Abolition Acre! : The film
Abolition Acre! : The film
Boston, Massachusetts was the birthplace of the movement to end slavery in the U.S. And a downtown area in and around what is now City Hall Plaza was a hotbed of abolitionist activism.
Abolitionist groups, including the New England Anti-Slavery Society and the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society, had their offices there, as did the movement’s flagship newspaper, The Liberator.
Small businesses on the bustling streets included the clothing stores of two leading Black abolitionists, David Walker and Emiliano Mundrucu. Publishers of anti-slavery books and pamphlets abounded. And the old courthouse was the scene of several dramatic efforts by abolitionists to rescue formerly enslaved people who were in imminent danger of being returned to bondage under the federal Fugitive Slave Act.
In homage to this vital and comparatively little known history, BHS founder Horace Seldon dubbed the area “Abolition Acre.” With his encouragement and support, we created an engaging 17-minute film that tells the stories of some of the key people, places, and momentous events associated with Abolition Acre.
Directed by Boston filmmaker Michael King and co-produced with Beacon Hill Scholars, the film provides historical background and features profiles of three leading abolitionists of the time – David Walker, Maria Stewart, and William Lloyd Garrison.
Historians who contribute expert commentary include Byron Rushing, Marilyn Richardson, BHS member Beverly Hector-Smith, who is also a genealogist, and Horace Seldon, a Garrison scholar. The film is narrated by BHS president Christle Rawlins-Jackson.
"Abolition Acre” was featured in Boston's Activists of Color: A Historical Tour and Contemporary Conversation, an online workshop in 2020 that explored the struggles of young community activists of color in Boston today. A panel of activists, including Christle Rawlins-Jackson, engaged in a facilitated discussion of the issues.
The workshop was part of the Fierce Urgency of Now (F.U.N.) Festival, a five-day collaboration of organizations throughout the Greater Boston region that focused on the challenges and experiences of young professionals of color. The event was hosted by Revolutionary Spaces, a nonprofit organization that stewards two of Boston’s most iconic historic sites—the Old State House and Old South Meeting House – and aims “to bring people together to explore America’s struggle to create and sustain a free society."
Note: We’ve also created Abolition Acre! A Black Freedom Trail in Boston for a self-guided walking tour of the area. Check it out here.