Special Event: “Civil Disobedience” at Thoreau Farm

Join local historians and Walden park staff for the 22nd annual program to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and the legacy of Thoreau’s essay Civil Disobedience. This year’s program will be held at Thoreau Farm, the birthplace of Henry David Thoreau.

12:30pm: Visit with Henry David Thoreau, portrayed by historian Richard Smith. Ask Mr. Thoreau about the night he spent in jail in 1846 for not paying his poll tax, an act which inspired his influential essay.

 

1:00pm: Mr. Thoreau will join visitors and Thoreau scholar, Tom Blanding, who will lead an engaging discussion on the birth of Thoreau’s essay, Civil Disobedience. Learn how Martin Luther King, Jr., having read Thoreau’s essay, used the concept of civil disobedience during the civil rights movement. Additional examples of civil disobedience, both historic and present day, will be covered during the discussion.

Thoreau Farm is located at 341 Virginia Road in Concord, MA, opposite Elm Brook Lane. The site is handicapped accessible. Parking is free. Please park around back, and not on Virginia Road.

For more information call Walden Pond State Reservation at 978-369-3254 or by e-mail (walden.pond@state.ma.us)

This event is sponsored by the Friends of Walden Pond, an activity of the Thoreau Society.