Horace Seldon, member of Beacon Hill Scholars and National Park Service ranger at the Boston African American National History Site (BOAF), discusses the "Freedom on Trial" trail:

Freedom On Trial Walking Tour Boston African American National Historic Site 1

Freedom On Trial Walking Tour Boston African American National Historic Site 2

You can experience this special 90 minute walking tour, focusing on the time when the promises of the American Revolution were "on trial" in Boston's 19th century. You will learn of the establishment of churches, and mutual aid organizations in Boston's African American community; the pivotal role this community played in the movement to abolish slavery, their pioneering struggle for equal education, human, and civil rights - And all this taking place more than a hundred years BEFORE the well-known civil rights movements in the mid-twentieth century.  What happened to our hard-won liberties between 1855 and 1955?  Doesn't social "progress" always advance in a forward direction?  What took place in the intervening century provides a lesson all of us should keep in mind for the future.  

For more information about "Freedom on Trial"  and other walking tours, contact NPS-BOAF at: 617-742-5415