfices, courage and brilliance required of those who successfully escaped first to free US states and after the second fugitive slave act to Canada in order to end enslavement for their family and speed the collapse of the American State Sponsored Concentration Labor Camp system which they fled.

Your Living Historians

Harriet Tubman and William Bartlett
Harriet Tubman, who was born on this eastern shore and personified the Underground Railroad in this area and for the nation, will be portrayed by Torrie Musta. Torrie's family was kidnapped from Benin in 1740 and was imprisoned in Spotsylvania County in Virginia. They began escaping in 1863 and joined the USCT 23rd to begin the work of liberating everyone remaining in prison. On July 9th 1864 the Union cavalry finally reached the Pine Forest Concentration Camp and the family escaped the cursed industrial concentration camp complex. Drawing from that history which mirrored much of Harriet's life she presents for you the opportunity to have your tour accompanied by one of its principle protagonists. Also joining you will be Captain William Bartlett, a commander of the self-liberated Africans from Eastern Shore Maryland who fought to defeat enslavement in America. He was so affected by their sacrifices and heroism that he followed the lead of Unionville, and sold his farm to his soldiers in North Brentwood, Maryland some years thereafter.

Salute Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass the Civil War Soldier

From Civil War to Civil Rights
Visit the African American Civil War Museum and Monument to join ranks with the 218,000 Freedom Seekers who joined the US Army to enforce US Law on the states who went to war soley for their 'state right' to committ the crime of enslavement. These soldiers included 9000 self-liberated Maryland soldiers including Harriet Tubman. We will join her on her daring raid to hurt the fattest enslaving profitteers of South Carolina, and liberate 800 Americans of African descent toiling in their concentration camps on June 1 1863. After the war she went to work on Civil Rights and this reconciliation has kept apace to the present day.