Observing the Two-Hundredth Anniversary of Brister Freeman’s Death

Join us in Observing the Two-Hundredth Anniversary of Brister Freeman’s Death at the Birthplace of America’s Civil Rights Struggle

Brister Freeman (1744-1822) was enslaved in Concord for the first 30 or so years of his life.

Having gained his freedom after fighting in the Revolutionary War – when he changed his name from Brister Cuming to Brister Freeman – he purchased an acre of “old field” in Walden Woods. There he lived with his wife, Fenda, and their three children, supporting his family as a day laborer. About thirty years after Freeman died, Thoreau wrote about him in Walden; over 150 years after that Elise Lemire recounted Freeman’s story in Black Walden: Slavery and Its Aftermath in Concord, Massachusetts.

Saturday, July 9 th • 12:30 – 1:30pm • At the Robbins House
Co-sponsored by the Thoreau Society and The Robbins House

Organized by Black Walden author Elise Lemire and Somerville resident Steven Flythe

Lunch from Saltbox Kitchen can be ordered ahead here, or feel free to bring a picnic lunch and blanket

A limited number of chairs will be available for those who need them.